Cromwell is a
town
A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world.
Origin and use
The word "town" shares an ori ...
in
Middlesex County,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
located in the middle of the state. The population was 14,225 at the
2020 census.
The town was named after a shipping boat that traveled along the Connecticut River, which runs along Cromwell. The ship was named after
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
,
Lord Protector
Lord Protector (plural: ''Lords Protector'') was a title that has been used in British constitutional law for the head of state. It was also a particular title for the British heads of state in respect to the established church. It was sometimes ...
of the
Commonwealth of England
The Commonwealth was the political structure during the period from 1649 to 1660 when England and Wales, later along with Ireland and Scotland, were governed as a republic after the end of the Second English Civil War and the trial and execut ...
. Other theories are that the town was named after the 1776 warship ''
Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...
'', or named directly after the Lord Protector Cromwell.
The
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
Padre Pio
Francesco Forgione, OFM Cap., better known as Padre Pio and as Saint Pius of Pietrelcina ( it, Pio da Pietrelcina; 25 May 188723 September 1968), was an Italian Franciscan Capuchin friar, priest, stigmatist, and mystic. He is venerated as a s ...
Foundation of America is located in Cromwell.
The Evangelical Covenant Church's regional East Coast Conference offices are located in Cromwell.
Points of interest
* On the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
:
**
Main Street Historic District – roughly bounded by Nooks Hill Rd., Prospect Hill Rd., Wall and West Sts. and New Ln., and Stevens Ln. and Main St.; since October 24, 1985
**
Middletown Upper Houses Historic District – on
Connecticut Route 99
Route 99 is a state highway in Connecticut running for from Route 9 in Cromwell, through the town of Rocky Hill, ending in Wethersfield at the Hartford city line. The road continues into Hartford as a local road (Wethersfield Avenue). It foll ...
; since July 27, 1979
**
Sage-Kirby House – 93 Shunpike Road; since April 29, 1982
*
TPC River Highlands
TPC may refer to:
Organizations
* Tax Policy Center, for US tax analysis
* Technology Professionals Canada
* Texas Professional Communicators
* Transaction Processing Performance Council, developing benchmark specifications for database systems
...
– location of the
Travelers Championship
Traveler(s), traveller(s), The Traveler(s), or The Traveller(s) may refer to:
People Generic terms
*One engaged in travel
*Explorer, one who searches for the purpose of discovery of information or resources
*Nomad, a member of a community withou ...
,
PGA Tour
The PGA Tour (stylized in all capital letters as PGA TOUR by its officials) is the organizer of professional golf tours in the United States and North America. It organizes most of the events on the flagship annual series of tournaments also k ...
event
* Long-time home of hardware manufacturing company Horton Brasses, Inc.
History
Settlers first arrived in the area that is now Cromwell in 1651 Cromwell was originally a part of
Middletown known as the Upper Houses, likely due to the fact that the
Mattabesset River
The Mattabesset River as delineated on present-day maps flows out of Harts Ponds in the town of Berlin and travels east to the Connecticut River, passing Kensington and later forming the boundary between Middletown and Cromwell.U.S. Geological Sur ...
separated it from the rest of Middletown. In 1703, Cromwell formed a separate parish from the rest of Middletown due to the inconvenience of crossing the floodplains of the Mattabesset during certain seasons. From that point on, the schools and churches of the Upper Houses (population about 250) were administered (and taxed for) separately from the rest of Middletown.
In 1850, the town began talks of splitting off into a separate town from Middletown. Possible new names included: Upper Middletown, North Middletown, Glenwood, and, the eventual choice, Cromwell,
which was put forth by Senator Levi Heaton. The
Connecticut General Assembly
The Connecticut General Assembly (CGA) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. Th ...
approved the incorporation on June 18, 1851.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the town has a total area of , of which, is land and (4.03%) is water.
A major north–south highway, Interstate 91, with two Cromwell exits, runs through the Town. The Central Connecticut Expressway (Route 9), opened at the end of 1989, enhances the Town's location as it connects I-95 in Old Saybrook, I-91 in Cromwell and I-84, the State's major east–west highway in New Britain.
Demographics
At the
2010 census there were 14,005 people, 5,212 households, and 3,262 families in the town. The population density was . There were 5,365
housing unit
A housing unit, or dwelling unit, (at later mention often abbreviated to ''unit'') is a structure or the part of a structure or the space that is used as a home, residence, or sleeping place by one person or more people who maintain a common hous ...
s at an average density of . The
racial makeup
A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...
of the town was 93.08% White, 3.13% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.24% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.03% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.19%.
Of the 5,212 households 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.0% were married couples living together, 7.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 30.3% of households were one person and 11.4% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.99.
The age distribution was 21.6% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 31.8% from 25 to 44, 25.3% from 45 to 64, and 16.2% 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.2 males.
The median household income was US$60,662, and the median family income was $70,505. Males had a median income of $46,223 versus $36,218 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,786. About 1.6% of families and 3.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 3.9% of those under age 18 and 3.4% of those age 65 or over.
Cromwell public schools
There are four public schools in Cromwell: Edna C. Stevens Elementary School (K–2), Woodside Intermediate School (3–5), Cromwell Middle School (6–8), and
Cromwell High School
Cromwell High School is the town high school of Cromwell, Connecticut.
History
In 1811, Cromwell High School occupied the building now used as Belden Library, which is adjacent to the town hall. There were 278 students total in this year. In 1 ...
(9–12).
Fire Protection
Fire Protection for the Town of Cromwell is provided by the Cromwell Fire District via the Cromwell Fire Department. The Cromwell Fire Department is a combination fire department that operates out of three stations. The Fire Department operates on a rotating 24/7 schedule with six Firefighter/EMT's assigned to each shift. The Fire Department also operates ambulances to provided Emergency Medical Care to residents and visitors.
Full time Firefighters are supplemented by Part-time and Volunteer Firefighters.
Notable people
*
David Gere
David Gere (born February 15, 1975) is an American film producer, actor, artist, and business entrepreneur.
Biography
David James Gere was born and raised in the small town of Cromwell, Connecticut. His mother and sister were killed in an a ...
, actor and film producer, Gere was born and raised in Cromwell and attended
Cromwell High School
Cromwell High School is the town high school of Cromwell, Connecticut.
History
In 1811, Cromwell High School occupied the building now used as Belden Library, which is adjacent to the town hall. There were 278 students total in this year. In 1 ...
, class of 1993
*
Donald Honig
Donald Martin Honig (born 1931 in New York City) is a novelist, historian and editor who mostly writes about baseball.
While a member of the Bobo Newsom Memorial Society, an informal group of writers, Honig attempted to convince Lawrence Ritter t ...
, novelist, historian and editor; lived in Cromwell for over 40 years. In September 2020, there was a ceremony at the Cromwell Belden Public Library where Honig was given with a key to the town and presented with a proclamation declaring it “Donald Honig Day.” In his honor, there is a special “Donald Honig Collection,” where many of his books are on display at the library
In popular culture
* A season 6 episode of the
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel (known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery) is an American cable channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery, a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav. , Discovery Channe ...
series ''
A Haunting
''A Haunting'' is an American paranormal TV, paranormal Drama (film and television), drama anthology series, anthology television series that depicts eyewitness accounts of alleged possession, exorcism, and ghostly encounters. The program feature ...
'', called ''The Well from Hell'', takes place in Cromwell in 2011.
References
External links
Town government website
{{authority control
Towns in Connecticut
Towns in Middlesex County, Connecticut
Connecticut populated places on the Connecticut River
Greater Hartford