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Avon ( ) is a town in the Farmington Valley region of the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. As of 2020, the town had a population of 19,795.


History

At the end of the last Ice Age, 12,400 years BP of the
Younger Dryas The Younger Dryas (YD, Greenland Stadial GS-1) was a period in Earth's geologic history that occurred circa 12,900 to 11,700 years Before Present (BP). It is primarily known for the sudden or "abrupt" cooling in the Northern Hemisphere, when the ...
, nomadic peoples built a campsite adjacent to the river that would become known as the Farmington River. They were apparently the first people to populate the region that would become known as southern
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
, including the region that would become Avon. Over the Paleoindian period the site was revisted multiple times by other nomadic peoples until it gradually became buried by
sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...
from the river's occasional flooding. In the winter of 2019, the campsite remains were excavated in Avon, along with stone tools and artifacts constructed from materials in neighboring regions. Avon was settled by Europeans in 1645 and was originally a part of neighboring Farmington. In 1750, the parish of Northington was established in the northern part of Farmington, to support a Congregational church more accessible to the local population. Its first pastor was Ebenezer Booge, a graduate of Yale Divinity School who arrived in 1751. The Farmington Canal's opening in 1828 brought new business to the village, which sat where the canal intersected the Talcott Mountain Turnpike linking Hartford to Albany, New York. Hopes of industrial and commercial growth spurred Avon to incorporate. In 1830, the Connecticut General Assembly incorporated Northington as the town of Avon, after County Avon in England. Such expansion never came and, in the 1900s, the rural town became a suburban enclave. In the 1960s Avon rejected the proposal for Interstate 291 coming through the southern edge of the town and successfully denied the expressway going through the town. U.S. Route 44 passes through a section of Talcott Mountain known as Avon Mountain, between Avon and West Hartford. Several vehicle crashes prompted the state to modify Route 44 for safety.


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 town has a total area of , of which is land and is water. The East side of Avon is flanked by Talcott Mountain, part of the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from
Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...
to near the
Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...
border. Talcott Mountain is a popular outdoor recreation resource notable for its towering western cliff faces. The Metacomet Trail traverses the Talcott Mountain ridge. The Western side of Avon is borders by the Farmington River with Huckleberry and Woodford Hills nearby, both hills are coved in suburban households, with Huckleberry hill having the Huckleberry Hill Recreation Area. Also on Woodford hill there is the Buckingham
neighborhood A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neigh ...
. The center of town lies flatter that both the east and western parts of town, with both the middle and high school's being in this area that West Avon is located in. More to the east is where the Farmington River also cuts through the town, right near the Avon Congregational Church and a large shopping area and Strip Mall's following Route 44 and U.S. Route 202


Demographics

As of the 2020 census, Avon had a population of 18,932. The racial composition of the population was 82.3% White, 13.1% Asian, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.7% from other races and 1.6% from two or more races. As of the 2000 census, there were 15,832 people, 6,192 households, and 4,483 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 6,480 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.93%
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 ...
, 0.98%
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 ...
, 0.05% Native American, 2.96% Asian, 0.02%
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 ...
, 0.28% from other races, and 0.77% 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 1.57% of the population. There were 6,192 households, out of which 34.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.8% were married couples living together, 4.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.6% were non-families. Of all households, 23.5% were made up of individuals, and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 3.03. In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.1% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 29.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.0 males. In 2022, the median household income was $146,153 and the per capita income for the town was $89,357. About 0.9% of families and 1.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 1.9% of those age 65 or over.


Economy


Top employers

Top employers in Avon according to the town's 2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report


Arts and culture


Public library

The Avon Free Public Library was founded in 1791. In 1798, a resident offered library services within his home with a collection of 111 titles. The library is a member of Library Connection, Incorporated, the cooperative regional automated circulation and online catalog database system.


Notable locations and organizations

* Avon Congregational Church (1819); listed on the National Register of Historic Places. * Fermata Arts Foundation, a cultural center promoting ties with post-soviet countries. * Pine Grove School House, a former schoolhouse.


Parks and recreation

* The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail runs through town. * Horse Guard State Park is named after the oldest active mounted cavalry unit in the United States, founded in 1788.


Government

Once predominantly Republican, Avon has shifted to be friendlier to Democrats in recent elections. In
2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...
, Avon voters gave Democrat
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II (born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who was the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the first African American president in American history. O ...
the majority of the vote. After flipping back red for
Mitt Romney Willard Mitt Romney (born March 12, 1947) is an American businessman and retired politician. He served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Utah from 2019 to 2025 and as the 70th governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007 ...
in
2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...
, town voters gave a majority to
Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...
in
2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...
. In
2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...
, Democrat
Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...
won Avon by more than 20 points. These recent shifts mirrored a national trend of suburban voters shifting leftward.


State


Education


Public schools

The Avon Public Schools district contains one
high school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...
( Avon High School), one
middle school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...
(Avon Middle School) for grades 7–8, an intermediate school (Thompson Brook School) for grades 5–6, and two
elementary schools A primary school (in Ireland, India, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, South Africa, and Singapore), elementary school, or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ...
(Roaring Brook School and Pine Grove School).


Private schools

In addition, the Avon Old Farms School, a private, all-boys boarding school, is also located in Avon on Old Farms Rd.


Notable people

* Joseph Wright Alsop IV, politician and insurance executive; father of Joseph Alsop V * Craig Burley, former soccer player and commentator for ESPN and BT Sports * Will Friedle, actor * Mike Golic, radio announcer for
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
* Madison Kennedy, swimmer * Jessica Lundy, actor * Kia McNeill, professional soccer player * Joel Quenneville, former NHL player and coach of the
Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (N ...
* Karl Ravech, Host of Baseball Tonight * Stuart Scott,
ESPN ESPN (an initialism of their original name, which was the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by the Walt Disney Company (80% and operational control) and Hearst Commu ...
reporter who covered the NBA and other sports *
Trey Wingo Hal Chapman "Trey" Wingo III (; born September 19, 1963) is an American former co-host of ESPN '' Golic and Wingo'', '' SportsCenter'', and '' NFL Live''. He has previously served as host of the Women's NCAA basketball tournament. Early life W ...
, ESPN * Wilford Woodruff, Fourth President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints


References


External links

{{authority control Towns in Hartford County, Connecticut Populated places established in 1645 Towns in Connecticut 1830 establishments in Connecticut Greater Hartford 1645 establishments in Connecticut Towns in Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut