North Canaan 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 Litchfield 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. The population was 3,211 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. The town center is still called "

Canaan CanaanThe current scholarly edition of the Septuagint, Greek Old Testament spells the word without any accents, cf. Septuaginta : id est Vetus Testamentum graece iuxta LXX interprets. 2. ed. / recogn. et emendavit Robert Hanhart. Stuttgart : D ...

", being the main town center of the old town of Canaan prior to North Canaan splitting off as its own town.

Geography

North Canaan is in northwestern Litchfield County and is bordered to the north by

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the Western Massachusetts, westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state, U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its la ...

. 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 , or 0.03%, are water.

Principal communities

* Canaan village (not the same as the town of Canaan to the south) *Canaan Valley *East Canaan (has its own post office) *Sodom *East Sheffield

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 2020, there were 3,211 people, 1,399 households, and 864 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 1,444 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 86.7%

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 ...

, 1.1%

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 ...

, 0.3% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 4.9% from other races, and 6.5% 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 8.3% of the population. There were 1,399 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% 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, 9.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.6% were non-families. 30.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 6.7% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males. The median income for a household in the town was $39,020, and the median income for a family was $52,292. Males had a median income of $34,135 versus $23,705 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 $18,971. About 3.3% of families and 5.8% 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 3.1% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

The main highways of the town are U.S. Route 7 (north-south) and U.S. Route 44 (east-west). US 7 leads north to

Great Barrington, Massachusetts Great Barrington is a New England town, town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,172 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Bot ...

, and south to Danbury, while US 44 leads west to Millerton, New York, and east to

Hartford Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, the capital of Connecticut. The

Housatonic Railroad The Housatonic Railroad ( ; ) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, a ...

north-south tracks run through the town on their Danbury, to

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the most populous city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfi ...

, line. A private airfield, Triumph Air Field, is situated to the northwest of the village.

Economy

Downtown Canaan Village is centered around the intersection of the former

Central New England Railroad The Central New England Railroad is a railroad in and near Hartford, Connecticut. It began operations in 1995 on former Conrail trackage. Central New England Railroad operates two different lines in Connecticut: the Armory Branch and the Griffin ...

east-west tracks crossed with the active

north-south tracks. The village contains a variety of retail, restaurant, and other businesses. The Canaan Union Depot building, a former railroad station built in 1872, is a prominent building in the downtown area. It was heavily damaged by an arson fire in 2001. From 2003 to 2018 it was restored by the Connecticut Railroad Historical Association. It is now the site of the Great Falls Brewing Company and the New England Accordion Connection and Museum Company. East Canaan is known for its dairy farm operations and limestone mines. In 2016, East Canaan dairy farm, Freund's Farm, became the first farm in Connecticut to use robotic milking units for their dairy herd. The farm also produces CowPots™, a biodegradable plant pot made from composted cow manure.

Education

North Canaan is a member of Regional School District 01, which also includes the towns of

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

, and

Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...

. Public school students attend North Canaan Elementary School from grades K–8 and Housatonic Valley Regional High School in Falls Village from grades 9–12.

Notable people

Steve Blass Stephen Robert Blass (born April 18, 1942) is an American retired professional baseball pitcher and television sports color commentator. He played his entire career in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher for the Pittsburgh Pirates in ...

(born 1942), Major League Baseball pitcher for

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

* Fidelia Bridges (1834-1923), artist of the late nineteenth century

References

External links

*
Town of North Canaan official website
* {{authority control Towns in Litchfield County, Connecticut Towns in the New York metropolitan area Towns in Connecticut Towns in Northwest Hills Planning Region, Connecticut