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76-802: Enders was born in West Hartford, Connecticut on February 10, 1897. His father, John Ostrom Enders, was CEO of the Hartford National Bank and left him a fortune of $ 19 million upon his death. He attended the Noah Webster School in Hartford , and St. Paul's School in Concord, New Hampshire . After attending Yale University a short time, he joined the United States Army Air Corps in 1918 as

152-580: A sawmill on the property. Young Hosmer would eventually go back to live in Hartford, but in his 1693 estate inventory, 310 acres (1,300,000 m ) in West Hartford along with a house and a sawmill are listed. For nearly a century the property would be handed down throughout the family. Evidence still remains of the Town's first industry, as Stephen Hosmer's mill pond and dam can still be found today on

228-680: A 10,000-square-foot addition for the Barney School including additional classrooms and a trading room. Built in 1962, Hillyer Hall was the first classroom building on campus. Hillyer Hall is home to the College of Arts and Sciences, College of Education, and Hillyer College. In 2012, the Shaw Center was completed to provide additional classrooms and offices for Hillyer College. The building is named after John C. "Jay" Shaw (Class of '74) and wife Debi of Greenwich, who donated $ 1.5 million to

304-483: A cafeteria, computer lab, and studio space. The Francis X. and Nancy Hursey Center for Advanced Engineering and Health Professions, inaugurated in the fall of 2021, serves as a key addition to the campus of the University of Hartford. The center, named after alumnus Francis "Frank" Hursey, who is a pioneer in pressure swing adsorption oxygen technology with contributions to NASA's Apollo Program, and his wife, Nancy,

380-671: A committee of residents was appointed to ask permission from Hartford to secede, and were denied. Five years later they petitioned again and again were denied. In the spring of 1854, the Connecticut General Assembly was meeting in New Haven (co-capitol with Hartford at the time). Most likely taking advantage of the distance from Hartford, a petition dated March 21 was delivered to the General Assembly by delegates from West Hartford. Signed by 153 residents,

456-485: A community room, and a cafe. There are four different styles of on-campus housing. All provide students with access to the university's T-3 broadband internet network, cable television, and telephones. Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion is home to the men's and women's basketball teams and the women's volleyball team. Opened in 1990, the arena is named in honor of the Chase Family in West Hartford. Included in

532-470: A female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.06. In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.3% under the age of 18, 9.8% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 28.1% from 45 to 64, and 17.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age

608-752: A flight instructor and a lieutenant. After returning from World War I , he graduated from Yale , where he was a member of Scroll and Key as well as Delta Kappa Epsilon . He went into real estate in 1922, and tried several careers before choosing the biomedical field with a focus on infectious diseases, gaining a PhD at Harvard in 1930. He later joined the faculty at Children's Hospital Boston . Enders died at his summer home in Waterford, Connecticut , aged 88, on 8 September 1985. His wife died in 2000. In 1949, Enders, Thomas Huckle Weller , and Frederick Chapman Robbins reported successful in vitro culture of an animal virus — poliovirus . The three received

684-590: A lottery from a pool of applicants, as required by the state of Connecticut. Dedicated in 2008, the Mort and Irma Handel Performing Arts Center is a 55,000-square-foot (5,100 m )facility that is the instructional home for collegiate and Community Division students studying theatre, Musical Theater and Dance at the Hartt School. It contains five dance studios, four theatre rehearsal studios, three vocal studios, and two black box theatres, as well as faculty offices,

760-402: A minor issue happened with the buzzer beater. As the entire Hall team stormed the court to celebrate, students began throwing punches at each other and eventually the entire team and coaches were stuck in the middle of a brawl. The fight was recorded entirely for the town to see online and identify which students were at fault, which led to 10 students being arrested. The Hall-Conard fan section

836-562: A one-mile-long (1.6 km) ridge boasting impressive views of the burgeoning city, became the area's most prestigious address. Homes are characteristic of the architectural styles popular in that period are represented, particularly Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals . Many homes in the area on the National Register of Historic Places, including the Connecticut Governor's Residence , built in 1908. Prospect Avenue

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912-483: A one-story extension of Paronov Hall. Originally, Abrahms Hall was included in the Fuller Complex. A renovation of Millard Auditorium was completed in 2017. Auerbach Hall is named after businesswoman Beatrice Fox Auerbach . It is one of the largest academic buildings on campus and is home to the Barney School of Business. During the 2018–19 academic year, Auerbach Hall underwent a major renovation which included

988-533: A physical barrier from the rest of West Hartford. Furthermore, The interstate allowed for increased accessibility as the population increased with the Baby Boom and development, and recalibrated the traditional retail sites. Subsequent residential development continued on through the late 1970s, particularly in the town's northern, western and far southwestern fringes, as evidenced by the many large colonial, ranch, and split level-style homes in these areas. In 1971,

1064-403: A precedent for other municipalities. The zoning legislation economically segregated residential areas by keeping expensive single-family homes away from multi-family housing, and preventing multi-family housing in single-family neighborhoods. West Hartford justified the zoning as intended to raise property values and keep undesirable groups out of the locality. The impetus for the zoning change

1140-769: A public hero but failed to credit the many other researchers that his effort rode upon, and was somewhat shunned by America's scientific establishment. In 1954, Enders and Thomas C. Peebles isolated measlesvirus from an 11-year-old boy, David Edmonston. Disappointed by polio vaccine's development and involvement in some cases of polio and death—what Enders attributed to Salk's technique—Enders began development of measles vaccine . In October 1960, an Enders team began trials on 1,500 mentally retarded children in New York City and on 4,000 children in Nigeria . Refusing credit for merely himself when The New York Times announced

1216-409: A retired registered nurse, spans 60,000 square feet and aims to merge the couple's passions for nursing and engineering. The Hursey Center is designed to support the expanding programs within the College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture, as well as the College of Education, Nursing, and Health Professions. The building's design incorporates gathering spaces around its vicinity and throughout

1292-919: A robbery was committed by a militant Puerto Rican group called "Los Macheteros" where they robbed a Wells Fargo depot situated in West Hartford, netting $ 7 million. At the time, it was the largest heist in US history. Opening in 2007, Blue Back Square is a pioneer mixed-use development in the Center that blends retail and residential living space on a large scale. The five-building complex contains 220,000 square feet (20,000 m ) of ground floor retail space and 120 luxury space. Medical office space encompasses 137,000 square feet (12,700 m ), and other professional offices total another 62,500 square feet (5,810 m ) square feet. A six-screen movie theatre as well as two 500-space parking garages were also built. Named after Noah Webster 's popular spelling book, Blue-Back Speller,

1368-422: A sense of how important these byways were in the development of commerce and industry. Then came the trolleys—starting in 1845, Fred Brace began running a horse-drawn omnibus from his home on the corner of Farmington Avenue and Dale Street into downtown Hartford. Even more significant were the horse-drawn trolley lines and later electric trolleys that in 1889 began to weave their way from the inner city of Hartford to

1444-643: A separated right-of-way between Hartford and New Britain . West Hartford is served by two stations: The West Hartford fire department operates out of five fire stations, that provide fire protection and emergency medical services at the Advanced life support level. The town is home to two public high schools, Conard (home of the Conard Red Wolves) and Hall (home of the Hall Titans), as well as 11 elementary schools and three middle schools in

1520-541: A well-crafted and prestigious neighborhood. The architecture is characteristic of the Colonial Revival and Tudor Revival styles popular in the period. It was declared a National Historic District in 1996. By the 1920s and 1930s the impact of the automobile was felt in West Hartford as the town became more accessible to Hartford's middle and working class citizens. Between 1910 and 1930 the population of West Hartford grew from 4,808 to 24,941 residents. Then with

1596-579: Is a private university in West Hartford, Connecticut . Its 350-acre (1.4 km ) main campus extends into neighboring Hartford and Bloomfield . The university is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education . The University of Hartford was chartered through the joining of the Hartford Art School, Hillyer College, and The Hartt School in 1957. In 2021, University of Hartford announced it will begin

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1672-536: Is a planned stop along the Hartford Line, a commuter rail service from New Haven to Springfield that uses the current Amtrak-owned New Haven–Springfield Line , with a possible shuttle bus connection in Windsor Locks to Bradley International Airport . Service launched on June 16, 2018. The State of Connecticut has secured funding for the construction of a new train station at Flatbush Avenue at

1748-535: Is adjacent to Elizabeth Park , designed by acclaimed landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted in 1896 and named for the wife of Charles M. Pond, who bequeathed the land to the City of Hartford . In 1900, the Hartford Golf Club opened its links on the other side of Asylum Avenue just west of Prospect Avenue, adding to the area's ideal suburban sensibility. In 1895, Wood, Harmon and Company created one of

1824-574: Is centered on Farmington Avenue and South/North Main Street. West Hartford Center has been the community's main commercial hub since the late 17th century. Incorporated as a town in 1854, West Hartford was previously a parish of Hartford, founded in 1672. Among the southernmost of the communities in the Hartford-Springfield Knowledge Corridor metropolitan region, West Hartford is home to University of Hartford and

1900-504: Is now the southeast corner of Main Street and Farmington Avenue. As the focus of early religious, political, and social life, the meeting house helped to provide this area with a name, a title that it still holds today—"The Center." Evidence in the Hartford Courant and in the 1790s census show that some of the more prosperous households relied on laborers and slaves for fieldwork and domestic help. The Sarah Whitman Hooker House

1976-531: Is the university's only student-run radio station. It streams its radio shows online through Mixlr. It hosts annual concerts such as Live from the Lawn every opening weekend and a Halloween show every Halloween weekend. With a legacy from The Hillyer Callboard , the student newspaper of Hillyer College, dating from the 1920s, the Informer is the official student newspaper of the University of Hartford. Since 1976,

2052-526: The 2010 Census , there were 63,268 people, 25,258 households, and 16,139 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,888.9 inhabitants per square mile (1,115.4/km ). There were 25,332 housing units at an average density of 1,152.3/square mile (445.0/km ). The racial makeup of the town was 79.6% White , 6.3% African American , 0.2% Native American , 7.4% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 3.8% from other races , and 2.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.8% of

2128-500: The Bishops Corner development was inaugurated. Housing tenants such as Lord & Taylor, F.W. Woolworth, and Doubleday Book Shop drew shoppers from across the region; the Center with its largely independently owned stores, were negatively impacted by the new retail traffic patterns. Towards the town's southwest fringe lies Westfarms Mall . Opened in 1974 with original anchors JC Penney , G. Fox & Co. , and Sage-Allen ,

2204-595: The Connecticut River , the area of West Hartford offered the Wampanoag people a refuge from the cold winter wind and the river's severe spring flooding. In 1636 Reverend Thomas Hooker led a group of followers from what is now Cambridge, Massachusetts to the "Great River" and established Hartford, Connecticut and the Connecticut Colony . As the colony grew, additional land was needed. In 1672

2280-593: The Elmwood section of West Hartford. There he established a pottery on South Road (what is today New Britain Avenue) which took advantage of the local geological landscape. It was Seth Goodwin, however, who helped to establish a pottery dynasty. Goodwin started his pottery works around 1798. For over a hundred years, the Goodwin name would be associated with West Hartford pottery. Producing utilitarian items such as jugs for

2356-678: The Metacomet Ridge , a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Notable features of the Metacomet Ridge in West Hartford include Talcott Mountain and a number of highland water reservoirs belonging to the Metropolitan District, which maintains watershed and recreation resources on the property. The 51-mile-long (82 km) Metacomet Trail traverses

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2432-653: The University of Saint Joseph . West Hartford is home to regular events which draw large crowds from neighboring towns, including the Elizabeth Park Concert Series, and the annual Celebrate West Hartford event, which includes fairground rides, food vendors, musical performances, and stalls by local businesses. According to archaeological evidence, the Wampanoag people used West Hartford as one of their winter camps. Fishing and hunting along

2508-755: The single transferable vote , using it for two elections, before the General Assembly overturned it in 1923. Town Council members are elected at large for two years and represent all of West Hartford, and the town clerk is elected for four years. Appointed by the Town Council in 2022, Rick Ledwith is the Town Manager. Connecticut municipalities—as with neighboring Massachusetts and Rhode Island —provide nearly all local services (i.e. fire and rescue, education, snow removal, etc.), as county government has been abolished since 1960. West Hartford

2584-547: The 1954 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine "for their discovery of the ability of poliomyelitis viruses to grow in cultures of various types of tissue". Meanwhile, Jonas Salk applied the Enders-Weller-Robbins technique to produce large quantities of poliovirus, and then developed a polio vaccine in 1952. Upon the 1954 polio vaccine field trial, whose success Salk announced on the radio, Salk became

2660-759: The Cold War. The 76th Division was reconstituted in October 1946 and reactivated in November of that year as a part of the Organized Reserve, and was headquartered in West Hartford, Connecticut. Units of the division were spread throughout the six New England states. The 405th Army Hospital Unit took over the South Quaker lane facility in 1996. In alphabetical order by last names: University of Hartford The University of Hartford ( UHart )

2736-441: The General Assembly voted on May 3 for West Hartford's independence. The 1854 vote was not however the end of the debate. In 1895 wealthy residents from the "East Side" of West Hartford petitioned Hartford for annexation. Their call was rebuffed by other West Hartford residents. Then in 1923 and 1924 Hartford wanted to annex West Hartford back so that it could achieve a "Greater Hartford Plan." Town residents rallied in opposition and

2812-491: The Hookers' two children when he died. He is the only known African American to be buried in West Hartford's Old Center Burial Yard. West Hartford's Bristow Middle School is named in his honor. One of the first major industries to arise centered on the pottery and brick works. Extending from Hartford to Berlin is a sizable deposit of fine clay. In 1770, Ebenezer Faxon came from Massachusetts and settled in what would become

2888-868: The Mortensen Library and the Allen Memorial Library. After the renovation of the library in 2016, the university announced the library would be renamed Harrison University Libraries in honor of University President Walter Harrison. Also located here are the Joseloff Gallery, the university bookstore, the School of Communications, the Visual Communication Design Department, the Department of Architecture, WWUH (91.3 MHz FM) radio station,

2964-762: The Proprietors of Hartford ordered that a Division be created to the West. A total of "72 Long Lots" were laid out between today's Quaker Lane in the East and Mountain Road in the West. The northern boundary was Bloomfield, and the Southern, present day New Britain Avenue. (The western boundary was extended in 1830 to include part of Farmington ). In the 1670s, the area was referred to as the "West Division" of Hartford. This remained

3040-404: The School of Communication, it provides relevant experience for students pursuing careers in television. STN started its weekly news program broadcast, "STN Channel 2 News," on February 9, 1993. Currently, new broadcasts are live once a week and then played throughout the week. In addition to weekly news broadcasts, STN produces and broadcasts several live Hartford Hawks sports productions throughout

3116-678: The University of Hartford are governed by the A Cappella Coalition and hold auditions at the beginning of each year for new members. Hartford participates in the NCAA Division III in the Conference of New England . The university fields 20 varsity sports. baseball, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, soccer, and indoor and outdoor track & field, tennis. basketball, cross country, field hockey, golf, lacrosse, soccer, softball, indoor and outdoor track & field, tennis and volleyball. Founded on February 2, 1974, WSAM

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3192-734: The West Hartford Public Schools system. The elementary schools are Aiken, Braeburn, Bugbee, Charter Oak, Duffy, Morley , Norfeldt, Smith, Webster Hill, Whiting Lane and Wolcott. The middle schools are King Philip , Sedgwick , and the newest, Bristow Middle School , on the former site of Kingswood-Oxford Middle School. The elementary schools are evenly distributed to either King Philip or Sedgwick, and those who enroll at Bristow are chosen by lottery. After middle school, students continue on to high school with their same student body. Sedgwick's graduates go to Conard High School, and King Philip's go to Hall. Bristow students return to

3268-915: The Wilde Auditorium, the Kent McCray Television Studio, the Gray Conference Center, the Museum of Jewish Civilization, and the 1877 Club restaurant. It was the former home of the Museum of American Political Life, which housed the second largest collection of political memorabilia in the United States after the Smithsonian . The main Hartt School Complex, the center is composed of Millard Auditorium, Paranov Hall, and O'Connell Hall,

3344-783: The academic quad, featuring a green roof that integrates the structure with its environmental surroundings, in line with sustainable building practices. The center is home to a range of laboratories and classrooms tailored to specific fields of study. This includes a health simulation suite and labs dedicated to motion analysis, human performance, strength and conditioning, health and physical assessment, functional and physical rehabilitation, robotics, 3D-printing, mechanical engineering, and cybersecurity, among others. The facility also houses an immersive simulation suite, outpatient exam skills suite, occupational therapy skills/integration lab, makerspace, and labs dedicated to aerospace, turbomachinery, concrete and surveying, and CNC machining. Such groups at

3420-433: The access made West Hartford attractive to middle-class families. During the decade, the town built one new elementary school each year to accommodate the growing population. In the 1960s, construction began on Interstate 84 , completed in 1969. The interstate had many ramifications on the community, the most visible was that it bisected the town, isolating the more industrial and ethnically diverse neighborhood of Elmwood with

3496-601: The age of 80. Enders also held honorary doctoral degrees from 13 universities. West Hartford, Connecticut West Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut , United States, 5 miles (8.0 km) west of downtown Hartford . The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region . The population was 64,083 at the 2020 census . The town's popular downtown area is colloquially known as "West Hartford Center," or simply "The Center," and

3572-405: The beginning of 1957, when their first football game against each other was held. The competition and school spirit is just as alive today, if not, more extreme than it was over 60 years ago. On February 23, 2015, the rivalry went too far when a fight occurred between both teams at the varsity basketball game held at Hall High School. The score of the game was 43–42 and teammates began fighting after

3648-677: The building is the Mary Baker Stanley Pool and the university's athletic administration offices. Entertainment at the arena has included Girl Talk , Wale , and Ludacris . Past visiting politicians include Governor Dannel P. Malloy , former President Bill Clinton , and President Barack Obama . Located 2 miles (3 km) west of downtown Hartford, and once home to the Hartford College for Women, it now includes academic classrooms and graduate student campus housing in fourteen townhouses and Johnson House. It contains

3724-792: The corner of New Park Avenue. In 2019 Governor Lamont's CT2030 transportation investment plan, which included tolling cars and trucks in 14 locations, was soundly rejected by Republicans and Democrats, leaving less funding for rail projects. Currently there is not enough funding to build a rail station in West Hartford. West Hartford is served by several bus routes of Connecticut Transit. Major roads served are Albany Avenue (Route 58), New Britain Avenue (Routes 37, 39, and 128), Park Street (Routes 31 and 33), South/North Main Street (Route 153) Farmington Avenue (Routes 60, 62, 64, and 66), Asylum Avenue (Route 72), Hillside Avenue (Route 63), and Boulevard/South Quaker Lane (Route 69). CTfastrak, Connecticut's first bus rapid transit corridor, opened in 2015, providing

3800-405: The countryside of West Hartford. Trolley lines opened up a land that had been inaccessible to many, and made it possible for professionals and their families to settle along Prospect Avenue, then north of Farmington Avenue. By the 1880s, Hartford began to experience an economic boom. As such Hartford's business leaders began building their mansions along Prospect Avenue . Prospect Hill, situated on

3876-488: The development has significantly altered the Center and furthered West Hartford's status as a regional dining and shopping destination. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 22.3 square miles (57.7 km ), of which 21.9 square miles (56.6 km ) is land and 0.42 square miles (1.1 km ), or 1.91%, is water. The west side of West Hartford is flanked by

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3952-476: The end of the Great Depression, World War II, and the exodus from urban centers, West Hartford witnessed a tremendous influx of people as its population swelled from 33,776 in 1940 to 62,382 people by 1960. This era ushered in major housing developments and retail spaces throughout the community. In the 1950s, the primary avenues—Albany, Asylum and Farmington—became important arteries for commuters, and

4028-673: The gin manufactured in local distilleries, to terra cotta designs and fine china, the Goodwin Company employed up to 75 people in its heyday. The Goodwin Brothers Pottery Company (as it came to be known) burned for the third time in 1908 and never recovered. In 1879 Edwin Arnold established the Trout Brook Ice & Feed Company. Ice from Trout Brook, a stream that runs through the middle of West Hartford,

4104-452: The mall further recalibrated retail in West Hartford. It became well known for its lavish ceilings and waterfall-style fountain. Sitting astride I-84, conveniently connected to the town's main internal arteries, and comprising more than 1,300,000 square feet (120,000 m ) of stores and restaurants, it is the third largest indoor mall in Connecticut. In 1924, West Hartford became the first municipality in Connecticut to enact zoning, setting

4180-411: The measles vaccine effective on September 17, 1961, Enders wrote to the newspaper to acknowledge the work of various colleagues and the collaborative nature of the research. In 1963, a deactivated measles vaccine and an attenuated measles vaccine were introduced by Pfizer and Merck & Co. , respectively. He continued to work in virology research till the late 1970s and retired from the laboratory at

4256-490: The most exclusive of these early developments was West Hill . Located on the former estate of Cornelius Vanderbilt , son of the famous financier and transportation magnet, it was the brainchild of Horace R. Grant. Designed by some of Hartford's best architects in the 1920s, West Hill is significant historically because it is an excellent example of a planned real estate development of the early 1920s that proceeded under specific design restrictions to achieve outstanding success as

4332-414: The move is halted in the courts. The University of Hartford has fewer than 6,000 full-time and part-time graduate and undergraduate students. The university offers 82 bachelor's degree programs, 10 associate degrees, 28 graduate degrees, and 7 certificates or diplomas. The student-faculty ratio is 9:1. The university's academics are organized into seven schools and colleges. Gengras Student Union houses

4408-408: The official name until 1806 when Connecticut General Assembly started referring to it as "the Society of West Hartford." It is believed that the first homesteader to West Hartford was Stephen Hosmer whose father was in Hooker's first group of Hartford settlers and who later owned 300 acres (1,200,000 m ) just north of the present day Center. In 1679, Stephen Hosmer's father sent him to establish

4484-447: The petition claimed that residences were "subjected to many inconveniences on account of their present connection with the town and city of Hartford and that their convenience and prosperity would be essentially promoted by being set off as a separate town." On April 26, about 100 residents from West Hartford presented their own case against secession. After review and an opportunity for Hartford to make an argument for keeping West Hartford,

4560-410: The plan was defeated by a vote of 2,100 to 6137. It is transportation that has had the biggest impact on West Hartford and its evolution from sleepy crossroads to modern suburb. In the late 18th and early 19th century three turnpikes ran through West Hartford. Around these roads, taverns, blacksmith and wheelwright shops, general stores and many other places of businesses sprang up. Early maps provide

4636-485: The population. Only 49.85% of West Hartford residents reported a religious affiliation. Of these, 31.74% were Roman Catholic, 3.29% Presbyterian, 2.19% Baptist, 2.19% Methodist, 1.59% Jewish, 1.39% Lutheran, 1.31% Episcopalian, 1.19% Pentecostal, 0.4% Mormon, 3.38% of another Christian denomination, and 0.34% were Muslim. There were 25,258 households, out of which 30.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.7% were married couples living together, 10.3% had

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4712-406: The process to move all of its 17 athletic programs from Division I to Division III. Students and alumni from the University of Hartford attempted to sue the university, claiming that the university "reneged on its commitment" to the student-athletes. The university filed its intent to move to Division III in January 2022 and is expected to become a member of DIII no later than September 1, 2025, unless

4788-657: The project. This public magnet high school, formerly located on the university's Albany Avenue campus, is now located on the east side of the campus. The University High School was established in 2004 as a partnership of the Hartford Public Schools, the University of Hartford, and the Capitol Region Education Council. It is based on the early college initiative mode: University High School students are able to earn college credits while they attend high school. The high school enrolls two hundred students, seventy percent of whom are from Hartford. The other thirty percent come from towns in central Connecticut. Students are selected through

4864-534: The ridge. The town's web site indicates that the highest point in town is 778 feet (237 m) above sea level on Talcott (Avon) Mountain. The altitude at Town Hall is 120 feet (37 m). West Hartford is adjacent to and west of Hartford , the state capital, and borders Bloomfield , Newington , New Britain , Farmington , and Avon . West Hartford is approximately 100 miles (160 km) southwest of Boston and 120 miles (190 km) northeast of New York City . Interstate 84 runs through West Hartford. As of

4940-466: The school district they were in during elementary school. The two high schools hold many events and recognize the tension between the two high schools. As of 2020, both of West Hartford's public high schools, Hall and Conard were ranked in the top 15 in the state and top 5% nationally according to U.S. News . The schools have been neck and neck in competing in educational aspects, but especially in sports. Hall versus Conard sports rivalry has gone on since

5016-418: The student government, the university post office, student organizations including the student newspaper The Informer and the Student Television Network (STN), a cafeteria, a convenience store, and the Gengras food court, featuring Einstein Bros. Bagels, Burger Studio, and Moe's. A major renovation of the Gengras Student Union began in early 2017. Centrally located on campus, the Harry Jack Gray Center houses

5092-437: The student-run Informer has published 24 times every academic year, coming out every Thursday. Circulation is 3,000 and the paper is distributed all over campus. The Student Television Network is a completely student-run station that broadcasts on stn2.tv and their YouTube page. Founded by then-graduate student Chuck King and a group of interested students in 1993, STN became a popular student organization. Though separate from

5168-414: The town's 2023 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report West Hartford has had council–manager government since 1919. It was the first town in the state and one of the first in the country to adopt this form of government, where the council acts as the elected policy board and the town manager serves as the chief executive officer responsible for carrying policies out. In 1921, voters switched to elections by

5244-462: The town's first subdivisions on property known as Stanley Farm, a tract sloping upward from the trolley line that then ran along Farmington Avenue, across from Reservoir No. 1. Called Buena Vista, it was promoted it "Hartford's New and Handsome Suburb." Their literature highlighted "splendid suburban electric car service" and proximity to Reservoir No. 1. Other developments followed including "Elmhurst" in Elmwood (1901), and Sunset Farm (1917). One of

5320-416: The westernmost side of North Main Street. By the time of the American Revolution, the once rugged wilderness had been largely clear and a new agricultural-based community had developed with a population of just over 1,000 residents and 3,000 sheep. At its core was the parish meeting house. The First Congregational Meeting House was built around 1712 . Now in its 5th building, the church stands proudly at what

5396-428: Was 41.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.2 males. In 2018, the median household income was $ 99,280 and the per capita income for the town was $ 54,601. About 3.7% of families and 6.1% of the population were below the poverty line , including 5.3% of those under the age of 18 and 9.6% ages 65 or older. Top employers in West Hartford according to

5472-508: Was Pratt & Whitney (now Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems , which later lent its name to Pratt & Whitney , the aerospace corporation headquartered in East Hartford ). In 1940 it built a plant on 20 acres (81,000 m ) and at the height of World War II it employed over 7,000 people. It would stand until 1991, when Pratt & Whitney Measurement Systems was acquired and operations were relocated to Plainville . In 1792

5548-691: Was harvested in the winter, sawn into blocks, and placed into a series of ice houses through an escalator system. Insulated in sawdust, the blocks of ice were used as refrigeration locally and shipped as far away as New York City. By the late 19th century, the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad ran through part of Elmwood in the southeast corner of town. A variety of companies cropped up in this area including Whitlock Coil Pipe Company in 1891, and later Royal Typewriter , Wiremold, Abbot Ball, Colt's Manufacturing and Uncle Bill's Silver Grippers (producer of tweezers). The largest of West Hartford manufacturers

5624-524: Was one such residence and still stands on New Britain Avenue. Evidence shows that the Hookers owned several slaves. One such slave, Bristow, bought his freedom from Thomas Hart Hooker in April 1775 as Hooker set off to fight in the Revolutionary War. Bristow continued to live with the family after Thomas Hart Hooker was killed in the war. Bristow became an agricultural expert and left his property to

5700-575: Was packed per usual and bleachers were filled to capacity as seen in multiple video recordings. Institutions of higher learning in the town include: The University of Connecticut Greater Hartford Campus was formerly located in West Hartford adjacent to the University of Saint Joseph campus, however it was moved to downtown Hartford in 2017. The 76th Infantry Division was a unit of the United States Army in World War I, World War II and

5776-752: Was the failure of West Hartford leaders to prevent a Jewish grocery from setting up a grocery store in a West Hartford residential area a few years prior. Alongside zoning, neighborhoods in West Hartford used racial covenants that prevented non-whites from owning or occupying buildings (until they were ruled unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 1948). In the 1960s and 1970s, real estate agents engaged in racial steering to keep black people out of West Hartford. These policies have contributed to making West Hartford overwhelmingly white. In recent years, attempts at building multi-family housing in West Hartford have been met with protests from residents. In 1983,

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