Lakeville is a

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counterparts of incorporated places, suc ...

(CDP) in

Litchfield County Litchfield County is in northwestern Connecticut. As of the 2020 census, the population was 185,186. The county was named after Lichfield, in England. Litchfield County has the lowest population density of any county in Connecticut and is th ...

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 (state), New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the ...

, United States, close to

Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later or ...

. It is within the town of

Salisbury Salisbury ( ) is a cathedral city in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers Avon, Nadder and Bourne. The city is approximately from Southampton and from Bath. Salisbury is in the southeast of ...

, but has its own ZIP Code (06039). As of the 2010 census, the population of Lakeville was 928, out of 3,741 in the entire town of Salisbury. The

Hotchkiss School The Hotchkiss School is a coeducational preparatory school in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. Hotchkiss is a member of the Eight Schools Association and Ten Schools Admissions Organization. It is also a former member of the G30 Schools ...

is located in Lakeville, and the

Indian Mountain School Indian Mountain School is an independent coeducational boarding and day school for children grades pre-K through 9, located on two campuses in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. The school consists of Lower and Upper campus, with Lower Cam ...

is nearby.

Geography

Lakeville is in the southwest part of the town of Salisbury, on U.S. Route 44 southwest of the Salisbury town center. US 44 leads northeast to Canaan village and west to Millerton, New York. According to the

U.S. 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 Lakeville CDP has a total area of , of which are land and , or 14.8%, are water. Most of the water area is part of

Lake Wononscopomuc Lake Wononscopomuc is a lake located in the Lakeville section of Salisbury, Connecticut, United States. It has the distinction of being the deepest natural lake in the state. Wononskopumuc is a Mahican name for "rocks at the bend in the lake." ...

, the deepest natural lake in the state.

History

Until 1846, Lakeville was called "Furnace Village", due to the location there of one of the early

blast furnace A blast furnace is a type of metallurgical furnace used for smelting to produce industrial metals, generally pig iron, but also others such as lead or copper. ''Blast'' refers to the combustion air being "forced" or supplied above atmospheri ...

s of the historic Salisbury iron industry (one of which was established in the 1760s by future Revolutionary War hero

Ethan Allen Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, businessman, land speculator, philosopher, writer, lay theologian, American Revolutionary War patriot, and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and fo ...

Benjamin B. Hotchkiss Benjamin Berkeley Hotchkiss (October 1, 1826 – February 14, 1885) was one of the leading American ordnance engineers of his day. American career Hotchkiss was born in Watertown, Connecticut, and moved to Sharon, Connecticut in childhood ...

, inventor of the

Hotchkiss gun The Hotchkiss gun can refer to different products of the Hotchkiss arms company starting in the late 19th century. It usually refers to the 1.65-inch (42 mm) light mountain gun; there were also a navy (47 mm) and a 3-inch (76&nbs ...

was born in nearby Watertown. A boarding school in his name, the

, was founded by his widow

Maria Bissell Hotchkiss Maria (Harrison) Bissell Hotchkiss (August 14, 1827 – November 10, 1901) was an American educator, heiress, and philanthropist. She was married to wealthy munitions maker Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, though long estranged. Upon receiving his inherit ...

in Lakeville in 1891. It later became

coeducational Mixed-sex education, also known as mixed-gender education, co-education, or coeducation (abbreviated to co-ed or coed), is a system of education where males and females are educated together. Whereas single-sex education was more common up to ...

. The

, a boarding school for students Pre-K through 9th, is south of the Lakeville CDP. It was founded in 1922. Lakeville was the original home to what would eventually relocate and become the

Mansfield Training School The Mansfield Training School and Hospital was a state school for people with developmental disabilities located in Mansfield, Connecticut, United States. It was active from 1860 to 1993. Its former campus, located at the junction of Connecticut ...

, an institution for mentally challenged residents of Connecticut from 1860 to 1993.

Other notable events

Lakeville is the site of Connecticut's oldest cold case. Camp Sloane camper Connie Smith left the camp on Indian Mountain Road on the morning of July 16, 1952. She was ten years old and was from

Sundance, Wyoming Sundance (Lakota: ''Owíwaŋyaŋg Wačhí''; "Sun-Watching Dance") is a town in and the county seat of Crook County, Wyoming, United States. The population was 1,032 at the 2020 census. The town is named after the Sun Dance ceremony practiced ...

; she was the granddaughter of former Wyoming Governor Nels H. Smith. Several people observed her walking and hitchhiking toward the center of Lakeville. She was last seen walking along Route 44 near the intersection of Belgo Road. Her disappearance sparked one of the largest searches ever conducted by the Connecticut State Police. Despite a nationwide search, she was never found, and foul play is suspected. Her case remains open and still has a detective assigned to it.

Local institutions

New England's oldest

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

congregation is in Lakeville. Lime Rock Park, southeast of Lakeville, is a motorsport race track that hosts sports car and stock car races. YMCA Camp Sloane is located in Connecticut, between Indian Mountain Road and Lake Wononpakook, and has operated there since 1928.

Notable people

* Jill Clayburgh, actress *

Wanda Landowska Wanda Aleksandra Landowska (5 July 1879 – 16 August 1959) was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings played a large role in reviving the popularity of the harpsichord in ...

, musician * Wassily Leontief, Nobel Economics laureate * William A. Prendergast (1867–1954), businessman and politician *

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

, bandleader * Georges Simenon, author. The town forms the background for his novel ''La Mort de Belle'' (''The Death of Belle''), later adapted to film as '' The End of Belle'' *

Rip Torn Elmore Rual "Rip" Torn Jr. (February 6, 1931 – July 9, 2019) was an American actor whose career spanned more than 60 years. He was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his part as Marsh Turner in '' Cross Creek'' ...

, actor *

MacKenzie Scott MacKenzie Scott (''née'' Tuttle, formerly Bezos; April 7, 1970) is an American novelist and philanthropist. As of September 2022, she has a net worth of US$33.4 billion, owing to a 4% stake in Amazon, the company founded by her ex-husband Je ...

, philanthropist * Lily Rabe, actress

References

External links

* {{authority control Salisbury, Connecticut Villages in Litchfield County, Connecticut Census-designated places in Connecticut