Misplaced Pages

#334665

122-680: The CVRM (and predecessor organization - the Connecticut Valley Railroad Association [CVRA]) was responsible for organizing steam train excursions within Connecticut during the late 1960s and was instrumental in opening the Valley Railroad in Essex, Connecticut in 1971. The volunteers of the non-profit CVRA established a relationship with the for-profit Valley Railroad allowing for a permanent home for

244-481: A town meeting form of government, as many still are today. Towns originally were the only form of incorporated municipality in New England. The city form of government was not introduced until much later. Boston , for instance, was a town for the first two centuries of its existence. The entire land areas of Connecticut and Rhode Island had been divided into towns by the late 18th century, and Massachusetts

366-665: A CDP which is coextensive with the entire town. CDPs are only recognized within towns, not cities. Because the primary role of CDPs is to establish "place" data for communities located in unincorporated areas, a CDP cannot be within an incorporated place. Since the Census Bureau recognizes New England cities as incorporated places, a CDP cannot be within a city. Data users from outside New England should be aware that New Englanders usually think in terms of entire towns (i.e., MCD data), making CDP data of marginal local interest. Since virtually all territory in New England outside of Maine

488-401: A borough or city can span more than one town. In practice, though, most cities in Connecticut today do not function any differently from their counterparts elsewhere in New England. See the section below on boroughs and villages for more background on this topic. There are far fewer cities in New England than there are towns, although cities are more common in heavily built-up areas, and most of

610-484: A borough, a city can cover only a portion of a town rather than being coextensive with the town. This is rare today—only one or two examples remain—but it was more common in the past. At least one borough historically spanned more than one town: the borough of Danielsonville originally laid over parts of Killingly and Brooklyn , until the Brooklyn portion petitioned to be reorganized as a fire district and concurrently

732-547: A central location for most of the active members. Once Conrail sold off its local freight operations to the Housatonic Railroad in 1993, they abandoned the former New Haven freight yard in Danbury, Connecticut . The complex included a turntable and former roundhouse site, active rail connections, and frequent passenger service provided by Metro-North Railroad 's Danbury Branch . The site was turned down as there

854-529: A city, it is coextensive and consolidated with the Town of Hartford; governed by a single governmental entity with the powers and responsibilities of the Town being carried out by the entity referred to as the City of Hartford. In legal theory though not in current practice Connecticut cities and boroughs could be coextensive (covering the same geography as the town) without being consolidated (a single government); also

976-420: A fair number of unincorporated, named communities that lie within the incorporated territory of a municipality. Connecticut is one of two New England states to have any type of incorporated general-purpose municipality below the town level, namely incorporated boroughs (Vermont has incorporated villages). There are nine remaining in the state, with one, Naugatuck , having consolidated with the town. Additionally,

1098-456: A few cases in Maine where a township or gore does not border any other unorganized land, it is treated as its own MCD rather than being folded into a larger UT. In theory, a CDP could probably be defined within an MCD representing an unorganized area. Due to the extremely sparse population in most such areas, however, there are few if any cases in which the Census Bureau has actually done so. For

1220-623: A few derelict foundations. The active rail of the New England Central Railroad ran along the site, but there was no way the museum would be able to secure permission to operate excursions. Instead, the Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum was established there in 1995. In early 1995, the RMNE was offered the opportunity to develop the ex-New Haven line from Waterbury to Torrington, owned by

1342-525: A given highway. In addition, there are two homes on Pratt Street that have Palladian windows in the garret area. Also of note is the 1846 Baptist Church on Prospect Street, one of three Egyptian Revival style churches in the United States. As the construction of wooden sailing ships faded, the growth of the ivory and piano parts industry in the village of Ivoryton changed the focal point of Essex again. The growth of Comstock, Cheney & Co., one of

SECTION 10

#1732791316335

1464-497: A historical example in New Hampshire, see Plantation number four . Most areas of New England never developed municipal forms based on the compact populated place concept. This contrasts with states with civil townships, which typically have extensive networks of villages or boroughs that carve out or overlay the townships. Two of the New England states do have general-purpose municipalities of this type, however, to at least

1586-470: A limited extent. Connecticut has incorporated boroughs , and Vermont has incorporated villages . Such areas remain a part of their parent town, but assume some responsibilities for municipal services within their boundaries. In both states, they are typically regarded as less important than towns, and both seem to be in decline as institutions. In recent decades, many boroughs and villages have disincorporated, reverting to full town control. The term "village"

1708-478: A list of all New England towns and other town-level municipalities, see the following articles: Note: All population statistics are from the 2020 United States census . Connecticut contains 169 incorporated towns. Put into terms that are equivalent to the other New England states, 20 are cities/boroughs and 149 are towns. (As discussed in the Cities section of Other types of municipalities in New England above,

1830-461: A normal-sized town, these areas were known by a variety of names, including gores , grants, locations, purchases, surpluses, and strips. Sometimes these areas were not included in any town due to survey errors (which is the technical meaning of the term "gore"). Sometimes they represent small areas that were left over when a particular region was carved into towns, not large enough to be a town on their own. Some appear to have simply been granted outside

1952-568: A part of a town — within Barnstable, the seven villages correspond to districts for fire, water, sewer and elementary schooling, for instance. (In Maine and New Hampshire, the term "village corporation" is used for a type of special-purpose district.) Many villages also are recognized as places by the United States Postal Service (some villages have their own post offices , with their names used in mailing addresses) or

2074-487: A particular area. This was very common in the mid to late 18th century—although there were towns which predated that period and were not part of this process in southeastern New Hampshire, such as Exeter . Once there were enough residents in a town to formally organize a town government, no further action was necessary to incorporate. This practice can lead to inconsistencies in the dates of incorporation for towns in this region. Dates given in reference sources sometimes reflect

2196-527: A particular municipality. All municipalities titled as cities are classified as incorporated places, even if their population-distribution pattern is no different from that of a typical town; towns are never classified as incorporated places, even if they are thoroughly built up. The ambiguity over whether certain municipalities in Massachusetts should be classified as cities or towns, and the Census Bureau's inconsistent handling of these municipalities (see

2318-770: A raid by British marines. The first Saturday in June there is a Shad Bake sponsored by the Rotary Club of Essex. In 1851 was founded the Essex Savings Bank located on the Main Street (today on the Plains Road), one of the oldest still functioning banks in Connecticut. The Essex Art Association Gallery at 10 North Main St. was founded in 1946 by a group of avant-garde artists. It is open 1–5 PM daily during

2440-692: A resident state trooper and five constables. The town pays the Connecticut State Police for a state trooper to supervise the constables. The First Selectman is considered the Chief of Police. - Essex Fire Engine Co. 1 has two fire houses: the central fire house on the corner of Route 153 and Route 154 and the sub-station in Ivoryton on Summit Street. The Fire Department is the designated PSA holder for first responding to medical emergencies. Elections for these positions are annual and voted by

2562-413: A result, Maine has developed more of an infrastructure for administration of unincorporated and unorganized areas than the other New England states. The existence of this fallback probably explains why Maine has had significantly more towns disincorporated over the years than any other New England state. There have been numerous instances of towns in Maine disincorporating despite populations that numbered in

SECTION 20

#1732791316335

2684-521: A similar purpose to MCDs in other states in terms of governmental function or civic-identity importance. New England towns are classified as MCDs not because they are not "incorporated" but rather the data that the census gathers on places is analyzed based on different models (those of compact settled places and open rural places) that is not well represented by the New England Town system of organization. In order to better fit their own purposes,

2806-412: A single compact populated place. Plantations in Maine are similarly classified as MCDs. That New England towns serve, in essence, the same function as incorporated places in other states, but are not treated as incorporated places by the Census Bureau, can be a source of confusion. The Census classifications should not be understood to imply that New England towns are not incorporated, or necessarily serve

2928-423: A town and a city have become blurred. Since the early 20th century, towns have been allowed to modify the town meeting form of government in various ways (e.g., representative town meeting , adding a town manager ). In recent decades, some towns have adopted what effectively amount to city forms of government, although they still refer to themselves as towns. As a practical matter, one municipality that calls itself

3050-719: A town and another that calls itself a city may have exactly the same governmental structure. With these changes in town government, a reluctance to adopt the title of city seems to have developed, and few towns have officially done so since the early 20th century. In Massachusetts, nine municipalities ( Agawam , Barnstable , Braintree , Franklin , Palmer , Randolph , Southbridge , West Springfield and Weymouth ) have adopted Mayor-Council or Council-Manager forms of government in their home rule charters, and are therefore considered to be legally cities, but nevertheless continue to call themselves "towns". They are sometimes referred to in legislation and other legal documents as "the city known as

3172-426: A town disincorporated or a plantation surrendered its organization). The remaining eight counties contain significant amounts of unincorporated/unorganized territory. Most of these areas are in very sparsely populated regions, however. Only about 1.3% of the state's population lives in areas not part of a town, city, or plantation. (Since the 2000 Census, two towns, Madrid and Centerville, have disincorporated. Thus, at

3294-562: A town meeting as its legislative body; instead, a city's legislative body is an elected representative body, typically called the city council or town council or board of aldermen . City governments are typically administered by a mayor (and/or city manager ). In common speech, people often generically refer to communities of either type as "towns", drawing no distinction between the two. The presence of incorporated boroughs in Connecticut and incorporated villages in Vermont has influenced

3416-460: A unique type of entity called a plantation . Beneath the town level, Connecticut has incorporated boroughs , and Vermont has incorporated villages . In addition to towns, every New England state has incorporated cities. However, cities are treated in the same manner as towns under state law, differing from towns only in their form of government. Most cities are former towns that changed to a city form of government because they grew too large to have

3538-475: A very rudimentary organization that does not rise to the level of an organized general-purpose municipal government (e.g., a town clerk 's office exists for the purpose of conducting elections for state or federal offices). In general, unorganized areas fall into one of the three categories below. During the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, as town boundaries were being drawn up, small areas would sometimes be left over, not included in any town. Typically smaller than

3660-666: Is a regional theater located in Essex's village of Ivoryton. The theater produces 8–12 plays and musicals each year. The Connecticut River Museum , located at the end of Main Street and right on the Connecticut River, is home to numerous river artifacts and is home to the Connecticut River Eagle Festival each year. The Estuary Transit District provides public transportation throughout Essex and

3782-547: Is about 50 degrees. Snow is prevalent in winter, typically starting in December and lasting through March. The average January low temperature is about 19 degrees. In recent years winter have become erratic, with the first snowfall of winter 2006-2007 not reported until mid-late January. However, the winter of 2008-2009 was unusually cold and snowy, with over 50 inches of snow (compared to an average of about 30 inches) and days with temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit in

Railroad Museum of New England - Misplaced Pages Continue

3904-411: Is incorporated, CDPs do not really serve the same purpose as they do elsewhere; CDPs in New England invariably represent territory that is not "unincorporated", but part of a larger incorporated town. The extent to which such an area has its own distinct identity can vary, but is not usually as strong as identification with the town as a whole. There are numerous instances where the Census Bureau recognizes

4026-432: Is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km ) of it (12.35%) is water. The town is made up of three villages: Essex (ZIP code 06426), Centerbrook (06409) and Ivoryton (06442). The local public school, Essex Elementary School , educates around 560 students for grades K–6. Climate There are 4 distinct seasons in Essex. During Autumn, the leaves change colors and the temperatures fall. The average November high temperature

4148-560: Is made up of three villages: Essex Village , Centerbrook , and Ivoryton . Essex is one of the few American towns to have ever been attacked by a foreign power; this occurred on April 8, 1814, and the economic losses were among the largest sustained by the United States during the War of 1812 . 28 vessels, with a total value estimated to be close to $ 200,000 (at a time when a very large two story home in Essex, then known as Potapoug Point, would have been worth no more than $ 1,000), were destroyed by

4270-433: Is no area that is outside the bounds of a municipality. Using usual American terminology, there is no "unincorporated" land in Massachusetts. Of the 351 municipalities, the number that are cities and the number that are towns is a matter of some ambiguity. Depending on which source is consulted, anywhere from 39 to 53 are cities. The ambiguity is the result of questions around the legal status of municipalities that have since

4392-469: Is notable for being one of only three Egyptian revival churches known to have ever been built in the United States. The architect was Minard Lafever . There is also one Catholic Church, Our Lady of Sorrows, on Prospect Street in Essex Village , just a short walk from Essex downtown. After being destroyed by a fire in 1925, the new church was built on the foundations of an abandoned inn. Recently,

4514-510: Is one of the few states in the region that is an exception to this rule; the Massachusetts Constitution requires a town to have a population of at least 10,000 people before it can switch its government from a town meeting form to a city form. Nevertheless, even without a hard and fast population limit for city status, the practical threshold to become a city seems to be higher in the three southern New England states than in

4636-661: Is self-sufficient, funded through billing and donations. The ambulance receives an intercept paramedic for Advanced Life Support when needed through Middlesex Hospital. There are two libraries in Essex: the Essex Library, located next to the Town Hall (corner of Grove St. and West Ave.) and one in the center of Ivoryton, the Ivoryton Library.] A resident can obtain a single card for both libraries. The Essex Library

4758-481: Is sometimes used in New England to describe a distinct, built-up place within a town or city. This may be a town center , which bears the same name as the town or city (almost every town has such a place), or a name related to that of the town, or a completely unrelated name. The town of Barnstable, Massachusetts , for example, includes the villages of Barnstable Village , West Barnstable , Centerville , Marstons Mills , Osterville , Cotuit , and Hyannis . Except for

4880-469: Is sufficiently populated to be covered by a town or a city. In colonial times, Massachusetts also used the term "plantation" for a community in a pre-town stage of development (Maine originally got the term from Massachusetts, as Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820, when it became a state via the Missouri Compromise ). The term "plantation" had not been much used in Massachusetts since

5002-753: Is the Congregational Church. This structure is the second to stand here, and the oldest existing church building in Middlesex County. There were a few homes built in Essex Village (known as Potapoug Point until 1854) during the first half of the 18th century. One of the more notable is the Pratt House on West Avenue, an " organic " structure built according to the immediate needs of the Pratt family. Shipbuilding dominated between

Railroad Museum of New England - Misplaced Pages Continue

5124-710: The British . One historian has called it the " Pearl Harbor " of that war. On that date, approximately 136 British marines and sailors under the command of Richard Coote (or Coot ) rowed 6 boats from four British warships (the Hogue , Endymion , Maidstone and Borer ) anchored in Long Island Sound , 6 miles up the Connecticut River , past the unmanned fort in Old Saybrook , arriving at

5246-546: The Connecticut Department of Transportation (CDOT). RMNE chartered a "new" Naugatuck Railroad Company in June 1995 (150 years to the month after the original Naugatuck Railroad charter in 1845) and worked with CDOT Rail Operations to get the new railroad into operation during the 1996 season. Efforts came to fruition in September 1996 when the current Naugatuck Railroad commenced a tourist scenic train over

5368-582: The Revolution and the Civil War . As a result, the village came to be the focal point of the area. Many homes were erected between 1790 and 1820. By that time, Main Street had much the same make-up as today. The homes were primarily Federal , with one extended family dominating lower Main Street. The first eight structures (including the Griswold Inn ) on the south side of this highway (starting at

5490-508: The United States Census Bureau (which recognizes some villages as census-designated places and tabulates census data for them). Towns with an example of the former, such as Richmond, Rhode Island , do not have a post office themselves, but instead use villages in town or villages in nearby towns as a mailing address. This leads to a weaker town identification in such towns, with residents more strongly identifying with

5612-549: The United States Census Bureau does not classify New England towns as "incorporated places". They are instead classified as " minor civil divisions " (MCDs), the same category into which civil townships fall. The Census Bureau classifies New England towns in this manner because they are conceptually similar to civil townships from a geographic standpoint, typically exhibiting similar population-distribution patterns. Like civil townships, but unlike most incorporated municipalities in other states, New England towns do not usually represent

5734-460: The 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Town boundaries were not usually laid out on any kind of regular grid, but were drawn to reflect local settlement and transportation patterns, often affected by natural features. In early colonial times, recognition of towns was very informal, generally connected to local church divisions. By 1700, colonial governments had become more involved in the official establishment of new towns. Towns were typically governed by

5856-446: The 1840s, and for many years prior to the 1860s Vermont had just one city. Even Massachusetts, historically New England's most populous state, did not have any cities until 1822, when Boston was granted a city form of government by the state legislature. In most of New England, population is not a determining factor for what makes a city or town, and there are many examples of towns with larger populations than nearby cities. Massachusetts

5978-465: The 1855 " Gingerbread House " at the corner of Riverview Street and Maple Avenue, and the Parker House on North Main Street. Perhaps the most culturally significant homes in town were built in Ivoryton during the 1890 to 1920 era. The factory was in desperate need of low-cost labor, and as a result, many immigrants from Italy and Poland came to work for Comstock, Cheney & Co. around the turn of

6100-717: The 18th and 19th centuries as what might be termed "future towns", but never saw enough settlement to actually commence operation of a formal town government. All three of the northern New England states also include at least one unorganized township that was once a town but has disincorporated and reverted to unorganized territory, generally due to population loss. Maine also has some unorganized townships that were once organized as plantations. Maine has significantly more unorganized territory than Vermont or New Hampshire. Fewer than 100 Vermont residents and fewer than 250 New Hampshire residents live in unorganized areas. In Maine, by contrast, about 10,000 residents live in unorganized areas. As

6222-497: The 18th century. Massachusetts also once had "districts", which served much the same purpose. They were considered to be incorporated, but lacked the full privileges of a town. On August 23, 1775, in order for more representation for the Revolutionary War, 36 towns in Massachusetts and 6 in Maine were incorporated, effectively eliminating the district meaning. Maine and Rhode Island are also known to have made limited use of

SECTION 50

#1732791316335

6344-514: The 19.6 miles (31.5 km) of the Naugatuck Railroad's right-of-way that had opened for service in September 1849. The railroad is headquartered at Thomaston station, built in 1881 and last used by passengers in 1958. Disused for many years, it was set on fire by vandals in 1993. Ownership was transferred to RMNE in 1996. With a grant from a local bank, the roof was replaced in 1997. Volunteers have been steadily repairing and restoring

6466-457: The 1970s, through home-rule petition, adopted corporate charters approved by the state legislature with forms of government that resemble city government and do not include elements traditionally associated with town government (especially, a board of selectmen and a town meeting). Of the fourteen communities that have done so, all but three call themselves a "town" in their municipal operations, and are usually referred to by residents as "towns", but

6588-450: The 20th century, however. One late instance was the separation of Sugar Hill, New Hampshire , from the town of Lisbon in 1962. It has not taken place anywhere in New England in the last fifty years; boundary changes of any type are fairly rare. Towns are the basic building block of the New England municipality system, although several other types of municipalities also exist. Every New England state has cities . In addition, Maine also has

6710-493: The 20th century. The firm constructed many factory homesteads for these people. The great majority of these homes remain today, although most have been substantially altered. A journey through Blake, Oak, Walnut, and Chestnut Streets as well as Comstock Avenue is most revealing, as these factory homes give a glimpse into the past. According to the United States Census Bureau , the town has a total area of 11.8 square miles (31 km ), of which, 10.4 square miles (27 km ) of it

6832-478: The CDP. At the same time, not all built-up places with significant populations are recognized as CDPs. The Census Bureau has historically recognized relatively few CDPs within urbanized areas in particular. Many towns located in such areas do not contain any recognized CDPs and will thus be completely absent from Census materials presenting the population of "places". Greenwich, Connecticut, is one prominent example. While

6954-410: The Census Bureau, can be another source of confusion. The Census classifications should not be understood to imply that cities are incorporated but towns are not, or that cities and towns represent two fundamentally different types of entities. The Census classifies New England municipalities strictly based on whether they are towns or cities, with no regard to the actual population-distribution pattern in

7076-452: The Census only counts cities and certain fully urbanized towns as "places" in its categorization. In other towns, those with small built-up central villages, the Census designates one or more census-designated places (CDPs) and considers all other land to be parts of "minor civil divisions". This classification is done only for the Census's own data analysis, and otherwise has no connection to

7198-560: The Griswold Inn ), then seized the town's stores of rope (each ship of that time requiring 8 miles of rope) and, according to the April 19, 1814 Hartford Courant , "$ 100,000 or upwards" worth of rum (acquired from the East Indies in trade for beef and wood from Connecticut). Their main targets, however, were the newly constructed privateers in the harbor, ready or nearly ready for sail, which they burned. Within 6 hours, their mission

7320-527: The Killingly portion was renamed Danielson by the General Assembly. There are no legal restrictions in Connecticut that would prevent a city or borough today from similarly overlaying the territory of more than one town, provided it is not consolidated with one of the underlying towns. Cities actually developed earlier in Connecticut than in the other New England states, and were originally based on

7442-641: The Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth's Office considers all fourteen to be legally cities. Other sources within state government often refer to all fourteen municipalities as towns, however. The U.S. Census Bureau listed all as towns through the 1990 Census. For the 2000 Census, some were listed by the Federal government as towns and some as cities, a situation that continues in Census materials since 2000. Massachusetts appears to be

SECTION 60

#1732791316335

7564-472: The Statistics and Superlatives section below), further blurs matters. To fill in some of the "place" data, the Census Bureau sometimes recognizes census-designated places (CDPs) within New England towns. These often correspond to town centers or other villages, although not all such areas are recognized as CDPs. In cases where a town is entirely or almost entirely built-up, the Census sometimes recognizes

7686-461: The Town of ..." Greenfield, in December 2017, dropped the "town" designation, which some called "embarrassing" and which legislators said made paperwork more difficult. Common parlance labeling a community a "city" or a "town" may have more to do with its current size, whether its current size or its historical size and reputation. In addition to towns and cities, Maine has a third type of town-like municipality not found in any other New England state,

7808-527: The Town of Greenwich appears in MCD materials, the Census Bureau does not recognize Greenwich as a "place". In New Hampshire and Vermont, the Census Bureau treats each individual unorganized entity (township, gore, grant, etc.) as an MCD. In Maine, it seems, due to the extent of unorganized area, the Census Bureau typically lumps contiguous townships, gores, and the like together into larger units called "unorganized territories" (UTs), which are then treated as MCDs. In

7930-611: The U.S., except that it uses the town as its basic unit rather than the county. Even though the Census Bureau does not treat New England towns as "incorporated places", it does classify cities in New England as such. The rationale behind this is that cities are likely to be more thoroughly built-up and therefore more readily comparable to cities in other states than towns are. Boroughs in Connecticut and incorporated villages in Vermont are also treated as incorporated places. That New England states, in general, regard cities and towns on equal footing, yet they are handled in two different ways by

8052-564: The US Census Bureau treats Groton Long Point as a borough, as an act of the state legislature gives it the same powers as a borough, although it has never formally organized as one. They were once more numerous. Many of those that remain are very small. Connecticut also has at least one remaining city ( Groton ) that is within, but not coextensive with, its parent town . A second non-coextensive city, Winsted , still exists on paper, but its government has been consolidated with that of

8174-476: The actual organization or legal status of New England towns. The census bureau does uniquely recognize towns, however, in that it classifies metropolitan areas in New England on the basis of town boundaries rather than county boundaries as it does in other parts of the U.S. Unique to New England is the New England city and town area , which is analogous to Metropolitan Statistical Areas in other parts of

8296-421: The age of 18 living with them, 55.6% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.87. In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.9% under

8418-462: The age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 27.4% from 25 to 44, 27.7% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 43 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.9 males. The median income for a household in the town was $ 66,746, and the median income for a family was $ 88,888. Males had a median income of $ 54,053 versus $ 38,276 for females. The per capita income for

8540-523: The attention of The British, who then investigated Essex and launched the successful raid. Perhaps as a consequence of the practical, but somewhat less than heroic, response of the town to the raid, shortly afterwards, the name of the town was changed to Essex. On the second Saturday of each May since 1964, the "Sailing Masters of 1812" of Essex commemorate the "Burning of the Ships" with an ancient fife and drum corps parade down Main Street and ceremony at

8662-425: The boat launch at the foot of Main Street in Essex close to 4 A.M. The boats were armed with swivel guns loaded with grapeshot , the officers armed with swords and pistols, the marines with " Brown Bess " muskets, and the sailors with torches and axes; they responded to the single cannon fired by the town's surprised defenders with a massive volley, neither side incurring any casualties. They quickly commandeered

8784-505: The borough concept. At one time, all cities were non-coextensive; the practice of making cities coextensive with their towns was a later adaptation intended to mimic the city concept that had emerged in the other New England states. Over time, many non-coextensive cities have expanded to become coextensive with their parent town. As with boroughs, many have also disincorporated and reverted to full town control. These two trends have combined to make non-coextensive cities very rare in recent times;

8906-653: The boundary with New York State , housing the Stratford Shoal Light , is not part of any town and is administered directly by the United States Coast Guard . In general, inhabited minor off-shore islands are administered as part of a nearby town and in some cases, are their own independent towns, such as the town of Gosnold , Massachusetts, which encompasses the Elizabeth Islands . Unlike municipalities in most other states,

9028-787: The building to its mid-century appearance. Tourist excursions are run several days a week between May and December from the historic Thomaston Station. The 75-minute trip runs between Thomaston Dam and Waterville, covering about 18 miles (29 km) total. Occasional excursions run between Thomaston and Torrington . Special event trains are run during fall and winter months. RMNE has an extensive collection of locomotives and rolling stock of New England heritage, with over 60 pieces of full-sized railroad equipment. The New Haven , Boston & Maine , Maine Central , Rutland , and Bangor & Aroostook railroads are represented. Numerous smaller items, from signals to railroad corporate records, are also part of RMNE's artifact holdings. Volunteers operate

9150-415: The built-up area around a town center as a CDP, resulting in a CDP that bears the same name as the town. In these cases, data for the CDP is, in general, meaningless to local residents, who seldom draw any particular distinction between the built-up area around the town center and outlying areas of the town. A local source citing data for such a community will almost always use the data for the entire town, not

9272-422: The celebration of "the town's worst day in history" in future years, according to the museum's executive director, Jerry Roberts. Centerbrook, a fertile and productive agricultural area, was the "center" of town until the Revolutionary War. Many farmhouses remain from this era. The Selah Griswold House and Clark Nott House on Bokum Road are fine examples of two-story center chimney homes that were characteristic of

9394-399: The date when the town was chartered, which may have been long before it was settled, and not the date when its town government became active. In other parts of New England, some "future towns" were laid out along these lines, but such areas would not be formally incorporated as towns until they were sufficiently settled to organize a town government. A typical town in the northern three states

9516-674: The department at an annual meeting. The department is limited by its charter with the town to 60 Members. The Fire Department responds to about 1000 calls each year, mostly medical first response calls, and fire alarms. - Essex Ambulance Association, Inc. is an independent association, receiving town funding for workers' compensation insurance only. The association was founded in 1964, and is composed of 32 volunteers with MRT and EMT certification levels. The association operates three ambulances which respond to over 900 calls for service each year, and provides mutual aide to all surrounding towns. Elections for officers are held annually. The association

9638-434: The district concept. Districts have not been at all common since the first half of the 19th century, and there have not been any districts anywhere in New England in over a century. Maine is the only New England state that currently has a significant amount of territory that is not sufficiently populated to support town governments; thus, it is the only New England state that still needs the plantation type of municipality. For

9760-529: The entire area of a state, similar to civil townships in other states where they exist, but they are fully functioning municipal corporations , possessing powers similar to cities and counties in other states. New Jersey's system of equally powerful townships, boroughs, towns, and cities is the system which is most similar to that of New England. New England towns are often governed by a town meeting , an assembly of eligible town residents. The great majority of municipal corporations in New England are based on

9882-400: The evolution of cities in those states. In Connecticut in particular, the historical development of cities was quite different from in the other New England states, and at least technically, the relationship between towns and cities is today different from elsewhere in New England. Just as boroughs in Connecticut overlay towns, so do cities; for example, while Hartford is commonly thought of as

10004-490: The exception rather than the rule in the New England system, and the number of New England residents who live in them is extremely small in comparison to those who live in towns and cities, even in Maine. Most such areas are located in very sparsely populated regions. Much of the barely inhabited interior of Maine is unorganized, for example. The majority of the unincorporated areas in New Hampshire are in Coos County , and

10126-738: The hundreds. While these were not large communities, they were large enough to realistically operate a town government if they wanted to, but simply elected not to. In Vermont and New Hampshire, disincorporation has, in general, not been brought up for discussion unless a town's population has approached single digits. In general, coastal waters in the New England states are administered directly by either state or federal agencies and are not part of any town. Several towns, however, have chosen to include all or part of their corresponding coastal waters in their territory. Coastal waters include human-made structures built within them. In Connecticut, for example, an artificial, uninhabited island in Long Island Sound at

10248-490: The incorporated villages in Vermont, these "villages" are not incorporated municipalities and should not be understood as such. Towns do sometimes grant a certain measure of recognition to such areas, using highway signs that identify them as "villages", for example. These informal "villages" also sometimes correspond to underlying special-purpose districts such as fire or water districts, which are separately incorporated quasi-municipal entities that provide specific services within

10370-464: The largest municipalities in the region are titled as cities. Across New England as a whole, only about 5% of all incorporated municipalities are cities. Cities are more common in the three southern New England states, which are much more densely populated, than they are in the three northern New England states. In early colonial times, all incorporated municipalities in New England were towns; there were no cities. Springfield, Massachusetts , for instance,

10492-618: The majority of the unincorporated areas in Vermont are in Essex County . Two additional counties in New Hampshire and three additional counties in Vermont contain smaller amounts of unincorporated territory. In Maine, eight of the state's sixteen counties contain significant amounts of unorganized territory (in essence, those counties in the northern and interior parts of the state). Four other counties contain smaller amounts. Most of these areas have no local government at all; indeed, some have no permanent population whatsoever. Some areas have

10614-504: The morning. Spring is pleasant with temperatures averaging in the 60s. Summertime in Essex is warm and humid, with average July temperatures into the 80s. As of the census of 2000, there were 6,505 people, 2,811 households, and 1,776 families residing in the town. The population density was 627.6 inhabitants per square mile (242.3/km ). There were 2,977 housing units at an average density of 287.2 per square mile (110.9/km ). There were 2,811 households, out of which 27.2% had children under

10736-443: The only New England state where this issue has arisen, though other New England states also have municipalities that have adopted what amounts to city forms of government but continue to call themselves "towns". In the other New England states, it does not appear that any need to officially label such municipalities as "cities" has been identified. For purposes of determining the "largest town" and "smallest city", in this article, only

10858-530: The only one currently incorporated is the city of Groton , located in the southwestern part of the town of Groton, Connecticut . In Vermont, if a village becomes a city, it does not continue to overlay its parent town, but breaks away and becomes a completely separate municipality. Most cities in Vermont today are actually former villages rather than former towns, and are much smaller than a typical town in terms of land area. The above process has created several instances where there are adjacent towns and cities with

10980-493: The organization's growing collection. In exchange, volunteers contributed to the upkeep and operation of the Valley Railroad's trains. Through the 1980s, more pieces were added to the collection, restored, and occasionally operated on the Valley Railroad. By the end of the decade, it was clear CVRA would need to find its own home if they were to continue their mission of preservation and grow their collection. The volunteers wanted to remain in Connecticut if possible, as it provided

11102-411: The original existing towns. This was an especially common practice during the 18th and early 19th centuries. More heavily populated areas were often subdivided on multiple occasions. As a result, towns and cities in urbanized areas are often smaller in terms of land area than an average town in a rural area. Formation of new towns in this manner slowed in the later part of the 19th century and early part of

11224-1023: The parish joined with the Chester, CT parish church, St. Joseph's Archived February 1, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . The current pastor of the Our Lady of Sorrows is Father Arul Rajan Peter, and has been with the parish since 2012. Essex, like the other two towns in the "tri-town area" ( Deep River and Chester ), is a member of Regional School District #4. Essex Elementary School is located in Centerbrook and serves students in grades Pre-K–6 and serves about 350 students. John Winthrop Junior High School, located in Deep River, serves grades 7 and 8, and Valley Regional High School, located on Kelsey Hill Rd. in Deep River , serving grades 9–12, are

11346-582: The passengers up to the Haddam area. The Essex Clipper Dinner Train goes from Essex all the way up to Haddam. A few times a year Thomas the Tank Engine comes to town and it’s a large attraction for the children. During the holiday season, the Essex Steam Train has a North Pole Express where you can celebrate the spirit of the season with elves and Mr. and Mrs. Claus. The Ivoryton Playhouse

11468-524: The plantation. A plantation is, in essence, a town-like community that does not have enough population to require full town government or services. Plantations are organized at the county level and typically found in sparsely populated areas. There is no bright-line population divider between a town and a plantation, but no plantation currently has any more than about 300 residents. Plantations are considered to be "organized" but not "incorporated." Not all counties have them; in some southern counties, all territory

11590-421: The relationship between towns and cities in Connecticut is different from the other New England states, at least on paper; thus, in the technical sense, all 169 of the above municipalities are really towns, with 20 overlaid by a coextensive city or borough of the same name.) Together, these 169 municipalities cover the entire state. There is no unincorporated territory, but, as in all New England states, there are

11712-439: The remaining 32 are organized as plantations. These 485 organized municipalities together cover much of, but not all of, the state's territory. Of Maine's sixteen counties, only four are entirely incorporated. Four other counties are almost entirely incorporated, but include small amounts of unincorporated/unorganized territory (three of these four counties were entirely incorporated or organized at one time, but lost that status when

11834-543: The rest of the men escaped safely when the tide turned. At the time of the raid, Essex (then known as Potopaug) had been a major center of shipping and shipbuilding, but was suffering under a blockade by The British; as a result, the privateers were being constructed. Captain Richard Hayden, a prominent shipbuilder, had advertised his Black Prince in a New York City newspaper as "a 315 ton sharp schooner that would make an ideal privateer." This may have caught

11956-536: The river) was the initial hip-roof house in the lower valley, and the current Episcopal Church Rectory (the Richard Hayden Dwelling) was the first brick house in the lower valley. Pratt Street runs parallel to Main Street, and many houses on that thoroughfare not only were built in the Federal style , but have their roof lines perpendicular to the street, which allows for more homes to be erected on

12078-506: The same name. In all cases, the city was originally the "town center" of the town, but later incorporated as a city and became a separate municipality. All three of the northern New England states ( Vermont , New Hampshire , and Maine ) contain some areas that are unincorporated and unorganized, not part of any town, city or plantation. Maine has significantly more such area than the other two states. While these areas do exist, their importance should not be overstated. They are certainly

12200-411: The secondary schools for Regional School District #4. The town of Essex sponsors an annual Groundhog Day parade. A large papier mache groundhog named "Essex Ed" is carried through town with revelers making noise in order to rouse him from his slumber and bring an end to winter. The town also sponsors a "Loser's Day Parade," which celebrates the 1814 event of having 29 ships burned in Essex harbor during

12322-452: The states' judicial systems and some other state services in the southern New England states while providing varying (but generally limited) services in the more sparsely populated three northern New England states. Towns date back to the time of the earliest English colonial settlement , which predominated in New England, and they pre-date the development of counties in the region. Areas were organized as towns as they were settled, throughout

12444-484: The steamboat dock, wearing the United States naval uniform of that period; by tradition, this event is unpublicized. The Connecticut River Museum , situated at the site where Coot landed, now hosts an exhibit portraying the raid, featuring a large diorama by Russell Joseph Buckingham , a musket ball believed to have been fired then and a plank from the ship Osage , burned by The British. Plans are to expand

12566-483: The summer months. It is housed in a historic schoolhouse. Artists are invited to take part in the six shows held each season. The Essex Steam Train is one of the most famous and popular Essex attractions. The main station is located in Centerbrook, with other stations in Deep River, Chester, and Haddam. The regular train ride goes from Essex to Deep River and then the Becky Thatcher Riverboat takes

12688-507: The surrounding towns through its 9 Town Transit Service. Services include connections to the Old Saybrook Train Station , served by Amtrak and Shore Line East railroads. New England town The town is the basic unit of local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England towns overlie

12810-457: The three northern New England states. In Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island, almost every city has at least 10,000 people, and all but a few have at least 20,000. In Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, however, there are a number of cities with fewer than 10,000 people, and there are five (three in Maine and two in Vermont) with fewer than 5,000. Over time, some of the distinctions between

12932-399: The time of the 2000 Census, Maine had 22 cities, 434 towns, and 34 plantations, for a total of 490 organized municipalities. Also since the 2010 Census, Sanford adopted a new charter that included designation as a city.) Massachusetts contains 351 municipal corporations, consisting of cities and towns. These 351 municipalities together encompass the entire territory of Massachusetts; there

13054-679: The time. The Benjamin Bushnell Homestead on Ingham Hill Road falls into the same category. Also characteristic of Centerbrook were smaller Cape Cod type homes . The Snow House on Main Street, the Nott House on Westbrook Road, the Taylor Bushnell House on Ingham Hill Road, and the Silent Rose House near the train station are fine examples. The dominant building in Centerbrook, from a historical standpoint,

13176-557: The town model; there, statutory forms based on the concept of a compact populated place are uncommon, though elsewhere in the U.S. they are prevalent. County government in New England states is typically weak, and in some states nonexistent. Connecticut , for example, has no county governments , nor does Rhode Island . Both of those states retain counties only as geographic subdivisions with no governmental authority, while Massachusetts has abolished eight of fourteen county governments so far. Counties serve mostly as dividing lines for

13298-444: The town of Winchester for many years, making it more of a special-purpose district than a true municipality. Winsted is no longer recognized by the Census Bureau as an incorporated place, although data is tabulated for a Census Designated Place that is coextensive with that of the original city. As of the 2020 census, Maine contains 485 organized municipalities, of which 23 are incorporated as cities, 430 are incorporated as towns, and

13420-415: The town was $ 42,806. About 0.5% of families and 2.8% of the population were below the poverty line , including 1.0% of those under age 18 and 3.5% of those age 65 or over. The largest self-reported ancestry groups in Essex, Connecticut are: The Essex Town Hall is located on the corner of West Avenue and Grove Street in Essex. - Essex Police Department is attached to the rear of the town hall. Essex has

13542-531: The town, eliciting a promise of no resistance from the Essex militia in return for promising not to harm the townspeople or burn their homes, while a messenger rode to Fort Trumbull in New London for help. A dubious local myth states that Coote did not burn the town as a favor to a local merchant who greeted him with a secret Masonic handshake . The British marched to the Bushnell Tavern (now

13664-586: The trains and maintain the locomotives and other rolling stock . 41°40′26″N 73°04′06″W  /  41.6738°N 73.0684°W  / 41.6738; -73.0684 Essex, Connecticut Essex is a town in Middlesex County , Connecticut , United States . The town is part of the Lower Connecticut River Valley Planning Region . The population was 6,733 at the 2020 census . It

13786-607: The two largest producers of ivory products in the United States, made Ivoryton literally the center of Essex (and the lower Connecticut River Valley ). The houses built here after the Civil war reflect the influence and affluence of that village. East Main Street, entering Ivoryton from Centerbrook is " Victorian Row." All the houses along this way were owned by executives or stockholders of Comstock, Cheney & Co. Contrast this with Essex Village, where there are relatively few Gothic or Victorian style dwellings , two examples of which are

13908-621: The usual town structure, sometimes in areas where it was probably not contemplated that towns would ever develop. Over time, those located in more populated areas were, in general, annexed to neighboring towns or incorporated as towns in their own right. No such areas exist today in Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island, but some remain in New Hampshire, Vermont and Maine. All three of the northern New England states contain some town-sized unorganized entities, referred to as "unorganized townships" (sometimes, just "townships") or "unorganized towns". Most of these are areas that were drawn up on maps in

14030-451: The village they live in. However, villages or CDPs have no existence as general-purpose municipalities separate from the town (if they even have any legal existence at all), and are usually regarded by local residents as a part of the town in which they are located, less important than the whole. It is possible for a Connecticut borough or Vermont village to become a city. In Connecticut, cities overlay towns just as boroughs do, and, just like

14152-492: The waterfront) were either built or lived in by members of the Hayden family. Of these eight structures, only the one on the west side of Novelty Lane and the one on the east corner of Parker Lane were not built by this family. The fact that the well known Hayden Shipyard was directly south of these buildings was the primary reason for this situation. All these homes are different architecturally. The Ebenezer Hayden House (third from

14274-491: Was accomplished, and The British went downstream with two captured ships in tow, including the Black Prince , a vessel that may well have primarily inspired the raid. Stranded in the river by low tide , they were forced to wait at the extreme range of the shots of the volunteers from the nearby town of Killingworth, Connecticut who lined the riverbanks; 2 marines were killed and the captured ships had to be destroyed, but

14396-552: Was almost completely covered early in the 19th century. By 1850, the only New England state that still had large unincorporated areas was Maine ; by the end of the 19th century, most areas in Maine that could realistically be settled had been organized into towns. Early town organization in Vermont and much of New Hampshire proceeded in a somewhat different manner from that of the other New England states. In these areas, towns were often "chartered" long before any settlers moved into

14518-495: Was laid out in a 6-by-6-mile (9.7 by 9.7 km) square. Each contained 36 sections, 1 mile (1.6 km) squares or 640 acres (260 ha). One section was reserved for the support of public schools. This was copied when the Continental Congress laid out Ohio in 1785–87. Many early towns covered very large amounts of land. Once areas had become settled, new towns were sometimes formed by breaking areas away from

14640-563: Was no guarantee the museum would be able to operate regular excursions, which they saw as critical to their survival. Instead, the Danbury Railway Museum was established there in 1994. Another location considered was the site of the former New Haven Columbia Junction roundhouse and freight yard in Willimantic, Connecticut . While the site offered plenty of room, almost nothing of the original facility remained other than

14762-508: Was recently rebuilt and is a center of the community, providing nearly 400 free programs a year for children and adults. It is an association library with 501(c)(3) non-profit status. The one Lutheran Church sits on Main Street in Centerbrook . There is a building which once housed a Methodist church on the corner of Prospect Street and Main Street, but it is no longer in use. The First Baptist Church of Essex, Connecticut , built in 1846,

14884-442: Was settled as a "plantation" (in colonial Massachusetts, the term was synonymous with town) as early as 1636, but the city of Springfield was not established until 1852. The oldest cities in New England date to the last few decades of the 18th century, (e.g. New Haven, Connecticut , was chartered as a city in 1784). In New England, cities were not widespread until well into the 19th century. New Hampshire did not have any cities until

#334665