New Canaan, Connecticut

New Canaan, Connecticut
Town

Seal

Location in Fairfield County and the state of Connecticut.
Coordinates: 41°08′48.48″N 73°29′41.64″W / 41.1468000°N 73.4949000°W / 41.1468000; -73.4949000Coordinates: 41°08′48.48″N 73°29′41.64″W / 41.1468000°N 73.4949000°W / 41.1468000; -73.4949000
Country United States
State Connecticut
CNECTA New Haven-Bridgeport-Stamford
Region South Western Region
Settled 1731
Government
 • Type Selectman-town council
 • First Selectman Robert E. Mallozzi III (R)
 • Selectman Nicholas R. Williams (R)
 • Selectwoman Beth Jones (D)
Area
 • Total 22.5 sq mi (58.3 km2)
 • Land 22.1 sq mi (57.3 km2)
 • Water 0.4 sq mi (0.9 km2)
Elevation 344 ft (105 m)
Population (2010)[1]
 • Total 19,738
 • Density 880/sq mi (340/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06840
Area code(s) 203 Exchanges: 966, 972, 801
FIPS code 09-50580
GNIS feature ID 0213468
Website www.newcanaan.info

New Canaan /nuː ˈkeɪnən/ is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, 12 miles (19 km) northeast of Greenwich, 36 miles (58 km) west of New Haven and 48 Miles (77 km) northeast of New York City. The population was 19,738 according to the 2010 census.[1]

The town is one of the wealthiest communities in the nation. In 2013, New Canaan was ranked the 5th wealthiest town in the nation on CNN Money's list of the top-earning towns in the United States and in 2008 it had the highest median family income in the country.[2][3]

New Canaan is the only municipality on the Connecticut Panhandle that does not border the coast and such proximity to New York City proved worthy of its own connection to the New Haven Railroad, being the only town to do so. New Canaan station and Talmadge Hill station are both on the New Canaan Branch of the New Haven Line, and transfers are possible in Stamford south to Manhattan, east to New Haven or north to Boston. Many New Canaan residents commute to New York regularly, with travel time to Grand Central Terminal approximately 70 minutes.

Considered part of Connecticut's Gold Coast, New Canaan is known for its leading Connecticut public school system, its wide range of architecture from the Harvard Five modern houses to historic New England colonials and farms, as well as many stately mansions and tended estates, plus a signature town center with premiere shopping, classic boutiques, an elaborate display of lights for the Holidays.[4] New Canaan residents carol on Church Hill every Christmas Eve, a beloved town tradition since 1919.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.5 square miles (58 km2), of which 22.1 square miles (57 km2) is land and 0.3 square miles (0.78 km2), or 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 fine restaurants, an old Bow Tie Cinemas movie theater, library, the Victorian train station, antique shops, a book store, a saddlery boutique and various fine clothing and interior decorating shops. In addition to the many local boutiques and businesses, many national chains stores can be found in the downtown area, including Ralph Lauren and Ralph Lauren Children, Ann Taylor, J. McLaughlin, Papyrus, Vineyard Vines, Le Pain Quotidien, and Starbucks, among others. There are also several churches in town (Catholic and various Protestant denominations) as well as the historic Roger Sherman Inn, established in 1740. Most major banks and many wealth managements firms have a presence in New Canaan, including J.P Morgan, Merrill Lynch, Wells Fargo, UBS, Citibank and Bank America, among others. Several hedge funds are also based in New Canaan.

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

The town includes the following sections: New Canaan town center, Talmadge Hill, Ponus Ridge, West, Oenoke Ridge, Smith Ridge, and part of Silvermine (which extends into Norwalk and Wilton).

History

East view of Church Hill, the central part of New Canaan (1836) by John Warner Barber
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 when it was first settled in 1731, when New Canaan was incorporated in 1801, it found itself without a central common, a main street or a town hall.[5]

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.[5]

With the 1868 advent of the railroad to New Canaan, many of New York City's wealthy residents discovered the quiet, pastoral beauty of the 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 genteel, sophisticated country ambiance that continues to characterise the community today.[5]

Lewis Lapham, a founder of Texaco and great-grandfather of long-time Harper's Magazine editor Lewis H. Lapham, spent summers with his family at their estate that is now 300-acre (1.2 km2) Waveny Park next to Talmadge Hill and the Merritt Parkway.

In the 1890s, editor Will Kirk of the Messenger wrote an editorial in response to area editors who chided him and New Canaan as the “next station to hell.” An alleged remark by a parched Civil War veteran marching in the Decoration Day Parade on an unusually hot day prompted the exchange. The remark was found untrue and Kirk, after enduring the comments of others, wrote about a “dream” of approaching the Pearly Gates in the company of his fellow editors. All others were turned away but he, Will Kirk, was welcomed, because he, in fact, was from the “Next Station to Heaven.”[6] Since then, the name has been controversial, with residents affectionately using the ladder, and local critics of New Canaan still using the original nickname.

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.[7]

"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 M. 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."[8]

"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.[9]

Some other New Canaan architects designing modern homes were Victor Christ-Janer, John Black Lee, Allan Gelbin, and Hugh Smallen.[7]

The film The Ice Storm (1997) shows many of New Canaan's modern houses, both inside and out. The film (and Rick Moody's novel of the same name, upon which it's based) takes place in New Canaan; a mostly glass house situated on Laurel Road is prominently featured.

Government

New Canaan Township vote
by party in presidential elections
Year Republican Democratic
2012 64.1% 6,966 35.0% 3,804

Taxes

In 2005, the mill rate of New Canaan was 14.0440 and is reportedly 14.586 for the 2012 fiscal year.[10]

Emergency services

Emergency medical services

The New Canaan Volunteer Ambulance Corps (NCVAC) is a free, all volunteer ambulance corps with three ambulances plus two paramedic fly-cars. Founded in 1975, the unit is located at 182 South Avenue and offer regular EMT courses.[11] Most Emergency Medical Services come from Norwalk, where there is a Hospital.

Fire department

The New Canaan Fire Department employs the professional firefighters of the New Canaan Fire Department, as well as the volunteers of the New Canaan Fire Company, No. 1. Founded in 1881, the New Canaan Fire Department is a combination professional/volunteer fire department that operates out of a fire station located near the center of town, with a fire apparatus fleet of engines and other vehicles. The New Canaan Fire Department responded to 886 calls for service in 2009.[12]

Police department

The New Canaan Police (NCPD) are headquartered at 174 South Avenue.[13] The Department has forty-five sworn officers, five full-time civilians and two school crossing guards. The primary mission of the New Canaan Police department and its Officers is the protection of all persons and properties within its jurisdiction. The New Canaan Police Department responded to 16,741 calls during the year of 2012.[14]

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18101,599—
18201,6895.6%
18301,8308.3%
18502,600—
18602,7716.6%
18702,497−9.9%
18802,6737.0%
18902,7011.0%
19002,9689.9%
19103,66723.6%
19203,8956.2%
19305,45640.1%
19406,22114.0%
19508,00128.6%
196013,46668.3%
197017,45129.6%
198017,9312.8%
199017,864−0.4%
200019,3958.6%
201019,7381.8%
Est. 201420,314[15]2.9%
U.S. Decennial Census[16]

As of the census[17] of 2000, there were 19,395 people, 6,822 households, and 5,280 families residing in the town. The population density was 876.5 people per square mile (338.4/km²). There were 7,141 housing units at an average density of 322.7 per square mile (124.6/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.27% White, 1.74% Hispanic or Latino, 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.

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.

Per the 2000 Census, the median income for a household in the town was $141,788, and the median income for a family was $175,331. 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.

Education

New Canaan High School
Saxe Middle School

The New Canaan Public Schools system is considered to be one of the best in Connecticut. It has also gained national recognition for its high performance; for example, a recent edition of Forbes magazine rated New Canaan as the third-ranked school district in the United States "for home value" for communities with a median home price of $800,000 or greater.[18]

In 2009, the district was the highest performing school district in the state based on the frequency of top-tier performances on the Connecticut Mastery Tests (CMT), which are administered to all 3rd through 8th graders, and the Connecticut Academic Performance Tests (CAPT), which are given to 10th graders.[19] In 2008, the median SAT score (verbal, math and writing) for district students was 1804, the highest in Connecticut.[20]

In its November 2009 edition, Connecticut magazine rated New Canaan's school system first among 29 towns with a population of 15,000–25,000.[21] That category included Darien, Wilton, Ridgefield, Avon, Simsbury, Farmington, Southbury, Guilford and other high-performing districts. The ranking was based on 2007–2009 CMT scores; results from the 2007–2009 CAPTs; local SAT scores for 2006–2008; and the percentage of 2007 high school graduates who enrolled in college.[22]

Twenty-two students in the New Canaan High School Class of 2009 were National Merit Commended Scholars. In addition, four students were National Merit Scholars, four were National Merit Semifinalists, and one was an Hispanic National Recognition Scholar.[23]

Of the New Canaan High School graduates who enrolled in college in the fall of 2009, 30% did so at a college designated "Most Competitive" by Barron's magazine, 24% enrolled at an institution considered "Highly Competitive", and 26% entered a college deemed to be "Very Competitive."[24]

The New Canaan High School Library was the recipient of the 2010 National School Library Program of the Year Award, given by the American Library Association. In addition to the Award, the High School also received a $10,000 prize donated by Follet Library Resources.[25]

The New Canaan school system is also notable for its achievements in extra-curricular activities. In 2010, the New Canaan High School won the FCIAC Cup, given to the most successful athletic program among the 19 high schools competing in the Fairfield County Interscholastic Athletic Conference. The New Canaan High School drama program won seven awards at the 2010 Connecticut High School Musical Theatre Awards.[25]

New Canaan is one of the few school systems in Connecticut to offer foreign language instruction to students pre-middle school.[26] Grades 6-12 have language offerings including French, German, Latin, Mandarin Chinese and Spanish.

In June 2012, 24/7 Wall St. ranked New Canaan as the 8th wealthiest school district in the United States.[27]

New Canaan has five public schools:

New Canaan also has three private schools:

Points of interest

Waveny Park Statue in New Canaan, CT.
New Canaan Nature Center, greenhouse interior.
Moreno Clock located on Elm Street where it meets with South Avenue in New Canaan, Connecticut.

On the National Register of Historic Places

Seasonal events

New Canaan Nature Center Fall Fair: The fair offers activities for all ages from hay mazes to Old Faithful Antique Fire Truck rides to apple sling shots.[31]

Halloween Parade: No matter your costume, children of all ages and their dogs can receive a goody bag and march in the Halloween Parade led by Old Faithful Antique Fire Truck which is sponsored by the New Canaan Chamber of Commerce.[32]

Holiday Stroll: Hosted by The Chamber of Commerce, downtown New Canaan celebrates with Christmas carolers, the lighting of the trees along Elm Street, the arrival of Santa Claus, and extended store hours.[33]

Christmas Carolling on Church Hill (aka God's Acre): Since 1919 New Canaan residents have been gathering on Church Hill every Christmas Eve to sing Christmas carols with the New Canaan Town Band. The New Canaan town band was founded in 1831 and is the second oldest town band in the United States.[34]

Easter Egg Hunt: At the Annual Town Easter Egg Hunt, sponsored by the Young Women's League of New Canaan, children are able to collect candy-filled Easter eggs, get their faces painted, take pictures with the Easter bunny, and many other festive activities.[35]

Saint Mark's May Fair: carnival rides and May Fair's famous strawberry shortcake.[36]

Family Fourth Fireworks: Town residents gather at Waveny Town Park for picnicking, live music, bounce houses, and fireworks.[37]

Pictures

Notable institutions and organizations

Grace Farms, a nondenominational church in New Canaan, CT.

Media

New Canaan is served by one weekly town newspaper, and is also home to a monthly magazine:

Grace Farms Interior, New Canaan, CT.

Two daily newspapers serve the surrounding area:

Two daily news websites:

Notable people

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

New Canaan in the media

New Canaan in Film

Movies at least partially filmed in, or involving, New Canaan:[46]

Books about New Canaan

References in popular culture

Further reading

References

Methodist Episcopal Church, postcard mailed 1917
  1. 1 2 "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), New Canaan town, Connecticut". U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder 2. Retrieved August 9, 2011.
  2. ↑ Ashford, Kate (August 12, 2013). "Top-earning towns". CNN.
  3. ↑ Chang, Althea (July 16, 2008). "25 Top-Earning Towns". CNN.
  4. ↑ "New Canaan Public Schools Ranked Tops in CT; 19th Best in the Country | Patch". New Canaan, CT Patch. Retrieved 2015-12-09.
  5. 1 2 3 4 New Canaan Advertiser web site, web page for "The Answer Book, April 22, 2006, accessed August 2, 2006
  6. ↑ "Where did the nickname — "Next Station to Heaven" — originate? | New Canaan Answerbook". newcanaananswerbook.com. Retrieved 2016-01-18.
  7. 1 2 "Architect for All Seasons", by David Gurliacci, Fairfield County Business Journal, January 9, 2006.
  8. ↑ PureContemporary.com accessed July 2, 2006
  9. ↑ http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393731839/102-8451043-6653762?v=glance&n=283155 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
  10. ↑ http://www.newcanaan.info/content/9490/293/327/
  11. ↑ http://ncvac.org/
  12. ↑ http://www.newcanaanfire.com
  13. ↑ http://www.newcanaan.info/content/9488/9220/785/805/default.aspx
  14. ↑ Annual Report of the New Canaan Chief of Police, 2012, http://newcanaanpoliceorg.c.presscdn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/2012_AR.pdf
  15. ↑ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  16. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
  17. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  18. ↑ See Settimi, Christina, "Best Schools for Your Home Value," Forbes magazine, April 26, 2010.
  19. ↑ New Canaan Public Schools' Superintendent's Annual Report, 2008–2009, see http://www2.newcanaan.k12.ct.us/education/sctemp/ed7ac7f33e5e0aedf777a27d6df1df6f/1269627036/08_09.pdf
  20. ↑ Connecticut Department of Education; see also Brady, Andrew and Grandjean, Patricia, "Rating the Towns," Connecticut magazine, November 2009 edition (Vol. 72, No. 11), at pp. 47–55.
  21. ↑ Brady and Grandjean, "Rating the Towns,"; see also http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=20391944&BRD=2329&PAG=461&dept_id=487245&rfi=6
  22. ↑ http://www.zwire.com/site/news.asp?brd=2329&nav_sec=61835
  23. ↑ New Canaan Public Schools' Superintendent's Annual Report, 2008–2009, at p. 31.
  24. ↑ New Canaan Public Schools Superintendent's Annual Report, 2008–2009, at p. 48.
  25. 1 2 Schmelkin, Carrie, "Public Schools Remain Tops," New Canaan Advertiser, June 24, 2010, p. 1.
  26. ↑ Schmelkin, Carrie, "Proposed School Budget: Financiers Express Confidence," New Canaan Advertiser, February 11, 2010, p. 1; see also http://www.acorn-online.com/joomla15/ncadvertiser/budget/49255-proposed-school-budget-financiers-express-confidence.html
  27. ↑ Liebeskind, Ken. "Weston Is Second Wealthiest U.S. School District". The Weston Daily Voice. Retrieved 26 July 2012.
  28. ↑ New Canaan Historical Society Web site, page describing various sites run by the society, accessed August 2, 2006.
  29. ↑ "Rogers, John Studio" National Park Service National Historic Parks Program, accessed August 2, 2006
  30. ↑ "Public Archeology Survey Team Inc." Web site, accessed August 2, 2006
  31. ↑ "45th Annual Fall Fair." New Canaan Nature Center Fall Fair. New Canaan Nature Center, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. http://newcanaannature.org/programs/events/index.php.
  32. ↑ "Halloween Parade." The Chamber. New Canaan Chamber, 03 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. http://newcanaanchamber.com/halloween-parade.
  33. ↑ "Holiday Stroll." The Chamber. New Canaan Chamber, 18 Oct. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. http://newcanaanchamber.com/holiday-stroll.
  34. ↑ "Christmas Eve on God’s Acre." The Congregational Church of New Canaan RSS. The Congregational Church of New Canaan RSS, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. http://godsacre.org/2014/12/19/christmas-eve-gods-acre-2/.
  35. ↑ "Easter Egg Hunt." New Canaan. Town of New Canaan, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. http://www.newcanaan.info/content/9492/9224/667/6541.aspx.
  36. ↑ "May Fair." Saint Marks Episcopal Church. Saint Marks Episcopal Church, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. http://www.stmarksnewcanaan.org/get-involved/may-fair.
  37. ↑ "Family Fourth Fireworks." The Chamber. New Canaan Chamber, n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015. http://newcanaanchamber.com/calendar/family-fourth-fireworks.
  38. ↑ Gurliacci, David (January 23, 2006). "State of the Steak". Fairfield County Business Journal. p. 1. Archived from the original on October 18, 2007.
  39. ↑ Morganteen, Jeff, "Beck: Cops are the real heroes", news article, June 26, 2010, The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut ("The New Canaan resident attends the same church as a Stamford police sergeant [...]")
  40. ↑ Martin, Douglas. "Henry S. Coleman, 79, Dies; Hostage at Columbia in '68", The New York Times, February 4, 2006. Accessed September 12, 2009.
  41. ↑ http://history.nasa.gov/EP-125/part2.htm
  42. ↑ Stelter, Brian (April 18, 2013). "Waking Up on the Wrong Side of a Rating War". The New York Times.
  43. ↑ Hevesi, Dennis. "Carl F. Hovde, Former Columbia Dean, Dies at 82", The New York Times, September 10, 2009. Accessed September 11, 2009.
  44. ↑ "Obituary: Rosemary Rice Merrell, 87, started in TV and radio". New Canaan Advertiser. 2012-08-21. Retrieved 2012-08-26.
  45. ↑ Tim Weiner (April 8, 2012). "Mike Wallace, CBS Pioneer of '60 Minutes,' Dies at 93". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-04-08.
  46. ↑ http://www.imdb.com/search/title?locations=New canaan,%20Connecticut,%20USA
  47. ↑ Gentleman's Agreement - 1947 Movie Quotes
  48. ↑ Lawrence, Jerome; Lee, Robert E. (1999). Auntie Mame. Dramatists Play Service Inc. p. 91. ISBN 0822217309. Retrieved 2015-04-15.
  49. ↑ Smith, Warren Allen (2012). Unforgettable New Canaanites. Lulu.com. p. 77. ISBN 1105647439. Retrieved 2015-04-15.

External links

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