Killingly is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Windham County,

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. ...

, United States. Killingly is the largest town by population in the Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 17,752 at the 2020 census. It consists of the borough of

Danielson Danielson is an American rock band from Clarksboro, New Jersey, that plays indie pop gospel music. The group consists of frontman Daniel Smith and a number of various artists with whom he collaborates. Smith has also released solo work as Brot ...

and the villages of Attawaugan, Ballouville, Dayville, East Killingly, Rogers, and South Killingly.

History

In 1653, the second John Winthrop, son of Massachusetts Bay Colony's founding governor, obtained a grant of land formerly held by the Quinebaug Indian tribe and known as the Quinebaug (Long Pond) Country. The name ''Quinebaug'' comes from the 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 ...

Native American term, spelled variously , , etc., meaning "long pond", from , "long", and , "pond". The area in that grant, which is now occupied by Killingly, was first settled by English colonists in 1700. It was first called "Aspinock", a word which may have come from the combination of the native term "aucks" or "ock" (the place of/where) and the name of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Culture, language and peoples * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England * ''English'', an Amish ter ...

settler, Lieutenant Aspinwall. When the town was incorporated in May 1708, Colony Governor Saltonstall was asked to suggest a name. Saltonstall's ancestral manorial possessions lay in Killanslie and Pontefract, Yorkshire, hence he suggested “Kellingly” (the spelling was later altered). During the 1830s, Killingly was the state's largest producer of cotton goods, manufacturing textiles in mills from cotton shipped from the Deep South. By the 1930s, it was an important producer of window curtains.

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 (2.94%) is water.

Principal communities

*Attawaugan *Ballouville *Chestnut Hill *

(borough) * Dayville *East Killingly *Elmville *Killingly Center *Rogers *South Killingly

On the National Register of Historic Places

Broad Street – Davis Park Historic District Broad Street – Davis Park Historic District is a historic district (United States), historic district in the borough of Danielson, Connecticut, Danielson, in the town of Killingly, Connecticut, Killingly, Connecticut. The district is mainly r ...

– Roughly along Broad Street, from Dorrance Street to Winter Street (added 1998) *

Daniel's Village Archeological Site The Daniel's Village Archeological Site is a historic industrial archaeological site in Killingly, Connecticut. Located in the vicinity of the crossing of Putnam Road and the Five Mile River, the area is the site of one of the earliest textil ...

(added 1978) *

Danielson Main Street Historic District The Danielson Main Street Historic District encompasses the historic late 19th-century commercial business district of the borough of Danielson, Connecticut, Danielson in the town of Killingly, Connecticut. It extends along Main Street, betwe ...

– Main Street from Water Street to Spring Street (added 1992), featuring Colonial Revival and Italianate architectural styles. *

Dayville Historic District The Dayville Historic District encompasses a collection of mid-19th century architecture in the Dayville village of Killingly, Connecticut. It is clustered around the junction of Main and Pleasant streets, extending along Main to High Street. T ...

– Main and Pleasant Streets (added 1988) *

Elliottville Lower Mill The Elliottville Lower Mill, also known historically as the Peep Toad Mill, is an historic cotton mill in the East Killingly section of Killingly, Connecticut. Built about 1850, it is a well-preserved example of an early wood-frame textile mill ...

– Peep Toad Road (added 1982) *

Old Killingly High School The Old Killingly High School is a historic school building on 185 Broad Street in the Danielson section of Killingly, Connecticut. Built in 1908 and enlarged in 1927, it served as the town's high school until 1965, and then its junior high s ...

– 185 Broad Street (added 1992) * Temple Beth Israel – 39 Killingly Drive (added 2003)

Demographics

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 17,370 people, 6,749 households, and 4,528 families in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was 358.1/square mile (137.9/km). There were 7,592 housing units at an average density of 156.5/square mile (60.3/km). The racial makeup of the town was 93.1%

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 ...

, 1.5%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 1.8% Asian, 0.7% from other races, and 2.4% 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 3.0% of the population. The borough of Danielson and the town of Killingly contain a small Laotian community. Both are on the nation's list of top 50 cities with the highest percentage of citizens claiming Laotian ancestry. Of the 6,749 households: 29.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.8% 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, 13.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.9% were non-families. 25.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.98. The area population contained 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 28.5% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $55,598, and the median income for a family was $68,565. Males had a median income of $49,467 versus $35,429 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 town was $26,585. About 8.5% of families and 10.3% 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 12.7% of those under age 18 and 6.1% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Danielson Airport is a state owned, public use

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

located two

nautical mile A nautical mile is a unit of length used in air, marine, and space navigation, and for the definition of territorial waters. Historically, it was defined as the meridian arc length corresponding to one minute ( of a degree) of latitude at t ...

s (4 km) northwest of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

, a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

in Killingly. Bus service to the area is provided by the Northeastern Connecticut Transit District.

Notable people

Francis Alexander Francis Alexander may refer to: *Francis Alexander (painter) Francis Alexander (February 3, 1800 – March 27, 1880) was an American portrait-painter. Biography Alexander was born in Windham county Connecticut in February 1800. Brought up on ...

(1800–1881), born in Killingly, was a portrait painter * Harriet Pritchard Arnold (1858–1901), writer *

Manasseh Cutler Manasseh Cutler (May 13, 1742 – July 28, 1823) was an American Congregational clergyman involved in the American Revolutionary War. He was influential in the passage of the Northwest Ordinance of 1787 and wrote the section prohibiting sla ...

(1742–1823), US representative, soldier, minister, botanist, doctor, and scientist. He was educated at both Yale and Harvard Universities. He lobbied Congress to pass the

Northwest Ordinance The Northwest Ordinance (formally An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North-West of the River Ohio and also known as the Ordinance of 1787), enacted July 13, 1787, was an organic act of the Congress of the Co ...

of 1787, helped establish the

Ohio Company The Ohio Company, formally known as the Ohio Company of Virginia, was a land speculation company organized for the settlement by Virginians of the Ohio Country (approximately the present U.S. state of Ohio) and to trade with the Native Ameri ...

, and worked to found

Ohio University Ohio University (Ohio or OU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Athens, Ohio, United States. The university was first conceived in the 1787 contract between the United States Department of the Treasury#Re ...

* John M. Dowe (1896–1946),

Connecticut State Comptroller The state comptroller is the chief fiscal guardian of the Connecticut, State of Connecticut. The duties and responsibilities of the state comptroller include, among other things, overseeing state accounting, preparing state financial reports, payin ...

(1941–1943, 1945–1946) * Frederick Delmont Chesbrough (1859-1943), inventor of Warp Stop Motion for automated looms. *

William Torrey Harris William Torrey Harris (September 10, 1835 – November 5, 1909) was an American educator, philosopher, and lexicographer. He worked for nearly a quarter century in St. Louis, Missouri, where he taught school and served as Superintendent of Schoo ...

(1835–1909), a philosopher who introduced reindeer to Alaska, educator (and later

U.S. Commissioner of Education The Commissioner of Education was the title given to the head of the federal Office of Education, which was historically a unit within and originally assigned to the Department of the Interior in the United States. The position was created on March ...

) who introduced the first permanent kindergarten, and lexicographer who introduced the "divided page" into dictionaries (the 1909 edition of ''Webster's New International Dictionary''). He was born in North Killingly. He also founded the first philosophical journal in the country *

Mary Dixon Kies Mary Dixon Kies (March 21, 1752 – 1837) was an American inventor. On May 5, 1809, her patent for a new technique of weaving straw with silk and thread to make hats was signed by President James Madison. Some sources say she was the first wom ...

(1752–1837), the first woman in the United States to receive a patent (in 1809, for a method of weaving straw with silk or thread). Kies was born and lived in South Killingly, an unincorporated village in the Town of Killingly * Samuel Knight (1731–1804), chief justice of the

Vermont Supreme Court The Vermont Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority of the U.S. state of Vermont. Unlike most other states, the Vermont Supreme Court hears appeals directly from the trial courts, as Vermont has no intermediate appeals court. The court ...

* Charles Tiffany (1812–1902) born in town, became the owner of Tiffany and Company *

Ebenezer Young Ebenezer Young (December 25, 1783 – August 18, 1851) was a United States representative from Connecticut. He was born in Killingly, Connecticut and graduated from Yale College in 1806. He studied law and was admitted to the bar and commenced p ...

(1783–1851), a

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from Connecticut

References

External links

Town government Web site
{{authority control Towns in Windham County, Connecticut Towns in Connecticut Towns in Northeastern Connecticut Planning Region, Connecticut