Windham County ( ) is one of
the eight counties in the
U.S. state of
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. ...
, located in its northeastern corner. As of the
2020 census, the population was 116,418, making it the least populous county in Connecticut. It forms the core of the region known as the
Quiet Corner. Windham County is included in the
Worcester,
MA-CT
Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
-Worcester-
Providence, MA-
RI-
NH-CT
Combined Statistical Area. The entire county is within the
Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor, as designated by the
National Park Service
The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...
.
History
The area that is now Windham County became of interest to the English around 1635, but went unsettled for over fifty years due to its lack of access to the shore.
John Winthrop the Younger took a strong interest to this land, purchased land from the Narragansetts, and was given permission by the court of Connecticut to settle in October 1671. In 1678, a tract of land, called
Joshua's Tract (Joshua was the son of Mohegan chief Uncas), was willed to Connecticut officials, and in February 1682, it was gifted to Samuel and Daniel Mason. In 1684, 1200 acres of land was sold to Jonathan Curtis, Thomas Dudley and Samuel Mason, among others, by the Nipmunks.
Windham County was created from
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 ...
and
New London counties on May 12, 1726, by an act of the Connecticut General Court. The act establishing the county states:
:That the west bounds of the town of Lebanon, the north
:bounds of Coventry, the north bounds of Mansfield till it
:meet with the southwest bounds of Ashford, the west bounds
:of Ashford, the east bounds of Stafford, the Massachusetts
:line on the north, and Rhode Island line on the east, the north
:bounds of Preston, and north bounds of Norwich, containing
:the towns of Windham, Lebanon, Plainfield, Canterbury,
:Mansfield, Coventry, Pomfret, Killingly, Ashford, Voluntown
:and Mortlake, shall be one entire county, and called by the
:name of County of Windham.
In May 1749, the town of
Woodstock (formerly New Roxbury),
Worcester County,
Province of Massachusetts Bay, was unilaterally annexed by
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 ...
and assigned to Windham County. In 1785, the town of Union (incorporated in 1734) was transferred to the newly formed Tolland County. Over the next century, Windham County would lose several towns to Tolland and New London counties: Coventry to Tolland in 1786, Lebanon to New London in 1824, Columbia and Mansfield to Tolland in 1827, and Voluntown to New London in 1881. New towns were formed over the years using land from the original towns of the county: Thompson in 1785, Brooklyn and Hampton in 1786, Sterling in 1794, Chaplin in 1822, Eastford in 1847, Putnam in 1855, and Scotland in 1857. The final boundary adjustment occurred on April 7, 1885, when the boundary dispute between the towns of Windham and Mansfield was resolved.
On June 6, 2022, the U.S. Census Bureau formally recognized
Connecticut's nine councils of governments as county equivalents instead of the state's eight counties. Connecticut's county governments were disbanded in 1960, and the councils of governments took over some of the local governmental functions. Connecticut's historical counties continue to exist in name only, and are no longer considered for statistical purposes.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.6%) is water.
The highest point in Windham County is
Snow Hill in
Ashford at 1,210 feet.
Adjacent counties
*
Worcester County, Massachusetts (north)
*
Providence County, Rhode Island (east)
*
Kent County, Rhode Island (southeast)
*
New London County (south)
*
Tolland County (west)
Climate
Government
County level government in the state of Connecticut was abolished in 1960. All government affairs and services are administered by either the state or local municipality.
The office of county high sheriff was abolished by constitutional referendum in 2000. All former functions of the county sheriff's office are now carried out by the state marshals service. The last high sheriff (or official for that matter) of Windham County was Thomas W. White, who left office in 2000 due to the discontinuation of the county sheriff's departments in Connecticut.
Transportation
Roads
Major highways through Windham County include
Interstate 395, which runs north–south from the New London County line at Plainfield to the Massachusetts state line at Thompson. The southern part of I-395 is part of the
Connecticut Turnpike, which branches off the interstate in Killingly and runs east–west from I-395 exit 35, to
U.S. Route 6 at the Rhode Island state line.
Other north–south routes include
Route 12, which parallels I-395 through many local communities,
Route 169, a
National Scenic Byway traveling through rural communities from the New London County line in Canterbury to the Massachusetts state line in Woodstock. Other secondary north–south roads are Routes
89,
198,
97,
21, and
49.
Major east–west routes are
U.S. Route 44 from the Tolland County line at Ashford to the Rhode Island state line at Putnam, and
U.S. Route 6 from the Tolland County line at Windham to the Rhode Island state line at Killingly. U.S. Route 6 has short expressway segments in Windham and Killingly. Other secondary east–west roads are Routes
14,
101,
171, and
197.
Air
Windham Airport is the primary airport for the county, located three miles from
Willimantic. Other smaller airports include
Woodstock Airport and
Danielson Airport.
Biking
There are many bike paths in the county. The major two trails are the
Air Line State Park Trail and the
Hop River State Park Trail, both these trails enter the county through
Windham. The Hop River Trail ends at the Air Line Trail shortly after entering the county, while the Air Line Trail continues all the way into
Putnam. Another section of the Air Line Trail is in
Thompson, which continues to the border with Massachusetts which it counties as the
Southern New England Trunkline Trail. Another shorter trail is the
Moosup Valley State Park Trail that starts in Plainfield and continues down into the state border with Rhode Island which it continues as
Washington Secondary Rail Trail. Smaller trails include the
Quinebaug River Trail and the
Putnam River Trail.
Law enforcement
The primary law enforcement agency most Windham County towns is the
Connecticut State Police, primarily Troop D based in Danielson which serves Brooklyn, Canterbury, Chaplin, Eastford, Hampton, Killingly, Pomfret, Putnam (outside the SSD), Scotland, Sterling, Thompson, Woodstock and I-395 between exit 28 and the MA border. Troop C, based in Tolland, covers the town of Ashford, and Troop K, based in Colchester, covers the town of Windham.
Only three municipalities in the county (the town of Plainfield, the Willimantic Special Services District, and the Putnam Special Services District), have their own local police departments that serve as the primary law enforcement in those areas. Eastern Connecticut State University located in Willimantic also has its own local police department (established under Connecticut General Statutes Sec. 10a-142) which serves as the primary law enforcement agency for the university campus even though they are located within the Willimantic Special Services District.
The Windham County Sheriff's Department was disbanded in 2000 and their former duties are now carried out by the Connecticut State Marshals Service.
Most towns in the county have local Constables that carry out some municipal legal and security functions.
Demographics
As of the
2010 United States census, there were 118,428 people, 44,810 households, and 30,343 families residing in the county.
The population density was . There were 49,073 housing units at an average density of .
The racial makeup of the county was 89.6% white, 2.2% black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.5% American Indian, 4.2% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 9.6% of the population.
In terms of ancestry, 18.8% were
Irish, 13.5% were
English, 11.7% were
French Canadian
French Canadians, referred to as Canadiens mainly before the nineteenth century, are an ethnic group descended from French people, French colonists first arriving in Canada (New France), France's colony of Canada in 1608. The vast majority of ...
, 11.5% were
Italian, 10.2% were
German, 9.3% were
Polish, and 2.9% were
American.
Of the 44,810 households, 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.0% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 32.3% were non-families, and 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age was 39.2 years.
The median income for a household in the county was $59,370 and the median income for a family was $69,642. Males had a median income of $48,880 versus $36,873 for females. The per capita income for the county was $26,457. About 8.7% of families and 11.4% 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 16.0% of those under age 18 and 7.7% of those age 65 or over.
Demographics breakdown by town
Data is from the 2010 United States Census and the 2006-2010 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates.
Politics
Windham County leaned toward
Democratic candidates at the presidential level from 1992 to 2012, but then swung its support to
Republican candidate
Donald Trump
Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
in 2016, 2020, and 2024. Trump won it by double digits in 2024, his best performance in the state.
Communities
Boroughs are incorporated portions of one or more towns with separate borough councils, zoning boards, and borough officials. Villages are named localities, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
*
Ashford
**
Lake Chaffee
*
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
**
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
**
East Brooklyn
**
Wauregan (part)
*
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...
*
Chaplin Chaplin may refer to:
People
* Charlie Chaplin (1889–1977), English comedy film actor and director
* Chaplin (name), other people named Chaplin
Films
* ''Unknown Chaplin'' (1983)
* Chaplin (film), ''Chaplin'' (film) (1992)
* Chaplin (2011 fi ...
*
Eastford
*
Hampton
*
Killingly
**
Danielson
**
Dayville
*
Plainfield
**
Central Village
**
Moosup
**
Plainfield Village
**
Wauregan (part)
*
Pomfret
*
Putnam
**
Putnam District
*
Scotland
Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...
*
Sterling
**
Oneco
*
Thompson
**
Fabyan
**
Mechanicsville
**
North Grosvenordale
**
Quinebaug
*
Windham
**
South Windham
**
Willimantic
*
Woodstock
**
Lake Bungee
**
Quasset Lake
**
South Woodstock
**
Witches Woods
Education
School districts include:
[ ]
Text list
/ref>
K-12:
* Killingly School District
* Plainfield School District
* Putnam School District
* Thompson School District
* Windham School District
Secondary:
* Regional High School District 19
* Regional High School District 11
Elementary:
* Ashford School District
* Brooklyn School District
* Canterbury School District
* Chaplin School District
* Eastford School District
* Hampton School District
* Pomfret School District
* Scotland School District
* Sterling School District
* Woodstock School District
There is also Woodstock Academy, a privately endowed publicly funded high school.
See also
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Windham County, Connecticut
References
External links
Windham County Sheriff's Department
{{Coord, 41.83, -71.99, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-CT_source:UScensus1990
1726 establishments in Connecticut
1960 disestablishments in Connecticut
Counties in Greater Boston
Worcester, MA–CT metropolitan area
Populated places established in 1726