Easton, Connecticut
—  Town  —
Seal
Location in Fairfield County, Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°15′57″N 73°18′03″W / 41.26583°N 73.30083°W / 41.26583; -73.30083Coordinates: 41°15′57″N 73°18′03″W / 41.26583°N 73.30083°W / 41.26583; -73.30083
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
NECTA	Bridgeport-Stamford
Region	Greater Bridgeport
Incorporated	1845
Government
• Type	Selectman-town meeting
• First selectman	Thomas A. Herrmann
Area
• Total	28.6 sq mi (74.1 km2)
• Land	27.4 sq mi (71.0 km2)
• Water	1.2 sq mi (3.1 km2)
Elevation	301 ft (92 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	7,490
• Density	Bad rounding here260/sq mi (Bad rounding here100/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	06612
Area code(s)	203
FIPS code	09-23890
GNIS feature ID	0213427
Website	www.eastonct.gov

Town hall

Easton Volunteer Emergency Medical Service

Easton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,490 at the 2010 census.^[1] Easton contains the historic district of Aspetuck.

The town is situated amongst Redding, Monroe, Trumbull, Fairfield, Weston, and Newtown.

Geography [edit]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.6 square miles (74 km²), of which 27.4 square miles (71 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²), or 4.23%, is water. The city has three named sections/neighborghoods: Easton center, Aspetuck, and Plattsville.

History [edit]

Easton was first settled in 1757 by men from Fairfield. In 1762 a congregation called the North Fairfield Society was established, and it gradually evolved into Easton. In 1787 Weston, then including lands now defined as Easton, was incorporated from Fairfield. The area was slow to develop because of the rough hills along the Aspetuck River, and so it was not until 1845 that Easton was incorporated from Weston. Today, half of the town's property is owned by the Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut, the major supplier of water in the area.

On June 1, 1968, the deaf and blind activist Helen Keller died at the age of 87 in her Easton home, where she chose to spend her final days. Her house is still intact today and has been owned by several families since her death.

The 2009 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was a 76-foot (23 m) Norway Spruce donated from a private residence in Easton.

On the National Register of Historic Places [edit]

• Aspetuck Historic District — Roughly, Redding Rd. from jct. with Old Redding Rd. to Wells Hill Rd. and Old Redding Rd. N past Aspetuck R. (added September 23, 1991)
• Bradley-Hubbell House — 535 Black Rock Turnpike (added April 18, 2003)
• Ida Tarbell House — 320 Valley Rd. (added May 19, 1993)

Working farms [edit]

Maple Row Tree Farm is located at 539 North Park Avenue. It was started in the mid 1950s. During the 1700s it was a dairy farm owned and run by the Edwards family. The farm is over 200 acres (81 ha) in size, and the Edwards family continues to own and operate the farm. During the Christmas season, visitors can choose and cut their own tree, or they can buy a pre-cut tree. Pre-cut trees are up to 12 feet (3.7 m) tall, while trees to select and cut may be up to 9 feet (2.7 m) tall. Maple Row Tree Farm grows eight different types of trees, including Balsam Fir, Canaan Fir, Colorado Blue Spruce, Concolor Fir, Douglas-fir, Eastern White Pine, Fraser Fir, Norway Spruce and White Spruce.^[2]

Silverman’s Farm is located at 451 Sport Hill Road. The farm was started in the 1920s by Ben Silverman. During the 1970s and 1980s Silverman’s became a pick your own fruit farm. In 2004 the apple cider mill was closed due to changes in the pressing standards. Today apple cider is sold at Silverman’s Farm Market, but it is not made on the premises. Silverman’s has a petting farm which includes buffalo, llamas, sheep, pigs, goats, fallow deer, donkeys, emu, and other animals. The farm also has tractor rides, an orchard, a farm market and a florist.^[3]

Emergency services [edit]

Emergency medical services [edit]

Easton Volunteer EMS is located at 448 Sport Hill Road and offers the EMT-B certification course.^[4] The agency was established in 1946 and currently has two ambulances and a staff of two officers, two career techs and twenty nine volunteers.^[5]

Fire department [edit]

This section does not cite any references or sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (December 2011)

The town of Easton is protected 24/7 365 by the eight paid firefighters of the Easton Fire Department (EFD) and the volunteer firefighters of the Easton Volunteer Fire Company # 1. Founded in 1921, EFD operates out of one fire station, located at 1 Center Road in the center of town, and runs an apparatus fleet of three engines, one attack engine, one haz-mat unit, one brush unit, and one command vehicle. The Easton Fire Department responds to approximately 100 emergency calls annually.

Police department [edit]

The Easton Police Department (EPD) is located at 700 Morehouse Road. The department includes a K9 unit, D.A.R.E and an animal control unit.^[6] The Easton Police Explorer Post 2001 is an affiliated with the department.^[7] Easton Police are also first responders for all EMS calls in town. They are all certified MRT’s and can provide oxygen, perform basic first aid, and defibrillation.^[8]

Demographics [edit]

As of the census^[9] of 2000, there were 7,272 people, 2,465 households, and 2,077 families residing in the town. The population density was 265.2 people per square mile (102.4/km²). There were 2,511 housing units at an average density of 91.6 per square mile (35.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.74% White, 0.22% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.02% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.76% of the population.

Of the 2,465 households, 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.8% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.7% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.23.

In the town the population was spread out with 28.6% under the age of 18, 3.6% from 18 to 24, 27.2% from 25 to 44, 27.3% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $125,557, and the median income for a family was $135,055. Males had a median income of $85,777 versus $51,528 for females. The per capita income for the town was $53,885. About 1.9% of families and 2.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.0% of those under age 18 and 1.0% of those age 65 or over.

Bridge problems [edit]

The Route 59 bridge in Easton, which carries more than 10,000 cars and trucks every day over the Mill River, has a substructure rated in critical condition by state safety inspectors. As of early August 2007, the bridge was one of 12 in the southwestern part of the state (including New Haven) with safety inspection ratings so low they are considered to be in critical condition. The ratings for these bridges were worse than the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed during rush hour on August 1, 2007.^[11]

Notable residents, past and present [edit]

• Anne Baxter, a weekend resident.^[12]
• Phoebe Brand, blacklisted actress, married to Morris Carnovsky, Group Theatre (New York).
• Elise Broach, children's book author, is a current resident.
• Morris Carnovsky, blacklisted actor, Group Theatre (New York).
• Hume Cronyn, actor and husband of Jessica Tandy^[12]
• Edna Ferber, playwright and novelist, was a weekend resident.^[12]
• Eileen Fulton was a resident.^[12]
• Helen Keller, blind, deaf author, lived in town. The town middle school is named for her.^[12]
• Dan Rather, former CBS News anchor, has been a weekend resident.^[12]
• Igor Sikorsky (1889–1972), aviation pioneer and helicopter inventor.^[13][14]
• Jessica Tandy, actress (wife of Hume Cronyn)^[12]
• Ida M. Tarbell,'Muckraker', about whom Weinberg encapsulates: "How ...[she] brought down the world's greatest tycoon [John D. Rockefeller] and broke up the Standard Oil monopoly."^[12]
• Johnny Winter, blues guitarist, is a current resident.^[12]

"Michael Mikey Friedman, founder of Mikey's Way Foundation. Supporting children with cancer and other life threatening illnesses ^[12]

School systems [edit]

Easton has three schools, Samuel Staples Elementary school, for children in grades from kindergarten to 5th grade, Helen Keller Middle School, for children in grades 6 through 8, and the private school, Easton Country Day (formerly Phoenix Academy). High school students attend Joel Barlow High School in Redding.

Notes [edit]

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Easton, Connecticut

Connecticut portal

• Town of Easton official website
• "Living in: Easton, Conn.: A Town of Homes and Country Roads," by Eleanor Charles, an article in the Real Estate section of The New York Times, July 8, 2001

v t e Municipalities and communities of Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States Cities Bridgeport Danbury Norwalk Shelton Stamford Towns Bethel Brookfield Darien Easton Fairfield Greenwich Monroe New Canaan New Fairfield Newtown Redding Ridgefield Sherman Stratford Trumbull Weston Westport Wilton Borough Newtown Other communities Aspetuck Botsford Black Rock Branchville Byram Cannondale Compo Cos Cob Cranbury East Norwalk Georgetown Glenbrook Glenville Greenfield Hill Greens Farms Hattertown Hawleyville Huntington Center Long Hill Long Ridge Lordship Mianus Nichols Old Greenwich Riverside Round Hill Rowayton Sandy Hook Silvermine South Norwalk Southport Stepney Springdale

v t e  State of Connecticut Hartford (capital) Topics Index Constitution Delegations Elections Geography Government History Images People Visitor Attractions Society Culture Demographics Economy Education Party strength Regions Connecticut panhandle Coastal Connecticut Gold Coast Greater Bridgeport Greater Danbury Greater Hartford Greater New Haven Litchfield Hills Lower Connecticut River Valley Central Naugatuck Valley Naugatuck River Valley Quiet Corner Southeastern Connecticut Counties Fairfield Hartford Litchfield Middlesex New Haven New London Tolland Windham Cities Ansonia Bridgeport Bristol Danbury Derby Groton Hartford Manchester Meriden Middletown Milford New Britain New Haven New London Norwalk Norwich Shelton Stamford Torrington Waterbury West Haven Places Towns Boroughs Villages Historic Places Geography

v t e New York metropolitan area Counties Bergen Bronx Dutchess Essex Fairfield Hudson Hunterdon Kings Litchfield Mercer Middlesex Monmouth Morris Nassau New Haven New York Ocean Orange Passaic Pike Putnam Queens Richmond Rockland Somerset Suffolk Sussex Ulster Union Westchester Major city New York City Cities and towns 100k–999k Bridgeport Elizabeth Huntington Jersey City New Haven Newark Paterson Stamford Waterbury Yonkers Cities and towns 25k–99k Bayonne Bergenfield Branford Cheshire Clifton Danbury East Haven East Orange Edison Englewood Fairfield Fair Lawn Fort Lee Freehold Township Garfield Greenwich Hackensack Hamden Hoboken Howell Kearny Long Beach Long Branch Mahwah Manalapan Marlboro Meriden Middletown, NJ Middletown, NY Milford Mount Vernon Naugatuck New Brunswick New Milford New Rochelle Newburgh Newtown Norwalk Old Bridge Paramus Passaic Perth Amboy Plainfield Poughkeepsie Rahway Shelton Stratford Teaneck Torrington Trenton Trumbull Union City Wallingford West Haven Westfield Westport White Plains Woodbridge Cities and towns 10k–25k Ansonia Asbury Park Beacon Bethel Brookfield Darien Derby Dover Dumont Edgewater Elmwood Park Fairview Franklin Lakes Freehold Borough Glen Rock Guildford Guttenberg Harrison, NJ Harrison, NY Hasbrouck Heights Hazlet Hillsdale Holmdel Kingston Linden Little Ferry Lodi Lyndhurst Madison Monroe Morristown New Canaan New Fairfield New Milford North Arlington North Branford North Haven Oakland Orange Palisades Park Plymouth Peekskill Ramsey Red Bank Ridgefield, CT Ridgefield, NJ Ridgefield Park Ridgewood Rutherford Rye Saddle Brook Scarsdale Secaucus Seymour Southbury Summit Tenafly Wallington Watertown West Milford West New York Weston Westwood Wilton Winchester Wolcott Wyckoff Sub-regions Central Jersey Greater Danbury Greater New Haven Greater Waterbury Hudson Valley Litchfield Hills Long Island North Jersey Southwestern Connecticut