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* [[Westport Historical Society]] [http://www.westporthistory.org] is an educational organization dedicated to preserving, presenting and celebrating the history of Westport, Connecticut. The society's headquarters is at Wheeler House, a Victorian house located at 25 Avery Place, near Westport Town Hall. |
* [[Westport Historical Society]] [http://www.westporthistory.org] is an educational organization dedicated to preserving, presenting and celebrating the history of Westport, Connecticut. The society's headquarters is at Wheeler House, a Victorian house located at 25 Avery Place, near Westport Town Hall. |
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* First Night Westport/Weston [http://www.firstnightww.com] is the alcohol-free, community-wide Celebration of New Year's Eve which fosters appreciation of and participation in artistic entertainment in a safe, sober, and creative environment. The objectives of First Night are to recapture the symbolic significance of the passage from the old year to the new; to unite the community through a shared cultural celebration; to deepen and broaden the public's appreciation of the visual and performing arts. A working Board of Directors plus an Executive Director work year-round to bring over 40 artists to 15 venues in downtown Westport. Corporate sponsorship is sought for each First Night event. |
* First Night Westport/Weston [http://www.firstnightww.com] is the alcohol-free, community-wide Celebration of New Year's Eve which fosters appreciation of and participation in artistic entertainment in a safe, sober, and creative environment. The objectives of First Night are to recapture the symbolic significance of the passage from the old year to the new; to unite the community through a shared cultural celebration; to deepen and broaden the public's appreciation of the visual and performing arts. A working Board of Directors plus an Executive Director work year-round to bring over 40 artists to 15 venues in downtown Westport. Corporate sponsorship is sought for each First Night event. |
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* Westport Weston Family Y [http://www.westporty.org] |
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Another signifigant nonprofit is the Westport Weston Family Y. They give over 100,000 dollars a year in direct finacial aid. You can find them by doing a search on Westport Weston Family Y on google. The first selection on the list. |
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==Demographics== |
==Demographics== |
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Westport, Connecticut
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|---|---|
Location in Connecticut
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| NECTA | Bridgeport-Stamford |
| Region | South Western Region |
| Incorporated | 1835 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Representative town meeting |
| • First selectman | Gordon F. Joseloff |
| • Town meeting moderator | Alice H. Shelton |
| Area | |
| • Total | 86.2 km2 (33.3 sq mi) |
| • Land | 51.8 km2 (20.0 sq mi) |
| • Water | 34.5 km2 (13.3 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 8 m (26 ft) |
| Population
(2005)[1]
| |
| • Total | 26,615 |
| • Density | 514/km2 (1,331/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP code |
06880
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| Area code | 203 |
| FIPS code | 09-83500 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0213532 |
| Website | http://www.westportct.gov/ |
Westport is a coastal towninFairfield County, Connecticut, in the United States. The 2004 population estimate was 26,644.
The town is one of the most affluent communities in the United States. Notwithstanding, Westport has significant cultural attractions, including the Westport Country Playhouse a longtime regional theater, the unique Levitt Pavilion providing free concerts, a strong arts council, and a heritage as a former artists' colony.
The town has two Metro North railroad stations: Westport in Saugatuck and Green's Farms.
Westport is a member of Westports of the World (WOW).
The town government consists of the three-member Board of Selectmen, a Representative Town Meeting (RTM), a Board of Finance, a Board of Education, a Planning and Zoning Commission, and many other commissions, boards, and committees.
In a hotly contested race, Westport's former First Selectwoman, Diane Farrell, ran for Congress against long time incumbent Christopher Shays in the Connecticut 4th Congressional District in 2004 and lost. In 2005, she announced that she would not run for First Selectwoman again, and Gordon Joseloff, Democrat and founder of WestportNow.com, won the November 2005 election. He was sworn in as First Selectman of Westport November 21, 2005, along with Second Selectwoman, Shelly Kassen.
Westport is widely known as a liberal town. John Kerry won Westport in the 2004 election. Despite this, there was still a significant amount of support for George W. Bush, as there are more registered Republicans in Westport than registered Democrats.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Westport has a total area of 86.3 km² (33.3 mi²). 51.8 km² (20.0 mi²) or 60.02% of it is land and 34.5 km² (13.3 mi²) or 39.98% is water.
Much of the eastern side of town is considered unusually flat in comparison to the rest of Connecticut.
Westport is bordered by Norwalk on the west, Weston to the north, Fairfield to the east and Long Island Sound to the south. Interstate 95, the Merritt Parkway and U.S. Route 1, as well as the Saugatuck River, run through Westport.
Westport has two stations, Saugatuck and Greens Farms, on the Metro-North Railroad's New Haven line, which serves Grand Central TerminalinNew York and Union Station in New Haven. This line is shared with Amtrak trains, as it is part of the Northeast Corridor, but no Amtrak services call at Westport. The nearest stations at which these services stop are Bridgeport (10 miles) and Stamford (12 miles).
Saugatuck station is the more widely used of the two, even among people living geographically closer to Greens Farms, and more trains call there. The wait for a parking sticker at Saugatuck station is now nearly four years.
A total of 26 percent of town residents live within the 100-year-flood plain, and homes and businesses located near the water can become flooded in extremely intense storms. Many other communities along the Connecticut shoreline have flood-prone areas, but Westport has been cited as an example of a town that has taken more action than others in mitigating the problem.
In one storm on December 11, 1992, when a Nor'easter struck the state, many cars parked at the Westport railroad station were immersed in water. "Very strong easterly gales of 55 mph created by the storm caused severe coastal flooding in Westport and several other communities," according to the Association of State Floodplain Managers. "The Compo Beach and Saugatuck Shores areas of Westport were especially hard hit with virtually every building in both areas being inundated."[2]
A total of 22 homes were raised higher starting in the mid-1990s with some help from state grants, and the town has taken other flood protection measures, including the installation of 16 combination staff gauges and evacuation signs,as well as the publication of a disaster preparedness brochure. These made Westport "the first community in Connecticut to have an approved Hazard Mitigation Plan" for flooding.[2]
The town also has enacted tough regulations on home renovation and construction in flood-prone areas. Homeowners or businesses that build additions or renovations to their buildings in flood-prone areas must elevate the structure to one foot above the Base Flood Elevation if their renovations or additions exceed 50 percent of the fair market value of the property in any five-year period.[2]
Another flood which hit the town on October 20, 1996, resulted in no damage to the original seven elevated homes, although several dozen others, not elevated, were flooded again. Ideas for preventing more flooding, such as construction of a berm near Compo Beach, were shelved in the mid-1990s, as they were considered too expensive.
| Historical population of Westport[4] | |
| 1840 | 1,803 |
| 1850 | 2,651 |
| 1860 | 3,293 |
| 1870 | 3,361 |
| 1880 | 3,477 |
| 1890 | 3,715 |
| 1900 | 4,017 |
| 1910 | 4,259 |
| 1920 | 5,114 |
| 1930 | 6,073 |
| 1940 | 8,258 |
| 1950 | 11,667 |
| 1960 | 20,955 |
| 1970 | 27,318 |
| 1980 | 25,290 |
| 1990 | 24,410 |
| 2000 | 25,749 |
Although colonists settled along the Saugatuck River in 1639, Westport was officially incorporated as a town in 1835 with land taken from Fairfield, Weston and Norwalk. For several decades after that, Westport was a prosperous agricultural community, which distinguished itself as the nation's leading onion-growing center. Westport's Compo Beach was the site of a British expeditionary force's landing, in which about 2,000 British soldiers marched to Danbury and razed it. They were attacked on the way and attacked upon landing by Minutemen from Westport and the surrounding areas. A statue of a Minuteman, rifle in hand, is located near Compo Beach. The statue has its back towards the beach to symbolize the Minutemen's strategy of waiting for the British to land and then attacking them from behind.
It wasn't until after the turn of the century that Westport gained the reputation as artist's colony and cultural center. While Westport still retains its cultural roots, the town is no longer an artist's colony. Despite the small-town charm, Westport is a thriving business center and home to approximately 15 corporate headquarters and more than 660 retailers.
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1637: John Mason, Roger Ludlow and group of soldiers enter area for first time to battle Pequot Indians in Great Swamp.
1639: Several families led by Roger Ludlow return to area, purchase land in Fairfield and Norwalk from Indians, build church and log cabins.
1640: Several other families move to area from New Amsterdam, a large city 50 miles away.
1648: Five settlers from Fairfield request Colonial Assembly's permission to settle in Machamux, today's Green's Farms. They call themselves the "Bankside Farmers."
1703: First schoolhouse built at Green's Farms commons area.
1777: British troops land at Compo Point; proceed north to burn supplies and ammunition at Danbury, Connecticut.
1789: George Washington visits Marvin Tavern.
1807: Newly laid out Post Road passes through growing port area of Saugatuck River.
1835: Daniel Nash and group of businessmen petition for incorporation of Westport, which includes parts of Fairfield, Norwalk, Old Saugatuck and Weston.
1842: Railroad arrives.
1861-65: Westport becomes biggest onion supplier to U.S. Army during Civil War.
1882: Staples High School founded, on Riverside Avenue.
1903: First automobile seen in Westport.
1920: F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald spend summer in Westport.
1935: Local artist paints mural on speakeasy wall, commemorating friends "we'll never forget."
1938: Merritt Parkway opens.
1949: First Representative Town Meeting (RTM) formed. Over 125 candidates vie for 26 slots.
1955: Parker-Harding Plaza created, behind Main Street stores.
1958: Connecticut Turnpike opens.
1959: New Staples High School, on North Avenue, opens.
1960: Town purchases Longshore Club Park.
1967: United Illuminating proposes building nuclear power plant on Cockenoe Island. Most Westporters oppose plan, and prevail in court.
OnSeptember 11, 2001, two Westport residents were killed in the terrorist attacks of that day: Jonathan J. Uman, 33, and Bradley H. Vadas, 37. Both were in the World Trade Center.[3] The state's 9/11 memorial was put in Sherwood Island State Park in Westport.
Total enrollment in Westport Public Schools as of Oct. 1, 2005 was 5,492 students. Each school has its own Web site.
Staples High School,[6] was ranked by Newsweek magazine in 2005 as 452nd on a list of the best 1,000 high schools in the country[4] (Grades 9 to 12) with 1,530 students.
The district has two middle schools (Grades 6 to 8) -- Bedford Middle School[7] and Coleytown Middle School -- with a total of 1,321 students.
There are five elementary schools (Kindergarten to Grade 5) with a total of 2,556 students:
Long Lots, Saugatuck, and Greens Farms feed into Bedford. The other 2 schools feed into Coleytown.
There is one pre-school: Stepping Stones Pre-school
For the 2006-07 fiscal year, the school district's budget is $82 million.
The school district had a $78.6 million budget for the 2005-06 fiscal year, giving it an average per pupil expenditure of $14,316. The average class size in the school system as a whole was 21 students.
Greens Farms Academy, located in the 1920s Vanderbilt estate overlooking Long Island Sound. GFA is a K-12 private preparatory school located in the Greens Farms section of town.
Westport is known for its excellent theatrical opportunities for both the audience and for the performer.
For a much longer list, see: List of people from Westport, Connecticut
Among the many famous actors, singers and other entertainers who lived in town are couples Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, as well as Phil Donahue and Marlo Thomas, radio personality Don Imus, singer Michael Bolton, recording artists Ashford and Simpson, and film producer Harvey Weinstein.
Famous past residents include Martha Stewart, Bette Davis,Jim Nantz,Michael Douglas, comedians Rodney Dangerfield, Christopher Lloyd (Staples High School Class of '57) and Imogene Coca, actress Marilyn Chambers (born in town), child actress Linda Blair, actress Sandy Dennis, Luke Greenfield, F. Scott Fitzgerald and Harry Reasoner. Artists who lived in town include Saturday Evening Post cover illustrator Stevan Dohanos, singer/song writer Neil Sedaka and photographer Annie Leibovitz, Rod Serling, creator of the The Twilight Zone, Gerry Mulligan, Jazz musician. Hilla von Rebay, founding curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, spent the last years of her life in Greens Farms and died there in 1967.
Fala (1940-1952), President Franklin D. Roosevelt's dog, was an early Christmas gift from Mrs. Augustus G. Kellog, a town resident.
Sources: Internet Movie DataBase Web site's page for Westport, Connecticut, Internet Movie DataBase Web site's page for Saugatuck, Connecticut
As of the census of 2000, there were 26,644 people, 9,586 households, and 7,170 families residing in the town. The population density was 496.8/km² (1,286.7/mi²). There were 10,065 housing units at an average density of 194.2/km² (503.0 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.16% White, 1.13% African American, 0.05% Native American, 2.43% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.40% from other races, and 0.81% from two or more races. 2.34% of the population were HispanicorLatino of any race.
There were 9,586 households out of which 38.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 66.1% were married couples living together, 6.8% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 25.2% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the town the population was spread out with 27.9% under the age of 18, 2.7% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 28.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 90.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $119,872, and the median income for a family was $152,894. Males had a median income of $100,000 versus $53,269 for females. The per capita income for the town was $73,664. 2.6% of the population and 1.5% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 2.7% are under the age of 18 and 2.1% are 65 or older.
Westport currently has three sister cities:
List of television shows set in Connecticut
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