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Information about New Canaan

New Canaan, Connecticut
Enlarge picture
Location in Connecticut
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates:
NECTA Bridgeport-Stamford
Region South Western Region
Incorporated 1801
Government
 - Type Selectman-town council
 - First Selectman Judy Neville
Area
 - Town 58.3 km  (22.5 sq mi)
 - Land 57.3 km (22.1 sq mi)
 - Water 0.9 km (0.4 sq mi)
Elevation 105 m (344 ft)
Population (2005)[1]
 - Town 19,984
 - Density 349/km (904/sq mi)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06840
Area code(s) 203
FIPS code 09-50580
GNIS feature ID 0213468
Website: [1]
New Canaan is a wealthy town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, 8 miles (13 km) northeast of Stamford, on the Five Mile River. In 1900, 2,968 people lived in New Canaan, and in 1910, 3,667. The population was 19,395 at the 2000 census.

The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States.

New Canaan has two Metro-North railroad stations: the New Canaan station and the Talmadge Hill station, both on the New Canaan Branch of the New Haven Line. Travel time to Grand Central Terminal is approximately one hour. The Hickock Road bridge in town has been 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 deemed to be in critical condition. The ratings for these bridges were worse than the Interstate 35W bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed during rush hour on August 1, 2007.[2]

Geography

Enlarge picture
East view of the central part of New Canaan (1836) by John Warner Barber
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 58.2 km² (22.5 mi²). 57.3 km² (22.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.9 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (1.56%) is water. The town is served by the Merritt Parkway, and by a spur line of the Metro North railroad. The downtown area consists of many restaurants, an old movie theater, and antique shops. There are also several churches in town, as well as the historic Roger Sherman Inn.

The town is bounded on the north by Lewisboro in Westchester County, New York, on the east by Wilton, on the southeast by Norwalk, on the south by Darien and on the southwest and west by Stamford.

The Silvermine neighborhood (which also extends into Norwalk and Wilton) is in the southeast part of town.

History

Enlarge picture
New Canaan train station
In 1731, Connecticut's colonial legislature established Canaan Parish as a religious entity in northwestern Norwalk and northeastern Stamford. The right to form a Congregational church was granted to the few families scattered through the area. As inhabitants of Norwalk or Stamford, Canaan Parish settlers still had to vote, pay taxes, serve on juries, and file deeds in their home towns. Because Canaan Parish was not planned as a town, New Canaan, when incorporated in 1801, found itself without a central common, a main street or a town hall.[3]

Until the Revolutionary War, New Canaan was primarily an agricultural community. After the war, New Canaan's major industry was shoe making. As New Canaan's shoe business gathered momentum early in the nineteenth century, instead of a central village, regional settlements of clustered houses, mill, and school developed into distinct district centers. Some of the districts were centered on Ponus Ridge, West Road, Oenoke Ridge, Smith Ridge, Talmadge Hill and Silvermine, a pattern which the village gradually outgrew.[3]

With the 1868 advent of the railroad to New Canaan, many of New York City's wealthy residents discovered the quiet, peaceful area and built magnificent summer homes. Eventually, many of the summer visitors settled year-round, commuting to their jobs in New York City and creating the residential community that exists today.[3]

Lewis Lapham, a founder of Texaco and father of long-time Harpers Magazine editor Lewis H. Lapham, spent summers with his family at the estate that is now part of the 300-acre Waveny Park. Next to Talmadge Hill and the Merrit Parkway.

On July 31, 1967, George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood and 39th in line to the British throne, married Patricia Tuckwell, an Australian violinist, in New Canaan.

On September 11, 2001, two New Canaanites were murdered in the terrorist attacks that day: Joseph J. Coppo Jr., 47, and Eamon J. McEneaney, 46, at the World Trade Center.[4]

The "Harvard Five" and modern homes

New Canaan was an important center of the modern design movement from the late 1940s through roughly the 1960s, when about 80 modern homes were built in town. About 20 have been torn down since then.[5]

"During the late 1940s and 50s, a group of students and teachers from the Harvard Graduate School of Design migrated to New Canaan ... and rocked the world of architectural design", according to an article in PureContemporary.com, an online architecture design magazine. "Philip Johnson, Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen and Eliot Noyes -- known as the Harvard Five -- began creating homes in a style that emerged as the complete antithesis of the traditional build. Using new materials and open floor plans, best captured by Johnson's Glass House, these treasures are being squandered as buyers are knocking down these architectural icons and replacing them with cookie-cutter new builds."[6]

"Other architects, well known (Frank Lloyd Wright, for example) and not so well known, also contributed significant modern houses that elicited strong reactions from nearly everyone who saw them and are still astonishing today. ... New Canaan came to be the locus of the modern movement's experimentation in materials, construction methods, space, and form", according to an online description of The Harvard Five in New Canaan: Mid-Century Modern Houses, by William D. Earls.[7]

Some other New Canaan architects designing modern homes were Victor Christ-Janer, John Black Lee and Allan Gelbin.[5]

The film The Ice Storm (1997) shows many of New Canaan's modern houses, both inside and out.

On the National Register of Historic Places

  • Hampton Inn — 179 Oenoke Ridge; Also known as The Maples Inn, it was built by the Elwood brothers in Queene Anne, Colonial Revival style. (added November 27, 2004)
  • Hanford Davenport House — 353 Oenoke Ridge (added September 3, 1989)
  • John Rogers Studio — 33 Oenoke Ridge; built in 1878 by John Rogers, who was called "the people's sculptor" in the later 19th century. The studio houses a collection of the artist's famous groups of statuary, many sculpted on site. The studio was closed during needed restoration and scheduled to reopen in the summer of 2006. (added November 15, 1966)[8] "He used this studio from 1876 to the end of his life. The John Rogers studio houses one of the finest collections of Rogers Groups in the nation."[9]
  • Landis Gores House — 192 Cross Ridge Rd. "With its flat-roofed single-story form, full-height glass walls, and emphasis on horizontal planes, the house he designed for himself in New Canaan is an outstanding example" of modernist architecture.[10] (added April 21, 2002)
  • Maxwell E. Perkins House — 63 Park St. (added June 6, 2004)
  • Philip Johnson Glass House — 798-856 Ponus Ridge Rd. (added March 18, 1997)
  • Richard and Geraldine Hodgson House — 881 Ponus Ridge Rd. (added February 28, 2005)

Education

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Saxe Middle School, with that roof tilted at a jaunty angle
Enlarge picture
The front also bows out
New Canaan has five public schools:
  • Elementary School: East School, South School, West School
  • Middle School: Saxe Middle School
  • High School: New Canaan High School
New England Association of Schools and Colleges rating: Superb.

There were 3,980 students enrolled in grades K-12 in the 2003-2004 school year and the total expenditure was $50,786,700.

Class of 2003 statistics:
  • Average SAT I Verbal: 585
  • Average SAT I Math: 598
  • 48.3% of students attending 4 year colleges were accepted to schools ranked by Barron's Guide to the Most Competitive Colleges as Most Competitive and Highly Competitive.
  • Class of 2004 college choices
New Canaan also has private schools:

Points of interest

  • New Canaan Nature Center
  • Glass House
  • Waveny Park on South Avenue "was developed in 1912 by Lewis H. Lapham on what had been Prospect Farm, an early summer estate. In 1967 the Town acquired the 'castle' and 300 acres of surrounding parkland."[3]

Pictures


Postcard of The Country Club, ca. 1906

Grace House in the Fields, ca. 1915

Waveny mansion in Waveny Park

Center School, ca. 1912


Notable institutions and organizations

  • The New Canaan Historical Society, 13 Oenoke Ridge, operates seven museums, preserves five historic buildings, collects and preserves material thought to be of local historical value, and supports education programs such as school tours, special exhibits, seminars and publications on New Canaan history. The society was founded in 1889.
  • Silvermine Arts Guild, 1837 Silvermine Road
  • Voices of September 11th
  • New Canaan Fire Co. #1 Volunteer fire company serving since 1881.

Media

Local weeklies and a monthly

  • New Canaan-Darien magazine. This glossy monthly is owned by Moffly Publications.
  • New Canaan Advertiser. This weekly, the older of the two local newspapers, is owned by the Hersham Acorn chain of local weeklies, which is itself headquartered in town.
  • New Canaan News-Review is a more recent weekly covering the town. It is part of the Brooks Community Newspaper chain now owned by Media News Group, which also owns the daily Connecticut Post in Bridgeport.

Daily newspapers in the area

Dramatic events, especially disasters or crimes, are likely to be covered first by area daily newspapers, although the Advocate provides little regular coverage to the town and the Hour provides next to none.

Notable people, past and present

''For more information, see List of people from New Canaan, Connecticut

New Canaan in the media

Films shot in New Canaan

Books about New Canaan

References in popular culture

  • In the movie Fools Rush In, Matthew Perry's character grew up in New Canaan.
  • Karen suggests that Jack's father may be one of the "eight Black brothers of New Canaan, CT" in an episode of Will and Grace.
  • In the ABC drama Commander in Chief, Geena Davis' family home was in New Canaan
  • In Gentleman's Agreement there was the line: "If you think Darien is bad, you should go to New Canaan."
  • In the television program Carnivàle Brother Justin is shown to have founded New Canaan
  • The Neighbors are Scaring My Wolf by comic writer Jack Douglas was a 1968 book based on his experiences living in town.
  • In "The Cricket In Times Square", main character Chester Cricket lives near New Canaan.
  • In one of the books in the series Gossip Girl a small character says he needs to stop in New Canaan.

Demographics

Historical population
of New Canaan[2]
18101,599
18201,689
18301,830
18402,217
18502,600
18602,771
18702,497
18802,673
18902,701
19002,968
19103,667
19203,895
19305,456
19406,221
19508,001
196013,466
197017,451
198017,931
199017,864
200019,395


As of the census2 of 2000, there were 19,395 people, 6,822 households, and 5,280 families residing in the town. The population density was 338.4/km² (876.5/mi²). There were 7,141 housing units at an average density of 124.6/km² (322.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.27% White, 1.04% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.29% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.74% of the population.

There were 6,822 households out of which 41.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 69.2% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.6% were non-families. 19.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.83 and the average family size was 3.26.

In the town the population was spread out with 31.2% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 25.4% from 25 to 44, 26.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $141,788, and the median income for a family was $175,331, the highest in Connecticut. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $53,924 for females. The per capita income for the town was $82,049. About 1.4% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.2% of those under age 18 and 2.2% of those age 65 or over.

For further reading

  • A Guide to God’s Acre, a walking tour of the Historic District; available from the New Canaan Historical Society.
  • My Impressions of the Hour, a journal written by an early New Canaan teacher, Margaret Mary Corrigan; available from the society.
  • New Canaan: Texture of a Community, available from the society.
  • Portrait of New Canaan, available from the society.
  • A Student's Memoir, edited by Robert W.P. Cutler. A history of the Little Red Schoolhouse, based on recollections of some of the school’s graduates.

References

1. ^ U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates
2. ^ Kaplan, Thomas, Martineau, Kim, and Kauffman, Matthew, "12 state bridges are judged to be in critical condition" article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, article reprinted from The Hartford Courant, August 5, 2007, pp1, A6
3. ^ [3] New Canaan Advertiser Web site, Web page for "The Answer Book, April 22, 2006, accessed August 2, 2006
4. ^ Associated Press listing as it appeared in The Advocate of Stamford, September 12, 2006, page A4
5. ^ [4] "Architect for All Seasons", by David Gurliacci, Fairfield County Business Journal, January 9, 2006.
6. ^ [5] PureContemporary.com accessed July 2, 2006
7. ^ [6] From a brief description on Amazon.com of "The Harvard Five in New Canaan: Mid-Century Modern Houses by Marcel Breuer, Landis Gores, John Johansen, Philip Johnson, Eliot Noyes" by William D. Earls ISBN 0-393-73183-9 to be published July 24, 2006, web page accessed July 2, 2006
8. ^ [7] New Canaan Historical Society Web site, page describing various sites run by the society, accessed August 2, 2006.
9. ^ [8] "National Parks Service National Historic Parks Program" Web site, "Rogers, John Studio" Web page, accessed August 2, 2006
10. ^ [9] "Public Archeology Survey Team Inc." Web site, accessed August 2, 2006
11. ^ [10]Fairfield County Business Journal, January 23, 2006, "State of the Steak" by David Gurliacci, page 1

External links

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Methodist Episcopal Church, postcard mailed 1917
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The New Canaan Metro-North station is the terminus of the New Canaan Branch of the Metro-North New Haven Line. It is officially located at 198 Elm Street at Park Avenue in New Canaan, Connecticut

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The Talmadge Hill Metro-North station is a railroad station in the Talmadge Hill section of New Canaan, Connecticut, along the New Canaan Branch of the Metro-North New Haven Line. It is officially located at 1 Talmadge Hill Road in New Canaan.
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New Canaan Railroad

Locale Stamford, CT to New Canaan, CT
Dates of operation 1868 –

Track gauge 4 ft 8 in (1435 mm) (standard gauge)

Metro North Railroad's New Canaan Branch
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Location: 71-105 East 42nd Street, New York City

Coordinates: _ ]

Built/Founded: 1903
Architect: Warren and Wetmore; Reed & Stem
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