Norfolk, Connecticut
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°59′01″N 73°11′47″W / 41.98361, -73.19639
NECTA	None
Region	Litchfield Hills
Incorporated	1758
Government
- Type	Selectman-town meeting
- First selectman	Susan M. Dyer
Area
- Total	120.2 km² (46.4 sq mi)
- Land	117.4 km² (45.3 sq mi)
- Water	2.8 km² (1.1 sq mi)
Elevation	416 m (1,365 ft)
Population (2005)[1]
- Total	1,676
- Density	14/km² (37/sq mi)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	06058
Area code(s)	860
FIPS code	09-53470
GNIS feature ID	0213476
Website: http://www.norfolkct.org/

Norfolk is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,660 at the 2000 census.

Norfolk is perhaps best known as the site of the summer campus of the Yale University School of Music, which hosts an annual chamber music concert series in "the Music Shed," a performance hall located on the Ellen Battell Stoeckel estate to the west of the village green. Norfolk also boasts important examples of regional architecture, notably The Norfolk Library (a Romanesque Revival structure by George Keller, 1888/9) and over thirty buildings, in a wide variety of styles, designed by Alfredo S.G. Taylor (of the New York firm Taylor & Levi) in the four decades before the Second World War.

History

Norfolk was incorporated in 1758, later than most surrounding towns because of the dense woods, rocky soil and high elevation. Originally a farming community, nineteenth-century Norfolk saw the rise of numerous small factories, many of which fabricated tools and farming implements from local iron ore, and mills, which took advantage of fast-flowing mountain streams.

By the late 19th century, however, rail connections to New York, Hartford, Pittsburgh and Boston gave visitors ready access to Norfolk's cool summers and clean air, and Norfolk soon evolved into a fashionable resort as its small industry declined. The town has ever since had a bustling "summer colony." Like several other towns in the Litchfield Hills, Norfolk has, in more recent years, developed a sizable population of "weekenders" from New York City and environs.

Geography

Norfolk in 1897

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 46.4 square miles (120.2 km²), of which, 45.3 square miles (117.4 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (2.37%) is water. The town is located in the Litchfield Hills portion of the Appalachian mountain range. Norfolk's elevation is 1,230 feet above sea level, and the town is sometimes called "the Icebox of Connecticut" for its severe winters and particularly cool summers.

The town is bordered on the west by Canaan, Connecticut and North Canaan, Connecticut; on the north by New Marlborough, Massachusetts and Sandisfield, Massachusetts; on the east by Colebrook, Connecticut and Winchester, Connecticut; and on the south by Goshen, Connecticut.

Principal communities

• Norfolk Center
• North Norfolk
• South Norfolk
• West Norfolk

State parks

Norfolk is home to three state parks: Dennis Hill State Park, which includes the remnants of a lavish summer pavilion designed by Alfredo Taylor; Haystack Mountain State Park, with a stone tower at the mountain's summit; and Campbell Falls State Park, with an approximately 100 foot natural waterfall. Norfolk is also home to the Norfolk Curling Club.

Demographics

As of the census^[2] of 2000, there were 1,660 people, 676 households, and 461 families residing in the town. The population density was 36.6 people per square mile (14.1/km²). There were 871 housing units at an average density of 19.2/sq mi (7.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.11% White, 0.48% African American, 0.24% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.96% of the population.

There were 676 households out of which 28.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.3% were married couples living together, 6.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.7% were non-families. 24.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the town the population was spread out with 23.7% under the age of 18, 4.3% from 18 to 24, 29.2% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $58,906, and the median income for a family was $67,500. Males had a median income of $41,654 versus $36,442 for females. The per capita income for the town was $34,020. About 1.8% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

The main thoroughfares of the town are Route 44 (going east-west, and also known as Greenwoods Road) and Route 272 (going north-south, with 272N also known as North Street and 272S also known as Litchfield Road).

Notable people, past and present

Notable residents have included Professor Mihajlo Pupin, James Laughlin, Brendan Gill and Secretary of the Treasury William Windom. Mark Twain was a sometime summer resident of Norfolk, and a stained glass window at the Church of the Transfiguration (Episcopal) commemorates his wife, Olivia Langdon Clemens. The town of Norfolk owes much to the benefactions, over the course of several generations, of the extended Battell family, which made a large fortune in the early 19th century from cheese, trading and speculation in Western lands. Notable members of this family include Joseph Battell, the merchant who founded the fortune and built the family's imposing seat (known as "Whitehouse"); Robbins Battell, who was largely responsible for positioning Norfolk as a summer resort; Miss Isabella Eldridge, who built and endowed The Norfolk Library; and Ellen Battell Stoeckel, whose charitable trust provides the campus for, and helps underwrite, the Yale Summer School of Music.

References

• A. Havemeyer & R. Dance, Alfredo Taylor in Norfolk (Norfolk: Norfolk Hist. Soc., 2005)
• A. Havemeyer & R. Dance, The Magnificent Battells (Norfolk: Norfolk Hist. Soc., 2006)
• T.W. Crissey, History of Norfolk, Litchfield County, Connecticut (Everett, MA: Massachusetts Pub. Co., 1900)
• A.V. Waldecker [ed.], Norfolk, Connecticut 1900-1975 (Norfolk: Norfolk Bicen. Comm., 1976)

External links

• The Norfolk Library
• Norfolk Historical Society
• Yale Summer Music Festival
• Description of Norfolk Ct circa 1935
• Campbell Falls State Park
• Dennis Hill State Park
• Haystack Mountain State Park
• Town website
• Arden H. Mason landscape painter
• Northwest Connecticut Convention & Visitors Bureau

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