Norwalk, Connecticut
Norwalk is a city in
Fairfield County,
Connecticut,
United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 82,951 making it the sixth largest city in Connecticut. The current
mayor of Norwalk is
Dick Moccia, a
Republican.
The name "Norwalk" itself comes from the
Algonquin word "noyank" meaning "point of land", or its
Native American name, "Naramauke" (or Norwauke, Norowake, or Norwaake), a Native American chief.
Virgin Atlantic Airways has its
United States headquarters in Norwalk, as does
Diageo North America,
priceline.com,
Kayak.com,
Sobe,
Pepperidge Farm,
EMCOR Group, Inc. and
Northrop Grumman Norden Systems (formerly
Norden Systems). The flagship store of the regional dairy/produce superstore chain
Stew Leonard's, is located in the city. The
Maritime Aquarium is a major
aquarium that specializes in displaying the marine life and ecology of
Long Island Sound.
The
farming of
oysters has long been important to Norwalk, which was once nicknamed "Oyster Town." Norwalk is Connecticut's largest oyster producer and home to the nation's largest oyster company,
Tallmadge Brothers. Each September, Norwalk holds its annual
Oyster Festival. The festival is similar to many
state fairs.
Norwalk was purchased in 1640 by
Roger Ludlow. The original purchase included all land between the
Norwalk and
Saugatuck rivers and a day's walk north from the sea. Norwalk was incorporated on
September 11,
1651.
During the
French and Indian War, a regiment of Norwalkers arrived at Fort Crailo, NY, the British regulars began to mock and ridicule the rag-tag Connecticut troops who only had chicken feathers for uniform. Dr. Richard Shuckburgh, a British army surgeon, added new words to a popular tune of the time,
Lucy Locket (e.g., "stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni", macaroni being the London slang at the time for a foppish
dandy) and the rest is history.
In 1776, American spy
Nathan Hale set out from Norwalk by ship on his ill-fated intelligence-gathering mission.
British forces under General
William Tryon arrived on
July 10,
1779 and almost completely destroyed Norwalk; only six houses were spared. After the Revolutionary War, many residents were compensated for their losses with free land grants in the
Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now
Ohio; this later became
Norwalk, Ohio.
The first major U.S.
railroad disaster occurred in Norwalk in
1853 when a train plunged into the Norwalk River. Forty-six deaths and about 30 injuries resulted.
Oyster farming in Norwalk peaked from the late 1800s to the early part of the 20th century. By 1880, the had the largest fleet of
steam-powered oyster boats in the world.
In the mid-1970s, the city government and several local organizations started successful efforts to revitalize the South Norwalk business district ("SoNo"). The
Maritime Center at Norwalk was founded as part of that effort.
*
Beth Israel Synagogue — 31 Concord St. (added
December 29,
1991)
*
Greens Ledge Lighthouse — Long Island Sound, S of Five Mile River and W of Norwalk Harbor (added
June 29,
1990)
*
Haviland and Elizabeth Streets-Hanford Place Historic District — Roughly bounded by Haviland, Day Sts., Hanford Pl., and S. Main St. (added
June 26,
1988)
*
Joseph Loth Company Building — 25 Grand St. (added
June 17,
1984)
*
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion — 295 West Ave. (added 1970)
*
Norwalk City Hall — 41 N. Main St., South Norwalk (added
April 23,
1995)
*
Norwalk Green Historic District — Roughly bounded by Smith & Park Sts., Boston Post Rd., East, & Morgan Aves. (added 1987)
*
Norwalk Island Lighthouse — Sheffield Island (added
February 19,
1989)
*
Norwalk River Railroad Bridge — AMTRAK Right-of-way at Norwalk River (added
July 12,
1987)
*
Peck Ledge Lighthouse — Long Island Sound, SE of Norwalk Harbor and NE of Goose Island (added
June 29,
1990)
*
Rock Ledge — S of Norwalk at 33, 40-42 Highland Ave. (added
September 2,
1977)
*
South Main and Washington Streets Historic District — 68-139 Washington St. and 2-24 S. Main St. (added 1977)
*
South Main and Washington Streets Historic District (Boundary Increase II) — Roughly along N. Main St. from Washington St. to Ann St. (added
May 15,
1999)
*
US Post Office-South Norwalk Main — 16 Washington St. (added
February 21,
1986)
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 94.1
km² (36.3
mi²). 59.1 km² (22.8 mi²) of it is land and 35.0 km² (13.5 mi²) of it (37.24%) is water.
Neighboring towns
Norwalk is bound on the east by
Westport; on the north by
Wilton; on the northwest by
New Canaan; on the west by
Darien and on the south by
Long Island Sound.
Neighborhoods
Norwalk is composed of several
neighborhoods:
East Norwalk, West Norwalk, Cranbury, Silvermine,
Rowayton, and
South Norwalk, known locally as "SoNo."
Norwalk's current
superintendent of schools is Dr. Sal Corda. The Norwalk Public Schools website is: http://www.norwalkpublicschools.org
Post-secondary education
*
Norwalk Community College*
Gibbs College, Norwalk campusHigh schools
There are three
high schools in Norwalk, for grades 9-12:
*
Norwalk High School is the home of the Norwalk Bears. The school was founded in
1902.
*
Brien McMahon High School, named for Senator
Brien McMahon, first chairman of the Joint Committee on Atomic Energy, was founded in
1960.
*
Briggs High School.
Middle schools
Norwalk has 4
middle schools, for grades 6-8:
West Rocks Middle School,
Nathan Hale Middle School, Roton Middle School, and Ponus Ridge Middle School.
Elementary schools
There are 12
elementary schools in Norwalk, for grades K-5: Brookside, Columbus, Cranbury, Fox Run, Jefferson, Kendall, Marvin, Naramake, Rowayton, Silvermine, Tracey, and Wolfpit.
Historic
*
Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum (
Website) 62-room mansion considered one of the oldest and finest surviving
Second Empire style country houses ever built in the United States. It was designated a
National Historic Landmark in
1971. Recently, it was used for interior shots in the
2004 remake of
The Stepford Wives.
*Norwalk Museum, located in the former City Hall at 14 North Main Street
*
Switchtower Museum (railroad switching station)
*
The Silvermine Tavern, a for-profit restaurant in a historic complex of buildings in the Silvermine section of the city.
*
The Mill Hill Historic Park and Museum, a collection of historic buildings open to visitors and maintained by the Norwalk Historical Society.
Harbor-related
*
Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk*
Sheffield Island lighthouseDAILY NEWSPAPERS REGULARLY COVERING THE CITY*
The Hour, independent daily newspaper based in Norwalk and founded in 1871.
*
The Advocate, the Norwalk edition of the
Tribune Company newspaper based in Stamford. The paper maintains a bureau on West Avenue.
LOCAL WEEKLY*
Norwalk Citizen-News, local weekly owned by the Brooks Community Newspapers chain, now a subsidiary of
Media News Group, which also owns the
Connecticut Post, a daily based in
Bridgeport.
RADIO STATIONS*
WNLK-AM 1350; 1,000 watts. The station, owned by Cox Radio Inc., shares all its programming with WSTC-AM 1400, based in Stamford.
*
WEFX-FM 95.9; 3,000 watts; "The Fox"
The ex-
New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad electrified four track mainline runs through South and East Norwalk. The line is the primary passenger rail connection between
New York City, NY and
Boston, Massachusetts. The Danbury branchline to
Danbury begins in South Norwalk next to former New Haven Signal Station 44. The bridge over the Norwalk River is the only four track swing bridge in the nation. Norwalk is served directly by
MTA Metro-North Railroad, a join venture between the state of
New York and
Connecticut. Norwalk has four
Metro North railroad stations,
Rowayton,
South Norwalk,
East Norwalk, and
Merritt 7.
Amtrak, the national passenger railroad, has trackage rights over the line to
New Haven.
CSX Transportation and the
Providence & Worcester also have trackage rights over Metro-North. During the week, over 200 trains a day pass through Norwalk.
Interstate 95 crosses through Norwalk, and there are several exits within the Norwalk city limits. The
Merritt Parkway also crosses through Norwalk. Both of these roads are designated to be north/south routes, but through Norwalk, both of them primarily travel east/west. The major north-south artery is
Route 7, which begins at Interstate 95. There is an exit to the
Merritt Parkway, but only southbound towards
New York City, as environmental activists have successfully blocked a full interchange between the two arteries. In northern Norwalk, Route 7 changes from a limited access, divided highway to an ordinary surface road. Originally, the intent was to build the "
Super 7" highway (in a different place than the current Route 7), which would link Interstate 95 with
Interstate 84 in
Danbury, but environmental groups and
slow-growth advocates succeeded in preventing this highway from being built (although the state of Connecticut continues to own the land to build the highway).
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 82,951 people, 32,711 households, and 20,967 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,404.1/km² (3,637.3/mi²). There were 33,753 housing units at an average density of 571.3/km² (1,480.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.95%
White, 15.27%
Black or
African American, 0.21%
Native American, 3.25%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander, 4.33% from
other races, and 2.95% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 15.63% of the population.
There were 32,711 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.9% were
married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $59,839, and the median income for a family was $68,219. Males had a median income of $46,988 versus $38,312 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $31,781. About 5.0% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 9.6% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
Recent population trends
*
1980 - 77,767
*
1990 - 78,331
*
2000 - 82,951
*
2005 - 84,431 (estimate)
*
Philip Caputo, author whose best-known work is
A Rumor of War (1977)
*
Johnny Gruelle, creator of
Raggedy Ann (he later moved to
Wilton, Connecticut)
*
Randy LaJoie,
NASCAR driver
*
Calvin Murphy, former NBA basketball player
*
Andy Rooney, commentator on "
60 Minutes" television newsmagazine on CBS
*
Arthur (Artie) Shaw,
Big Band composer, made famous Frenesi and Begin the Beguine, lived in Norwalk in 1950's
[[1]Grudens, Richard, Jukebox Saturday Night: More Memories of the Big Band Era and Beyond, (1999) Pine Hill Press, Freeman, S.D., ISBN 1575791420, page 29, accessed through Google Books (free registration required) on August 4, 2006]*
Mo Vaughn, baseball player
*
Treat Williams, actor
*
Sloan Wilson, author of
The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit was born in the city.
Full-length features and documentary movies, listed in reverse chronological order:
*Wetlands Preserved: The Story of an Activist Nightclub (2006)
*Freezer Burn (2006)
*Henry May Long (2006)
*
The Stepford Wives (2004)
*Satan's Little Helper (2004)
*The Object of My Affection (1998)
*
The Stepford Wives (1975)
*House of
Dark Shadows (1970)
*Night of
Dark Shadows a/k/a Curse of Dark Shadows (1971)
Source:
Internet Movie DataBase Web site's page for NorwalkGovernment
*
Norwalk CT - City of Norwalk official web siteHistoric and Community Associations and Institutions
*
Norwalk Seaport Association, Sponsors of the annual Oyster festival (a 3-day carnival usually held the 2nd weekend of September) and other local heritage events
*
Norwalk Historical Society*
Rowayton Historical SocietyNearby colleges
*
Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport
*
University of Bridgeport link *
University of Connecticut, Stamford campus*
Fairfield University *
Norwalk Community College* St. Vincent's College in Bridgeport
*
Sacred Heart University in Fairfield
Other
*
Facts about Norwalk*
Norwalk Transit District routes, maps, guides, timetables.
*
Coastal Fairfield County Convention & Visitor Bureau
