Marlborough is a town in

Hartford County Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. According to the 2020 census, the population was 899,498, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut. Hartford County contains t ...

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. It contains the

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), 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 counte ...

(CDP) of Terramuggus. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. The town's population was 6,133 at the 2020 census. Marlborough is a suburban and rural community. The local high school is RHAM High School. In 2013, Marlborough ranked third (of 24) in ''Connecticut Magazine's'' biannual ranking of Connecticut small towns. Educationally, RHAM High School, which serves Marlborough, Hebron, and Andover students, is one of the top-ranked regional high schools in the state on the SAT in 2017, and 11th highest-performing school in the state on the test. The town is home to Elmer Theines-Mary Hall elementary school which serves Pre-K through 6th grade. The school scores above state average on standardized testing and student progress.

History

The earliest inhabitants of present-day Marlborough, prior to the arrival of the English settlers, were the

Podunk people The Podunk were a Native American people who spoke an Algonquian Quiripi language and lived primarily in what is now known as Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. English colonists adopted use of a Nipmuc dialect word for the territory ...

, an indigenous people who spoke an Algonquian language. The town's origins can be traced back to 1648, when (John) Sadler's Ordinary, a rest stop from the colonical era, was established. This establishment, the second of its kind in

Connecticut Colony The Connecticut Colony, originally known as the Connecticut River Colony, was an English colony in New England which later became the state of Connecticut. It was organized on March 3, 1636, as a settlement for a Puritans, Puritan congregation o ...

after Hartford, served as a crossroads during colonial times. Travelers would stop to rest at the Buell House (now the Marlborough Tavern) located at the heart of what is now Marlborough center. Although the original Sadler's Ordinary (Inn) eventually went out of business, a new Sadler's Ordinary was built in a new location in 1970 and continues to operate today. In 1747, William Buell and Joel Foote petitioned the colonial General Court for permission to form an Ecclesiastical Society and establish the town of Marlborough. In 1749, they began constructing the First Congregational Church which was not completed until 1803. On October 13, 1803, Marlborough was officially incorporated, encompassing land from portions of three neighboring towns:

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in northeastern Essex, England. It is the second-largest settlement in the county, with a population of 130,245 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 Census. The demonym is ''Colcestrian''. Colchester occupies the ...

( New London County) and

Hebron Hebron (; , or ; , ) is a Palestinian city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Hebron is capital of the Hebron Governorate, the largest Governorates of Palestine, governorate in the West Bank. With a population of 201,063 in ...

( Tolland County). The town took its name from

Marlborough, Massachusetts Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high ...

, which was named after

Marlborough, Wiltshire Marlborough ( , ) is a market town and Civil parishes in England, civil parish in the England, English Counties of England, county of Wiltshire on the A4 road (England), Old Bath Road, the old main road from London to Bath, Somerset, Bath. Th ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. By 1907 the town had a population of fewer than 305 residents. It wasn’t until the 1960s that Marlborough was rediscovered as a bedroom community for white-collar professionals working in Hartford. A comprehensive history of the town title
''Reflections Into Marlborough's History''
was published in 2007.

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 , or 0.73%, is water. Marlborough is adjacent to four other Connecticut towns (

to the north, East Hampton to the west,

to the south, and

to the east). East Hampton, Colchester and Hebron are each in different

counties A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

from each other and from Marlborough. Route 2, a two-lane highway (sometimes three) in most sections, bisects the town, and there are three Marlborough exits, at South Main Street, Route 66, and West Road, although there are exits westbound only for South Main and eastbound only for West Road. It takes approximately 15– 20 minutes to get to Hartford, 40 minutes to New London, 45 minutes to New Haven, and 40 minutes to Springfield, MA. Marlborough is generally equidistant between Boston and New York. Boston is an hour and 45 minutes away, while New York City is a two-hour car ride, pending traffic conditions. Popular vacation areas are also reasonable drives from Marlborough. The Berkshire Mountains are an hour and 20 minutes away, and popular Rhode Island beaches, depending on which one you go to, are an hour (Misquamicut, Westerly) to an hour and 20 minutes away (Narragansett).

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 2010, there were 6,404 people, 2,292 households, and 1,820 families residing in the town. As of the 2000 census, the population density was . There were 2,057 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 65.3%

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 ...

, 1.3%

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 ...

, 30.1% Native American, 1.6% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.4% 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 2.8% of the population. There were 2,292 households, out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.9% 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, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.6% were non-families. 15.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.75 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.4% under the age of 18, 3.4% from 20 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 34.1% from 45 to 64, and 12.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. The median income for a household in the town was $139,255 and the median income for a family was $159,376. Males had a median income of $98,789 versus $64,959 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 $58,805. About 0.3% of families and 1.0% 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 none of those under age 18 and 0.5% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Notable people

* Larry Boardman (born 1936), boxer born in Marlborough *

Chris Cillizza Christopher Michael Cillizza (; born February 20, 1976) is an American political commentator, who worked for the television news channel CNN from 2017 to 2022. Prior to joining CNN, he wrote for ''The Fix'', the daily political blog of ''The Wa ...

(born 1976), journalist born in Marlborough * Mary Hall (1843–1927),

suffragist Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise is the right to vote in public, political elections and referendums (although the term is sometimes used for any right to vote). In some languages, and occasionally in English, the right to vo ...

, first female lawyer in Connecticut, born in Marlborough * A.J. Pollock (born 1987), Major League Baseball player with the Arizona Diamondbacks; born in Marlborough, attended RHAM High School in Hebron, CT *

William Henry Richmond William Henry Richmond (1821-1922) was an American coal mine operator. He is reckoned as one of the key actors in the expansion of the Lackawanna Coal Mine district of Scranton, Pennsylvania, during the second half of the 19th Century. Richmond ...

(1821–1922), anthracite coal mine operator born in Marlborough *

Gretchen Ulion Gretchen A. Ulion Silverman (born May 4, 1972) is an American ice hockey player. She won a gold medal at the 1998 Winter Olympics. At Dartmouth College, she was and is still today the Dartmouth Big Green women's ice hockey program's all-time l ...

(born 1972),

1998 Winter Olympics The 1998 Winter Olympics, officially known as the and commonly known as Nagano 1998 (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 7 to 22 February 1998, mainly in Nagano, Nagano, Nagano, Nagano Prefecture, Japan, with some events ...

ice hockey gold medalist

Points of interest

* Marlborough Congregational Church, placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993 * Marlborough Arts Center – A non-profit regional arts center housed in the restored Charles W. Hall building * Marlborough Tavern

References

External links

*
''Marlborough Historical Society''
{{authority control Towns in Hartford County, Connecticut Towns in Connecticut Greater Hartford Towns in Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut