Stonington, Connecticut
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The Town of Stonington, Connecticut is in New London County, Connecticut in the southeastern corner of that U.S. state. It includes the borough of Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck and Wequetequock, and the eastern half of the village of Mystic (the other half being in the town of Groton).
The Borough of Stonington occupies a point of land that projects into Little Narragansett Bay. The lack of through traffic or modern industry, together with the borough's role as a fashionable summer residence since the Civil War era, have preserved its Colonial, Federal, and outstanding Greek Revival domestic architecture, while the activity of Connecticut's last remaining fishing and lobstering fleet keep it from being simply a quaint, historic village. There is a large community of Portuguese descent.
History and trivia
The first European colonists came to the town in 1649, on lands that had belonged to the Pequots who referred to the areas making up Stonington as "Pawcatuck" and "Mistack." It was named "Souther Towne" or Southertown, by Massachusetts in 1658, and was renamed as Stonington when Connecticut established its claim over the territory in 1665. The town of North Stonington was set off as a parish from Stonington in 1724 and incorporated as a town in 1807.During the War of 1812, four British vessels, under the command of Sir Thomas Hardy, appeared offshore on August 9, 1814. The British demanded immediate surrender, but Stonington’s citizens replied with a note that stated, "We shall defend the place to the last extremity; should it be destroyed, we shall perish in its ruins." For three days the Royal Navy pounded the town, but the only death was that of an elderly woman who was mortally ill. The British, after suffering many dead and wounded, sailed off on August 14.
The Stonington lighthouse, a low stone building, was the first lighthouse established by the U.S. Federal Government, in 1823. In the 19th century Stonington supported a small fishing, whaling and sealing fleet, with some direct trade with the West Indies, enough in volume for it to be made a Port of Entry in 1842. The very young Nathaniel Palmer, in charge of the sloop Hero, was seal hunting in the South Shetland Islands in the Antarctic summer season of 1820-1821. Sent southwards in November to investigate a volcanic eruption on the horizon, he sighted Antarctica.
Other famous residents of Stonington have included the explorer Edmund Fanning, who discovered Palmyra Island south of Hawai'i; Revolutionary War hero Nathaniel Fanning; the Beaux-Arts architect Edward P. York, of York and Sawyer; the poets Stephen Vincent Benet and James Merrill, whose 'Water Street' evokes Stonington; and the garden essayist Eleanor Perenyì. Peter Benchley, the author of Jaws, also had a summer house located in the Borough. More recently, Stonington is the home of 2004 World Series of Poker champion Greg "Fossilman" Raymer.
Stonington has also been the destination of many famous persons, such as Viggo Mortensen, who rented a home in the area, and his Lord of the Rings costar Elijah Wood; television host Conan O'Brien, whose sister lives in the Borough; and others, such as George Hamilton, Jimmy Fallon, Matt Paige, and Dick Vitale of ESPN fame. Stonington has been the home to several on-location movie shoots, including Steven Spielberg's Amistad and Julia Roberts breakthrough, Mystic Pizza. It is also a popular tourist destination because of its location near the ocean and several major casinos, its historic charm, and major attractions in the Mystic area such as the Mystic Aquarium, Mystic Seaport and the Mystic Drawbridge. Mystic is located along the Mystic River and is found by many tourists to be fascinating. When visiting please use the cross walks or you could anger local residents.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 129.6 km² (50.0 mi²). 100.2 km² (38.7 mi²) of it is land and 29.4 km² (11.4 mi²) of it (22.68%) is water.In the waters off Stonington, the states of New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island come together at a single point.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 17,906 people, 7,665 households, and 4,897 families residing in the town. The population density was 178.7/km² (462.8/mi²). There were 8,591 housing units at an average density of 85.7/km² (222.1/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.81% White, 0.63% Black or African American, 0.37% Native American, 1.26% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.46% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.30% of the population.There were 7,665 households out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.9% were married couples living together, 8.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 30.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the town the population was spread out with 21.7% under the age of 18, 5.4% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 27.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 94.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $52,437, and the median income for a family was $63,431. Males had a median income of $45,596 versus $32,069 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,653. About 2.9% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.4% of those under age 18 and 5.7% of those age 65 or over.
Naval history
Stonington repulsed two British naval bombardments, one, during the American Revolution a desultory bombardment by Sir James Wallace in the frigate Rose, August 30, 1775, the other more damaging three-day bombardment, of 9-12 August 1814, from a squadron under Captain Sir Thomas Masterman Hardy, in whose arms Nelson died at Trafalgar. The British were again repulsed. The American versifier Philip Freneau wrote (in part):
"The bombardiers with bomb and ball
Soon made a farmer's barrack fall,
And did a cow-house badly maul
That stood a mile from Stonington.
They kill'd a goose, they kill'd a hen
Three hogs they wounded in a pen—
They dashed away and pray what then?
This was not taking Stonington.
But some assert, on certain grounds,
(Beside the damage and the wounds),
It cost the king ten thousand pounds
To have a dash at Stonington.
Reference
Henry Robinson Palmer, Stonington by the Sea, 1957
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