Thomaston 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 town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region. The population was 7,442 at the 2020 census. The urban center of the town is the Thomaston

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 ...

, with a population of 1,928 at the 2020 census.

History

The town, originally part of the town of

Plymouth Plymouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Devon, South West England. It is located on Devon's south coast between the rivers River Plym, Plym and River Tamar, Tamar, about southwest of Exeter and ...

and referred to as "Plymouth Hollow", was first settled by Henry Cook ("the soldier in the wilderness", 1683–1750) around 1728. The town is known for clockmaking, which started in 1803, when

Eli Terry Eli Terry Sr. (April 13, 1772 – February 24, 1852) was an inventor and clockmaker in Connecticut. He received a United States patent for a shelf clock mechanism. He introduced mass production to the art of clockmaking, which made clocks ...

established a factory in the town. Terry brought

mass production Mass production, also known as mass production, series production, series manufacture, or continuous production, is the production of substantial amounts of standardized products in a constant flow, including and especially on assembly lines ...

to the clockmaking industry, helping to reduce the cost of clocks. He introduced and patented the shelf clock in 1814, which reduced the cost of a clock from $25 to $5. His clocks were sold throughout the United States. The town was incorporated in its own right and under the name "Thomaston" in 1875. The name derives from Seth Thomas, the early clockmaker, who established a factory in town in 1812. The Seth Thomas clock factory building still exists; however, the clockmaking industry has long since left the state as well as the country.

Geography

Thomaston is in southeastern Litchfield County, bordered on the south by the city of

Waterbury Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Waterbury had a population of 114,403 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census. The city is southwest of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury i ...

in New Haven County. 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 are land and (1.94%) are water. The town is located at the confluence of the

Naugatuck River The Naugatuck River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Its waters carve out the Naugatuck River Valley in the w ...

, Northfield Brook and Black Rock Brook, and is protected by

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

flood control dams on each of these watercourses. These were all constructed in the years immediately following the devastating flood of 1955 which ravaged the town as well as the state in general.

Principal communities

*Reynolds Bridge *Downtown *Highwood Farms *Hickory Hill *High Street Ext

Adjacent towns and city

* Litchfield (north) * Harwinton (northeast) *

(east) *

(south) * Watertown (southwest) * Morris (west) * Northfield (north)

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 2000, there were 7,503 people, 2,916 households, and 2,067 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 3,014 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.85%

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 ...

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 1.45% of the population, 0.60%

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 ...

, 0.11% Native American, 0.49% 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 ...

, 0.41% from other races, and 0.53% from two or more races. There were 2,916 households, out of which 34.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.5% 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, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.1% were non-families. 24.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.07. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.3% under the age of 18, 6.2% from 18 to 24, 33.2% from 25 to 44, 23.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $54,297, and the median income for a family was $63,682. Males had a median income of $40,795 versus $31,744 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 $24,799. 4.2% of the population and 3.3% of families 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 ...

. Of the total population, 5.8% of those under the age of 18 and 4.5% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

Transportation

The Route 8 expressway runs along the

in the eastern part of town and has three exits in Thomaston. Other state highways in the town are U.S. Route 6, Connecticut Route 109, Route 222, and Route 254. Thomaston is headquarters of the Naugatuck Railroad, a

heritage railway A heritage railway or heritage railroad (U.S. usage) is a railway operated as living history to re-create or preserve railway scenes of the past. Heritage railways are often old railway lines preserved in a state depicting a period (or periods) ...

and short line freight operator that operates of former

New Haven New Haven is a city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound. With a population of 135,081 as determined by the 2020 U.S. census, New Haven is the third largest city in Co ...

trackage between Waterbury and Torrington. Interchange is with

Pan Am Railways Pan Am Railways, Inc. (PAR) is a subsidiary of CSX Corporation that operates Class II regional railroads covering northern New England from Mattawamkeag, Maine, to Rotterdam Junction, New York. Pan Am Railways is primarily made up of former C ...

at Highland Junction.

Schools

The town is home to Thomaston High School, a school with roughly up to 375 students, from grade 7 to 12. It is also home to Black Rock Elementary School, hosting Pre-K to 3rd grade, and Thomaston Center School, hosting the town's 4th, 5th, and 6th grade students.

Landmarks

* Hose and Hook and Ladder Truck Building * Railroad Museum of New England * Thomaston Opera House * Trinity Church

Notable people

* Thomas D. Bradstreet (1841–1915), state representative, state senator, state comptroller * Michael J. McGivney (1852–1890), Roman Catholic priest and founder of the

Knights of Columbus The Knights of Columbus (K of C) is a global Catholic Church, Catholic Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal service order founded by Michael J. McGivney, Blessed Michael J. McGivney. Membership is limited to practicing Catholic men. ...

; died in Thomaston * Grattan O'Connell (1902–1942), early professional football player; born in Thomaston * Thomas James Reeves (1895–1941), US Navy radioman killed during the December 7, 1941, attack on Pearl Harbor and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor; born in Thomaston * Seth Thomas (1785–1859), 19th-century American clockmaker and pioneer of mass production; the town is named after him

References

External links

Town of Thomaston official website
{{authority control Towns in Litchfield County, Connecticut Towns in the New York metropolitan area Towns in Connecticut Towns in Naugatuck Valley Planning Region, Connecticut