Stonington is a borough and the town center of

Stonington, Connecticut Stonington is a town located on Long Island Sound in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The municipal limits of the town include the borough of Stonington (borough), Connecticut, Stonington, the villages of Pawcatuck, Connecticut, Pa ...

, United States, referred to by locals as "The Borough". The population was 976 at the 2020 United States Census, up from 929 in 2010. The densely built Borough of Stonington occupies a point of land that projects into Little Narragansett Bay. It has two main streets that link Cannon Square and Wadawanuck Square, named for the former Wadawanuck Hotel that brought wealthy visitors in the post-Civil War era. Its colonial, Federal, and

Greek revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

architectures have been preserved through the lack of traffic or modern industry, together with the borough's role as a fashionable summer residence, while the activity of one of Connecticut's last remaining fishing and lobstering fleets keeps it from being simply a quaint, historic village. There is a large community of Portuguese descent.

History

On August 30, 1775, a

ship's tender A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat or ship used to service or support other boats or ships. This is generally done by transporting people or supplies to and from shore or another ship. A second and distinctly different ...

chased two small private sloops into Stonington Harbor during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The sloops had made it to the dock and discharged their passengers when the tender fired a broadside into the dock and stores before sailing out of the harbor again. It returned later in the company of another tender and . All three ships then bombarded the town throughout the day. The local militia assembled and returned fire, claiming to have killed five or six men aboard the ships. A more damaging attack occurred between August 9 and 12, 1814 during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

. The British vessels , , HMS ''Dispatch'', and appeared offshore on August 9, 1814 under the command of Sir Thomas Hardy. 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." The Royal Navy pounded the town for three days, but the only fatality was that of an elderly woman who was mortally ill. They sailed off on August 12 after suffering many dead and wounded. : The Stonington Harbor Light is a low stone building erected in 1840. In 1925, it became the flagship museum of the Stonington Historical Society, making it the oldest lighthouse museum in America. Throughout 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 general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border control, border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not impo ...

in 1842. The small granite Customs House faces Main Street just north of Cannon Square. Today, Stonington boasts the last

commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for Commerce, commercial Profit (economics), profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice ...

fleet in

Connecticut Connecticut ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. ...

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the borough has a total area of 0.7 square miles (1.8 km), of which 0.3 square miles (0.9 km) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.9 km), or 50.72%, is water.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,032 people, 556 households, and 260 families residing in the borough. The population density was . There were 723 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the borough was 96.90%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.58%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.29% Native American, 0.29% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.29% from other races, and 1.55% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.97% of the population. There were 556 households, out of which 13.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 37.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 8.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 53.1% were non-families. 46.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.82 and the average family size was 2.54. In the borough the population was spread out, with 12.8% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 33.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the borough was $53,000, and the median income for a family was $78,324. Males had a median income of $43,472 versus $34,375 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the borough was $45,444. About 3.3% of families and 8.0% 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 ...

, including 9.0% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Education

The borough, along with the rest of Stonington Town, is in Stonington School District.
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Gallery

File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 153.jpg, File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 156.jpg, File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 161.jpg, File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 162.jpg, File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 163.jpg, File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 164.jpg, File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 165.jpg, File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 203.jpg, File:Stonington (borough), Connecticut 2016 205.jpg,

References

External links

Borough of Stonington official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stonington (Borough), Connecticut Stonington, Connecticut Boroughs in Connecticut Battles of the War of 1812 Battles in Connecticut Populated places in New London County, Connecticut Populated coastal places in Connecticut