107 Selden St.
Berlin, Connecticut 06037-1616
U.S.A.
History of Connecticut Light And Power Co.
Going into the mid-1990s, Connecticut Light and Power Co. (CL&P) had been the largest utility in that state since 1927. At the end of 1993, the company was providing electric service to over one million customers in 149 Connecticut cities and towns. Its generating capacity of 5.292 megawatts came from a combination of steam, internal-combustion, hydro, gas-turbine, nuclear, and pumped-storage plants. Connecticut Light and Power became a wholly owned subsidiary of newly formed Northeast Utilities in 1966.
J. Henry Roraback, a lawyer, laid the foundations of the future company, when he lobbied the state legislature to pass a special act chartering the Rocky River Power Co. in 1905. This charter gave Roraback sole power rights to the Rocky River, a tributary of the Housatonic River. A 1909 amendment gave Roraback permission to distribute power wholesale throughout the state, to construct dams on a stretch of the Housatonic in northwestern Connecticut, and to build mills and manufacturing plants in the same area. Roraback's political influence grew even greater when he became chairman of the state Republican party in 1912, a position he held until his death in 1937. Between 1915 and 1931, the party controlled both the legislature and governorship and virtually every Republican candidacy had to be cleared with "J. Henry." A big, forceful, mustachioed man who resembled the popular depiction of a political boss, Roraback actually denied the renomination of two Connecticut governors.
Roraback's power company was inactive until 1917, when he secured financial backing from a large Philadelphia-based utility holding company, the United Gas and Improvement Co. (UGI). UGI bought the Housatonic Power Co. from the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Co. After this acquisition, the Rocky River Power Co. purchased all franchises, leases, and properties of the Housatonic Power Co., the United Electric Light and Water Co., and the Seymour Electric Light Co., changing the name of the combined companies to the Connecticut Light and Power Co. Roraback's financial backer UGI held a controlling interest in the new company. Roraback, originally a vice-president as well as a stockholder and director, became president of the company in 1925.
CL&P's first development project was to build the Stevenson dam and hydroelectric plant on the Housatonic. Completed in 1919, it impounded what came to be called Lake Zoar. That same year, the Connecticut legislature gave CL&P the right to divert water from the Housatonic back into the Rocky River, where it could be dammed and stored for release in periods of low water flow. The subsequent reservoir was named Lake Candlewood and became the state's largest body of water.
By 1918, CL&P had already established itself as the second largest utility in Connecticut. In succeeding years, the utility sought to expand its markets, which resulted in the construction of an enormous new steam plant in Devon, about three miles from the Housatonic's mouth, in 1924. After three years had passed, CL&P became the leading utility in Connecticut, with $8.3 million in operating revenues, compared to $2.6 million in 1918. Part of this growth was due to acquisitions or mergers with smaller power companies, which ultimately enabled CL&P to broaden its scope from the western part of the state into central and eastern Connecticut. A holding company, the Connecticut Electric Service Co., was created in 1925 to separate the retail aspects of the business from the power generation and wholesale elements of the business.
By the end of 1929, CL&P was supplying electricity to 60 cities and towns in Connecticut with an estimated population of 481,651. The utility also furnished electric current to other public utilities for sale in 26 towns with an estimated population of over 193,000. Also by this time, gas service had become possible after the company received sweeping authority from the state legislature to lay mains and pipelines for this purpose. Eventually, CL&P provided gas directly to 10 towns with a population of about 161,000 and supplied gas to other utilities. In all, the company owned 12 plants by the end of the 1920s. Dividends which were first paid out in 1927 continued from that date without a break.
Operating revenues of $14.6 million in 1929 continued to grow steadily even during the Depression, reaching $19.7 million in 1939. Net income, which was $3.8 million in 1929, gradually rose to $4.2 million in 1939. Electric output rose from 580.4 million kilowatt hours in 1919 to 625.9 million in 1939, while gas output rose from 3.1 billion cubic feet to 4.8 billion during the same ten-year period. The number of electricity customers increased during this period from 112,965 to 168,351, and the number of gas customers from 32,192 to 69,688. Through the course of this decade, CL&P owned and operated 11 electric generating plants and five manufactured-gas plants.
CL&P became an independent company in 1941 when UGI was forced by federal legislators to divest itself of its holdings outside Pennsylvania. By 1948, the utility was serving a population of about 715,000 over an area of about 3,455 square miles. It owned and operated 24 electric generating plants as well as its five gas plants. In that year CP&L applied for and received its first rate increase since 1920. Between 1918 and 1949, the electricity rate per kilowatt hour had fallen from an average of 10.04 cents to an average of 3.3 cents. In the meantime, the average annual household consumption of electricity increased more than ninefold during this period.
Construction of a new CP&L headquarters building was completed in 1952, replacing offices in Hartford and Waterbury. Three years later, the company opened Shepaug, its largest electricity generating plant to date. Lake Lillinonah was created from water backing up behind the plant's dam and, like Zoar and Candlewood, became an area for public recreation. In 1956 the company became the first utility to order an IBM 7070 "electronic brain," using this early computer as the heart of its newly created data-processing department.
In 1958, CL&P owned and operated 36 electric generating units. By this time, manufactured gas had been replaced largely by natural gas, leading to the development of production plants for reforming natural gas in Norwalk and Waterbury and propane-air standby plants in five other communities. The utility continued to thrive in the mid-1950s, serving 853,000 people and taking in nearly $75 million, with a net income of $11.3 million. Having joined 11 other New England utilities in 1956 to build an experimental 134,000-kilowatt nuclear power plant in Rowe, Massachusetts, CP&L received 15 percent of its output when operations began in 1961.
In 1966, CL&P was serving a population in excess of 1,382,000 over an area of about 3,641 square miles. It owned and operated 39 electricity generating plants and was part of a consortium constructing Connecticut Yankee, a 490,000-kilowatt nuclear power plant in Haddam, Connecticut. A wholly owned subsidiary, Connecticut Gas Co., was providing natural gas in 12 service areas, while a mixture of natural and manufactured gas was being distributed in five communities and propane-air standby plants in eight others. During this period, operating revenues rose to a healthy $122.8 million, and net income stood at $20.5 million.
1966 witnessed the creation of Northeast Utilities to serve as a utility holding company consisting of Western Massachusetts Co., Connecticut Light and Power, and Hartford Electric Light Co. This consolidation was the latest step in a history of cooperation between these companies dating back to 1925, when the three utilities first engaged in joint power-pooling and long-range planning. CL&P's chairman and chief executive officer, Sherman R. Knapp, became president and chief executive officer of Northeast Utilities. Of the three original companies in Northeast Utilities (NU), CL&P was by far the senior partner. At the beginning of the 1980s, for example, its common stock was valued at $478.9 million, 51 percent of the nearly $931-million value of the NU common stock held by all of NU's subsidiaries.
The Connecticut Yankee project was completed in 1968, with CL&P holding 34.5-percent ownership in the nuclear power plant. A second nuclear plant completed in 1970 at Millstone Point, on Long Island Sound near Waterford, Connecticut, was entirely owned by NU and 81 percent by CL&P. These plants made NU the world's largest producer of nuclear-generated electric power.
In 1972, about 74 percent of Connecticut's area and 50 percent of its population was being served by NU. Four years later, 81 percent of NU's revenue and a larger part of its income was coming from Connecticut. Relations between the holding company--especially its CL&P subsidiary--and the state's regulatory authorities became of prime importance as energy costs rose worldwide in the wake of the 1973--74 Arab oil embargo. In all, CL&P filed eight rate-increase requests during the 1970s, which generated a tremendous political controversy.
While running for governor in 1974, Democratic party candidate Ella T. Grasso contended that CL&P had overcharged customers by more than $4 million in the last year. Grasso and state consumer groups brought an action blocking the state's Public Utilities Commission from granting CL&P a rate increase of 8.8 percent. After she was elected, the commission was replaced by a Public Utilities Control Authority that appeared to be more consumer-oriented. In December 1976, the authority ordered CL&P (and Hartford) to cut their gas and electricity rates to 1974 levels--a $22 million reduction in place of their request for a $56 million increase.
Under the impact of increased costs, CL&P's net income fell from $73.5 million in 1974 to $57.7 million in 1975, even though electric operating revenues increased from $338.3 million to $364.8 million (compared to only $139.1 million in 1969). In 1979 operating revenues were up to $591.6 million, but net income, at $57.8 million, was barely higher than the 1975 figure.
At the same time that the utility was facing a profit squeeze from being denied a rate increase, CL&P was confronted with heavy expenses from its overreliance on nuclear power. Before high costs arising from the energy crisis encouraged conservation, NU had projected an increase in electricity demand of about seven percent a year until the end of the century. Accordingly, by 1976 NU had sunk more than $1.3 billion--over half of its assets--into nuclear power. This investment included work at Millstone Point on two more nuclear power plants. Millstone II, which like Millstone I was 81-percent owned by CL&P, was completed in 1974. By 1981, NU was obtaining 54 percent of its energy from nuclear power, the highest ratio for a company of its size in the nation.
From a consumer standpoint, NU's heavy reliance on nuclear power made the company's electricity rates the lowest in the Northeast. But the long-range costs for the NU system, and especially for CL&P, threatened to make "Millstone" an apt name. CL&P started paying fees to the U.S. Department of Energy for the disposal of spent fuel in 1983. Through the end of 1993, the company had paid the department $134.5 million for assuming responsibility for this high-level-radiation nuclear waste. A 1992 study estimated that CL&P's share of decommissioning costs for nuclear power plants totalled $801.4 million.
CL&P absorbed Hartford Electric Light Co. in 1982, assuming Hartford's outstanding bonds and other obligations. This acquisition raised the number of CL&P electric generating units to 65. Net income rose almost 50 percent the next year and another 25 percent in 1984, when the company earned $284.2 million--five times the 1979 figure--on operating revenues of $1.76 billion, under three times the 1979 figure. Further, the utility registered a 20.7 percent return on equity that year. However, state regulators, who had authorized only a 15.9 percent return, witnessed this prosperity and subsequently proposed to block the company from billing customers for at least $40 million to $50 million in fuel costs. In 1986, the regulators rejected CL&P's request for a $147-million rate increase and froze rates until the beginning of 1988.
Millstone III, Connecticut's fourth and largest nuclear power plant, was completed in 1986 at a cost of more than $3.8 billion, compared to its original estimate of $400 million. CL&P's stake in this facility was 53 percent. During the same year, CL&P was allowed to increase rates over five years to recover costs. As a result, Moody's Investor Service Inc. upgraded about $1.5 billion of the utility's securities, consisting of first and refunding mortgage bonds, unsecured pollution-control revenue bonds, and preferred stock. CL&P got another break in 1990, when state regulators gave it permission to charge ratepayers for $167 million, or about 60 percent, of its $276.5-million investment in construction of the Seabrook, New Hampshire, nuclear power plant. CL&P held a four percent stake in that facility, which opened in 1990. CL&P also held a 12 percent stake in Maine Yankee's nuclear plant and a 9.5 percent stake in Vermont Yankee's nuclear plant. The Yankee plant in Rowe, Massachusetts, was closed in 1992.
In June 1987, the federal Securities and Exchange Commission ordered NU to divest itself of its natural gas business. As a result, CL&P's Connecticut Gas Co. unit was transferred in mid-1989 to a new holding company formed by NU, Yankee Energy Gas System, Inc. NU distributed to shareholders of record one share of Yankee Energy Gas System for each 20 shares of NU stock. The next year, government regulators again focused their attention on CL&P, this time ruling that the company must greatly expand its conservation efforts. One of the most successful environmental programs that the utility implemented was the free collection of old refrigerators and freezers which consumed extremely high quantities of power. In the period between 1990 and 1994, more than 49,000 refrigerators and almost 11,000 freezers were collected in Connecticut and western Massachusetts, resulting in the recycling of almost 11 million pounds of metals and several thousands of pounds of refrigerants.
An issue of concern among Connecticut residents in the 1990s was the possible harmful effects of electromagnetic radiation from power lines which emanated from CL&P's 243 distribution substations. For example, some residents of Guilford, Connecticut, charged that the utility's substation in their town was responsible for several cases of cancer. This allegation was given significant publicity in a 1990 New Yorker article. However, after an in-depth investigation state officials concluded that there was no correlation between the incidences of cancer and the utility's power lines. Nevertheless, in 1993 when CL&P proposed to make good on a 21-year-old promise to move its Lodge Avenue substation in New Canaan, some residents opposed a planned relocation to a site only 700 feet from a school.
In 1993, CL&P delivered electricity to an average of 1,078,925 customers. Of this total, 39 percent were residential customers, 33 percent commercial, 14 percent industrial, and 11 percent wholesale. Sales, in kilowatt hours, came to $26.1 million, operating revenues to $2.37 billion, and net income to $191.4 million. Long-term debt stood at $1.74 billion. Of CL&P's total generating capacity at the end of that year, 49 percent came from steam, internal-combustion, hydropower, and gas-turbine plants, 37.5 percent from nuclear plants, and 13.5 percent from pumped storage, with most of its storage power deriving from the utility's 81-percent share in a project at Northfield Mountain, Massachusetts.
Related information about Connecticut
pop (2000e) 3 405 000; area
12 996 km²/5018 sq mi. A state in NE USA,
divided into eight counties; the ‘Constitution State’, ‘Nutmeg
State’ or ‘The Insurance State’; densely populated; explored by
Adriaen Block, 1614; one of the original states of the Union, fifth
to ratify the Federal Constitution, 1788; capital, Hartford; other
chief cities, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, Stamford; the
Thames, Connecticut, and Housatonic Rivers flow S through the state
to empty into Long Island Sound; highest point, Mt Frissell
(725 m/2379 ft); coast largely urbanized, with many
industries; interior mainly woodland and forest, with some cropland
producing dairy produce, poultry, and tobacco; machinery, transport
equipment, electrical goods, firearms, metal products.
references
Connecticut (pronounced /k??n?t?k?t/) is a state in the New England region of the
United States,
located in the northeastern part of the country. In terms of per capita income, it is the
wealthiest state in the country, while it ranks 4th for median
household income. Connectitcut is also one of the most densely
populated states in nation and has strong economic connections to
New York, with several
of its counties being part of the larger New York City metroploitan
area. Connecticut was one of the Thirteen Colonies that
revolted against British rule in the American
Revolution.
Geography-Climate
Connecticut is bordered on the south by Long Island Sound, on
the west by New York
State, on the north by Massachusetts, and on the east by Rhode Island. The state
capital is Hartford, and the other major cities include New Haven,
New
London, Norwich, Stamford, Waterbury,
Danbury
and Bridgeport. There is an ongoing civic pride and economic
competition between Hartford and New Haven, which stems back to the
days when the two cities shared the state's capital, and even back
to when New Haven and Hartford were two separate colonies.
The highest peak in Connecticut is Bear
Mountain in Salisbury in the northwest corner of the state. That
distinction belongs to an anonymous location just east of the point
where Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New York meet (42° 3' N; peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=7083
The Connecticut River cuts through the center of the state, flowing
into Long Island Sound, Connecticut's outlet to the Atlantic Ocean.
The state, although small, has regional variations in its landscape
and culture from the wealthy estates of Fairfield County's "Gold
Coast" to the rolling mountains and horse-farms of the Litchfield Hills of
northwestern Connecticut. and the need to compensate Massachusetts
for an amount of land given to Connecticut due to inaccurate survey
work.www.southwickma.org/Public_Documents/F000102F9/S00476B50-00476B5B.0/The%20Southwick%20Jog.pdf
www.cslib.org/jog.htm strsd.southwick.ma.us/woodland/teachers/bwhalley/childshistory/jog.htm
Perhaps the only suggested reason which can be safely ruled out is
that the jog is necessary to prevent Massachusetts from sliding out
into the Atlantic
Ocean. In any event, the dispute over the border retarded the
development of the region, since neither state would invest in even
such basic amenities as schools for the area until the dispute had
been settled.
The southwestern border of Connecticut, where it abuts New York
State, is marked by a panhandle in Fairfield
County, containing Greenwich, Stamford,
New Canaan, and
Darien,
housing some of the wealthiest residents in the world. This
irregularity in the boundary is the result of territorial disputes in the late 1600s, culminating with New York giving up its
claim to this area, whose residents considered themselves part of
Connecticut, in exchange for an equivalent area extending
northwards from Ridgefield, Connecticut to the Massachusetts border as
well as undisputed claim to Rye, New York.www.cslib.org/panhandle.htm
Areas maintained by the National Park Service include: Appalachian National Scenic Trail; and Weir Farm
National Historic Site
Regions
The state of Connecticut can be said to be sub-divided into
eight general regions which generally correspond with the eight
counties of the state, though there are differences in the
boundaries. Fairfield County's "Gold Coast"
and towns west of Waterbury and New Haven, for example, are often
derided by residents of the rest of the state as being more similar
to New York than to
New England. Many of
the residents go for years or even decades without ever traveling
to other regions of the state, considering themselves more attached
to New York City
and its suburbs in eastern New York State.
The eight regions of Connecticut are:
- Gold
Coast
- Litchfield
Hills
- Naugatuck River Valley
- Greater New
Haven
- Greater
Hartford
- Lower Connecticut River Valley
- The Quiet Corner
- Southeastern Connecticut
Connecticut lies in a Humid Continental Climate.
Windsor
(1633),
Wethersfield (1634),
Saybrook (1635),
Hartford
(1636),
New
Haven (1638),
and New
London (1646).
Because the Dutch were outnumbered by the English settlers, they
left their fort in 1654.
Its first constitution, the "Fundamental Orders," was adopted on January 14, 1639, while its current
constitution, the third for Connecticut, was adopted in
1965. According to a
1650 agreement with the
Dutch, the western
boundary of Connecticut ran north from the west side of Greenwich Bay "provided
the said line come not within 10 miles 16 km of Hudson River."
Agreements with New York, the "Pennamite Wars" with Pennsylvania over Westmoreland County, followed by Congressional
intervention, and the relinquishment and sale of the Western Reserve lands
brought the state to its present boundaries. In 1870, native -born Americans had
accounted for 75% of the state's population, but that had dropped
to 35% by 1918.
As of 2000, 81.7% of Connecticut residents age 5 and older speak
English at home
and 8.4% speak Spanish. Italian is the third most spoken language at 1.6%,
followed by French at 1.6% and Polish at 1.2%.
The five largest reported ancestries in the state are: Italian (18.6%),
Irish (16.6%), English (10.3%),
German (9.9%),
and French/French
Canadian (9.9%).
Connecticut has a large Italian-American population, although residents of
British, Irish, German, and other ancestries are also present, with
old-stock Americans being the largest percentage of the population
in the eastern part of the state. Connecticut also has a sizable
Polish American
population, with New Britain containing the largest Polish-American
population in the state. 13%
There is a significant Jewish population in the state, mostly concentrated in
the "Gold Coast" towns between Greenwich and
New
Haven and in the Hartford suburb of West
Hartford. The per capita income for 2005 was $47,819, ranking first
among the states www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/spi_highlights.pdf. This is due
to Fairfield County having become a bedroom community for
higher-paid New York
City workers seeking a less urban lifestyle, as well as the
spread of businesses outwards from New York City having reached
into southwestern Connecticut, most notably to Stamford. The state did not
have an income tax
until 1991, making it an
attractive haven for high earners fleeing the heavy taxes of
New York State,
but putting an enormous burden on Connecticut property tax payers,
particularly in the cities with their more extensive municipal services.
As a result, the middle
class largely fled the urban areas for the suburbs, taking stores and other
tax-paying businesses with them, and leaving only the urban poor in the now
impoverished Connecticut cities.
The agricultural output for the state is nursery
stock, eggs,
dairy products,
cattle, and tobacco. Its
industrial outputs are transportation equipment (especially helicopters, aircraft parts, and nuclear submarines),
heavy industrial machinery and electrical equipment, fabricated metal
products, chemical
and pharmaceutical products, and scientific
instruments.
The income tax rate
on Connecticut individuals is divided into two tax brackets of 3%
and 5%. Bradley International Airport (BDL) is located in the
central part of the state (15 miles (24 km) north of Hartford). There
is railway service along
the coastline from New
York City to Boston, including commuter rail service between New Haven and
New York and a new commuter service along the river north of New
Haven, with spur service running northwards to cities such as
Hartford. Bus service is
supplied by Connecticut Transit, owned by the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The Interstate highways
in the state are I-95 (the
Connecticut
Turnpike) running southwest to northeast along the coast,
I-84
running southwest to northeast in the center of the state, I-91 running north to south in the
center of the state, and I-395
running north to south near the eastern border of the state. The
other major interstate traffic arteries in Connecticut are the
Merritt Parkway
and Wilbur
Cross Parkway, which together form State Route
15, running from the Hutchinson River Parkway in New York State parallel
to I-95 before turning north of New Haven and running parallel to I-91, finally becoming
a surface road in Berlin, Connecticut. Other major arteries in the state
include U.S. Route
7, State Route 8, and State Route
9.
Law and government
Hartford
has been the sole capital of Connecticut since 1875. Unlike most other states,
Connecticut does not have county governments or county seats; www.jud.ct.gov/directory/directory/location/Default.htm
The eight counties are still widely used for purely
geographical purposes, such as weather reports. The two exceptions are the
City of Groton, which is a subsection of the Town of
Groton and the City of Winsted in the Town of Winchester.
One, Naugatuck, is a
consolidated town and borough.
The two U.S. senators representing Connecticut are Christopher J.
Connecticut currently has five representatives in the U.S. House.
Once considered one of the more conservative
states in the Northeast (Connecticut was the first state to outlaw
abortion, in 1822), the state now tends to vote
Democratic for presidential and congressional elections. In
2004 election, John Kerry had a comfortable margin of 10 percentage
points with 54.3% of Connecticut's popular vote. Christopher Shays, a Republican representing
Connecticut in the U.S. House of Representatives, has sided with the
Democrats on a range of issues including gun control, abortion, and
the environment. Conversely, some state Democrats tend to be
conservative or moderate, Senators Joe Lieberman and Christopher Dodd being
the most notable cases.
The supreme executive power is vested in the governor, who heads
the executive branch. The current Governor of
Connecticut is Her
Excellency, M.
Connecticut was the first state in the United States to elect a
woman as governor, Ella Grasso.
The legislature,
referred to as the General Assembly, is a bicameral body consisting of
an upper body, the Senate (36 senators); The Democrats currently hold the majority in both houses of
the General Assembly.
The highest court of
Connecticut's judicial branch is the Supreme Court, headed by the
Chief Justice of Connecticut. this along with its proximity to
New York City and
its typically socially-liberal suburban voters have made
Connecticut a Democratic bastion in general elections.
Connecticut was more supportive of Republican Presidential
candidates in the 1970's and 1980's, voting five straight times
from 1972 to 1988 for Republicans Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Voters in the
state are more supportive of fiscal
conservatives than social conservatives
Republicans are the minority in the state legislature, but they
currently hold three of the five congressional seats. As of
2006, the two Senate seats
from Connecticut are held by Democrats Christopher Dodd and
Joseph
Lieberman. Bush.
The state's Republican strongholds are rural Litchfield County, the
Naugatuck
River Valley, Western Hartford County and most towns in affluent Fairfield
County near the New York State border. Bush in the 2004 Presidential
Election, all other counties in Connecticut, including Fairfield
County (often referred to as the Gold Coast)
voted for his opponent, Senator John Kerry. The suburban towns of New Canaan and
Darien in
Fairfield County are considered the most Republican
areas in the state, and perhaps one of the most reliably
conservative areas in New England, the former being the hometown of
conservative activist Ann Coulter. She is campaigning to face him again in the
next congressional election.
Democrats are the majority almost everywhere else, especially in
the cities of Hartford (the state capital), New Haven and Bridgeport,
the largest cities in the state. More affluent urban areas of the
state, such as Norwalk and Stamford also trend towards the left, but have
favored moderate Republicans in many elections such as former
Governor John G.
Rowland and Congressman Chris Shays.
Connecticut's independent streak is most apparent in its choice for
Governor, as the Democrats have failed to win the office since
1986, losing four straight elections to independent Lowell P. Pundits such
as Michael
Barone speculate that Connecticut voters are hesitant to give
one party control of state government after the massive expansion
in taxes and spending that occurred in the final years of the
William
O'Neill administration.
Political corruption
In recent years, Connecticut politics has been plagued by
widespread corruption. On the more extreme end, former Waterbury, CT Mayor
Philip Giordano
(R) was stripped of power in 2001 after a corruption investigation had to be cut
short when phone taps unexpectedly revealed alleged sexual acts
with 8- and 10-year-old minor girls and other possible pedophilia charges.
Principal cities
- Bridgeport
- Danbury
- Danielson
- East Hartford
- Hartford
- Middletown
- Milford
- New Haven
- New London
|
- Norwalk
- Norwich
- Stamford
- Stratford
- Torrington
- Waterbury
- West Hartford
- Willimantic
|
25 richest places in Connecticut
Ranked by per
capita income*:
- New
Canaan, Connecticut $85,459
- Darien,
Connecticut $77,519
- Weston,
Connecticut $74,817
- Greenwich, Connecticut $74,346
- Westport, Connecticut $73,664
- Stamford, Connecticut $67,109
- Wilton,
Connecticut $65,806
- Roxbury, Connecticut $56,769
- Georgetown, Connecticut $55,029
- Easton,
Connecticut $53,885
- Ridgefield, Connecticut $51,795
- Avon,
Connecticut $51,706
- Groton Long Point, Connecticut $51,066
- Redding, Connecticut $50,687
- Woodbridge, Connecticut $49,049
- Sharon,
Connecticut $45,418
- Fairfield, Connecticut $43,670
- Lyme,
Connecticut $43,347
- Essex,
Connecticut $42,806
- Bridgewater, Connecticut $42,505
- Cornwall, Connecticut $42,484
- Madison Center, Connecticut $42,046
- Old
Lyme, Connecticut $41,386
- Noank,
Connecticut $41,355
- Glastonbury, Connecticut $40,820
25 poorest places in Connecticut
(descending order)
- Hartford, Connecticut $13,428
- Conning Towers-Nautilus Park, Connecticut
$14,216
- Poquonock Bridge, Connecticut $14,664
- Plainfield Village, Connecticut $14,836
- East Brooklyn, Connecticut $15,093
- Wauregan, Connecticut $15,311
- Willimantic, Connecticut $15,727
- Danielson, Connecticut $16,042
- Bridgeport, Connecticut $16,306
- New
Haven, Connecticut $16,393
- North Grosvenor Dale, Connecticut $16,409
- Moosup,
Connecticut $16,827
- Windham, Connecticut $16,978
- Waterbury, Connecticut $17,701
- Rockville, Connecticut $17,896
- Mansfield, Connecticut $18,094
- New
Britain, Connecticut $18,404
- Bantam,
Connecticut $18,442
- New
London, Connecticut $18,437
- Plainfield, Connecticut $18,706
- North Canaan, Connecticut $18,971
- Jewett City, Connecticut $19,083
- Putnam District, Connecticut $19,229
- Sterling, Connecticut $19,679
Storrs,
Connecticut, with an average per capita income of $9,947, is
technically the poorest in the state, but this is only because of
the high student population at the University of
Connecticut, which is factored into the survey.
Education
Connecticut is well-known as the home of Yale University, which
maintains a consistent ranking as one of the world's greatest and
richest universities, and has the most selective undergraduate
program of any university in the United States (an 8.6% acceptance
rate in 2006). Additionally, the State is packed with dozens of
prestigious boarding schools, such as Choate, which draw students
from all over the world.
Colleges and universities
- Asnuntuck Community College
- Albertus Magnus College
- Briarwood College
- Central Connecticut State
University
- Charter Oak State College
- Connecticut College
- Eastern Connecticut State
University
- Fairfield University
- Holy Apostles College and
Seminary
- Manchester Community College
- Mitchell College
- Northwest Connecticut Community
College
- Paier College of Art
- Post
University
- Quinnipiac University
- Rensselaer at Hartford
|
- Sacred Heart University
- Saint Joseph College
- Southern Connecticut State
University
- Trinity College
- United States Coast Guard
Academy
- University of Bridgeport
- University of Connecticut
- University of Hartford
- University of New Haven
- Wesleyan University
- Western Connecticut State
University
- Yale
University
|
Sports teams
- Connecticut
Sun of the Women's National Basketball Association
- From 1979 to 1997, the National Hockey League had a franchise
in Hartford, the Hartford Whalers. Their departure to North Carolina caused
great controversy and resentment.
Minor League
Hockey Teams:
- Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey
League
- Hartford
Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League
(The Danbury
Trashers of the United Hockey League have been dissolved by the league
after their owner, James Galante was arrested in June 2006 on
accusations that he was running a mob-related scheme to control
trash hauling prices and was paying hockey team employees under the
table and against league rules.)
Minor
League Baseball Teams:
- Connecticut Defenders Double-A Affiliate of the
San Francisco
Giants
- New
Britain Rock Cats Double-A Affiliate of the Minnesota
Twins
Both of the Eastern League
Independent League Baseball Teams:
- Bridgeport
Bluefish of the Atlantic League
- Manchester Silkworms of the New
England Collegiate Baseball League
- New
Haven County Cutters of the Canadian-American
League
- Stamford
Robins of the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League
- Torrington
Twisters of the New
England Collegiate Baseball League
Professional
Cycling Teams:
- Team Nerac.com presented by OutdoorLights.com
The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference
(CIAC) is the state's sanctioning body for high school sports.
Other state champions in football include Staples (in Westport),
Branford, Daniel Hand (in Madison), Woodland Regional (in Beacon
Falls), and Hyde Leadership (in Hamden).
Famous residents, past and present
- David Pogue,
New York Times Technology Columnist lives in Westport
- Kevin Bacon,
actor, maintains a residence in Sharon.
- Jeff Bagwell,
professional baseball
player, grew up in Killingworth
- Vin Baker,
former professional basketball player, born and raised in Old
Saybrook
- Chris Berman,
ESPN sportscaster lives in Cheshire
- Michael
Bolton, singer-songwriter, born in New
Haven
- Rico Brogna,
former professional baseball player, born and raised in Watertown
- Chris Browne,
who draws the comic strip "Hagar The Horrible", went to school in
Wilton
- ,
founder of National Review, lives in Stamford
- Chris
Carrabba, member of indie rock band Dashboard
Confessional was born in and went to primary and secondary
school in West Hartford.
- Cassie, singer with
hit Me & U, was born and raised in New
London
- Marcus Camby,
professional basketball player, born in Hartford
- Glenn Close,
actress, born in Greenwich
- Ann Coulter,
author, columnist, political pundit, raised in New
Canaan
- Rivers Cuomo,
lead singer of Weezer,
was raised on an ashram
and attended high school in Storrs
- Brian
Dennehy, actor in many movies, has a home in Woodstock
- Rob Dibble,
former professional baseball player; baseball analyst, born and raised in Southington
- Phil Donahue,
former talk show host, lives in Westport
- Chris Drury,
professional hockey
player, born and raised in Trumbull
- 50 Cent, rapper,
maintains a residence in Farmington
- Dwight
Freeney, professional football player, raised in Bloomfield
- Michael J.
Fox, actor, maintains a residence in Sharon
- James Greco,
CEO of Bruegger's Bagels, lives in Cheshire
- Dorothy
Hamill, Olympic gold medalist, born and raised in Greenwich
- Rip Hamilton,
plays for Detroit Pistons, went to UCONN-
- Katherine
Heigl, actress on hit tv series "Grey's Anatomy", was
born and raised in New Canaan
- Leona
Helmsley, real estate maven, lives in Greenwich
- Katharine
Hepburn (1907 ?
2003) , actress, was born
in Hartford and lived in Old
Saybrook
- Jeffery
Immelt, CEO of General Electric (GE), lives in New
Canaan
- Craig Janney,
Hockey player, was raised in Enfield.
- Bruce Jenner,
Olympic gold medalist, born in Newtown
- Tebucky
Jones, who currently plays for the New England
Patriots of the NFL,
lives in Farmington
- Henry
Kissinger, former Secretary of State, lives in Kent
- Ivan Lendl,
former tennis pro, maintains a residence in Litchfield
- Barry
Levinson, director, producer, and writer of many movies like
"Rain Man", owns a
house in Redding
- Christopher
Lloyd, actor, born and raised in Stamford
- John Mayer,
singer, native of Fairfield
- Pedro
Martinez, professional baseball player, ace pitcher for the New York Mets resides in Greenwich
- Charles Peter McColough, former Chairman and CEO of
the Xerox
Corporation, lives in Belle Haven,
Greenwich
- Vince Kennedy McMahon Jr., Chairman of the WWF/WWE,
lives in Greenwich
- Jesse
Metcalfe, actor, plays John Tucker in John Tucker Must
Die, was raised in Waterford
- Robert
Mitchum (1917 ?
1997), actor, was born in
Bridgeport
- Ellen Muth,
actress, was born in and maintains a residence in Milford
- Ralph Nader,
consumer advocate and former U.S. presidential candidate, native
of Winsted
- Kevin Nealon,
actor and comedian, born and raised in Bridgeport
- Paul Newman,
salad dressing guru and actor, lives in
Westport
- Frank Oz, actor,
maintains a residence in Sharon
- Carl Pavano,
professional baseball
player for the New York Yankees, born and raised in Southington
- John
Ratzenberger, actor, born in Bridgeport
- Keith
Richards, member of The Rolling Stones, lives in Weston
- Alex
Rodriguez, All-Star Third Baseman for the New York Yankees, has
a home in Stamford
- Bill
Romanowski, former professional football player, born in Vernon
- Diana Ross,
singer, maintains a residence in Belle Haven,
Greenwich
- Meg Ryan actress
in When Harry
Met Sally grew up in Bethel
- Patty Hearst
Shaw, heiress of the Hearst media empire, lives in
Westport
- John
Scofield, famous Jazz guitarist, grew up in
Wilton
- Jimmy Shea,
Olympic gold medalist, born and raised in West
Hartford
- Rip Torn, actor,
maintains a residence in Lakeville
- The Rock, pro WWE
wrestler, went to elementary school at Shepherd Glen in
Hamden
- Seth
MacFarlane, creator of the FOX animated sitcom Family Guy was born and
raised in Kent
- Kyra
Sedgwick, actress, maintains a residence in
Sharon
- Bobby
Valentine, former professional baseball player and manager, born and raised in
Stamford
- James Van
Der Beek, actor, born and raised in Cheshire
- Mo Vaughn,
former professional baseball player, born in Norwalk
- Sam
Waterston, actor in Law & Order, maintains a residence in
Salisbury
- Gene Wilder,
actor and comedian, is a current resident of
Stamford
- Bruce Willis,
actor in several movies, has a home in Bethel
- Jack Welch,
former head of General Electric lives in Fairfield
- Steve Young, former professional football player; 1789), early American
revolutionary and guerrilla leader, was born in
Litchfield
- Benedict
Arnold (1741 -
1801), early American
Colonial Army Captain turned British spy was born in
Norwich
- Phineas
T. 1891), American
showman, best remembered for founding Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus, was
born in Bethel
- Walter Camp,
football coach known as the "Father of American Football", born
and raised in New Haven
- Samuel Colt
(1814 ? 1862), inventor of the revolving
cartridge firearm, was born in Hartford
- Jonathan
Edwards (1703 ?
1758),a colonial American
Congregational preacher and theologian, was born in East
Windsor
- Nathan Hale
(1755 ? 1776), captain in the Continental Army
during the American Revolutionary War, American hero and official
State Hero of Connecticut, widely considered America's first
spy, was born in
Coventry
- Isaac Hull
(1773 ? 1843), a Commodore in the
United States
Navy, was born in Derby
- Charles
Goodyear (1800 -
1860),inventor of
vulcanized rubber, was born in New
Haven
- J. Walter
Kennedy (1912 -
1977), fisrt commissioner
of the NBA, born and
raised in Stamford
- J.
1913), financier and
banker, one of the wealthiest men in America at the turn of the
century (1901), was born
in Hartford
- Israel
Putnam (1718 ?
1790), American army
general who fought with distinction at the Battle of Bunker
Hill during the American Revolutionary War, lived in
Pomfret
- Wallace
Stevens (1879 ?
1955), American Modernist poet, lived in
Hartford from 1916
until his death
- Harriet
Beecher Stowe (1811 ?
1896), abolitionist and writer,
most famous for writing Uncle Tom's Cabin, was born in
Litchfield and raised in Hartford
- Mark Twain
(1835 ? 1910), humorist, novelist,
writer, and lecturer, best know for writing The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, lived in
Hartford and died in Redding
- Noah Webster
(1758 ? 1843), lexicographer, textbook
author, spelling
reformer, political writer, and editor, was born in what now
know as West Hartford
- Eli Whitney
(1765 ? 1825), inventor and manufacturer, created the first
cotton gin in
1793, graduated from
Yale College in 1792 and died in New
Haven
Trivia
- Connecticut is the southernmost state in New England and the
wealthiest state in the country per capita as well as the third
smallest state in landmass. It was one of the thirteen colonies that
revolted against British rule in the American
Revolution.
- Due to the prominence of the aircraft industry in Connecticut
in the mid-Twentieth Century, Connecticut has an official state
aircraft, the F4U
Corsair, and an official Connecticut Aviation Pioneer,
Igor Sikorsky.
In addition, the state legislature officially recognizes the
claim of aircraft designer Gustav Whitehead to have had the world's first
successful powered aircraft flight in Bridgeport,
Connecticut, two years before the Wright brothers at
Kitty
Hawk.
- Connecticut is known officially as the Constitution State based
on its colonial constitution of 1638-39. Bush was born in
New
Haven, Connecticut and lived there for a short time before
moving to Texas.
- Commemorative stamps issued by the United States
Postal Service with Connecticut themes include Nathan Hale, Eugene O'Neill, the
whaling ship the Charles W.
Morgan which is docked in Mystic Seaport, and a decoy of a broadbill duck.
See also
- Connecticut State Troubadour
- Connecticut Conservative- A weblog dealing primarily with Connecticut
politics.
- List of television shows set in
Connecticut
- Scouting in Connecticut
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