Willimantic, Connecticut

Willimantic, Connecticut

Willimantic Town Hall
Nickname(s): Thread City, Frog City
Coordinates: 41°43′N 72°13′W / 41.717°N 72.217°W / 41.717; -72.217Coordinates: 41°43′N 72°13′W / 41.717°N 72.217°W / 41.717; -72.217
County Windham County
Government
 • Mayor Ernest S. Eldridge (Independent)
Area
 • Total 11.6 km2 (4.5 sq mi)
 • Land 11.4 km2 (4.4 sq mi)
 • Water 0.3 km2 (0.1 sq mi)
Population (2010)
 • Total 17,737
 • Density 1,391/km2 (3,600/sq mi)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
Website Town of Windham, Connecticut

Willimantic is a village[1] and census-designated place located in the town of Windham in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was at 17,737 at the 2010 census. It is home to Eastern Connecticut State University, as well as the Windham Textile and History Museum. Willimantic was incorporated as a city in 1893; the city was superseded in 1983 by the Willimantic Special Services District. It is also the birthplace of former U.S Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.

History

Willimantic is an Algonquian term for "land of the swift running water". Prior to 1821, the village was known as Willimantic Falls, home to about twenty families and a single school district. In 1822, Charles Lee erected a factory on Main Street made of stone quarried from the Willimantic River. Although small shops and manufacturers had been built on the banks of the Willimantic before, this was the beginning of industrialized Willimantic. In 1825, the three Jillson brothers built a factory along the Willimantic, and in 1827, they built a second building. By 1828, there were six cotton factories in Willimantic, all built within a seven-year span. Willimantic became known as "Thread City" because American Thread Company had a mill on the banks of the Willimantic River, and was at one time the largest employer in the state as well as one of the largest producers of thread in the world. Its factory was the first in the world to use electric lighting.[2] In 1833, Willimantic was a borough of Windham; in 1893, it would become a city.

Old American Thread Company mill

From the end of the Civil War to the outbreak of World War II, Willimantic was a center for the production of silk and cotton thread. Immigrants from Europe arrived to work in the mills—Irish, Italians, Poles, Germans and French Canadians. Later, Estonian, Ukrainian, Latvian, Lithuanian, and Puerto Rican immigrants moved to the town in search of mill jobs.

Railroads added to the growth of Willimantic; the town was one of only a handful of stops between Boston and New York on the high-speed "White Train" of the 1890s.[3] In the early 20th century, between 50 and 100 trains ran through Willimantic daily.[4] More than 800 ornate Victorian homes multiplied in the town's Prospect Hill section, which is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The town prospered, growing from a population of less than 5,000 in 1860 to more than 12,100 by 1910.[5]

But hard times followed; American Thread moved to North Carolina in 1985[6] and without it, the town's economy floundered. In 1983, the city and the town consolidated and became one town again. The unemployment rate in Windham, the town that contains Willimantic was 7.8% as of December, 2014.[7] In 2002, The Hartford Courant ran a controversial investigative series called "Heroin Town" describing rampant heroin use in Willimantic, disproportionate to the town's small size. The articles roiled local residents, but a task force was appointed by the state to study the issue.[8] In addition, The Hotel Hooker, once known for drug use and prostitution, has been repurposed as a transitional living facility called the Seth Chauncy Hotel.[9] The Hotel was later renamed Windham house, and now has been closed.[10]

Today, several projects aiming to revitalize the town are under way. The Willimantic Whitewater Partnership[11] plans to reclaim the town's riverfront by developing a whitewater park and research facility. Some of the town's distressed factory buildings have been turned into residential space for artists by Artspace.[12] Efforts to attract high-tech businesses to the area have turned other former factory buildings into space for small technology startups.[2]

Willimantic highlights

Frog Bridge (Thread City Crossing)

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 4.5 square miles (11.6 km²). 4.4 square miles (11.4 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²) of it (2.23%) is water. Willimantic is drained by the Willimantic River.

The village is served by state routes 14, 32, 66, 195 and 289.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop. %±
18806,608—
18908,64830.9%
19008,9373.3%
191011,23025.7%
192012,3309.8%
193012,102−1.8%
194012,1010.0%
195013,58612.3%
196013,8812.2%
197014,4023.8%
198014,6521.7%
199014,7460.6%
200015,8237.3%
201017,73712.1%
U.S. Decennial Census

As of the census [26] of 2000, there were 15,823 people, 5,604 households, and 3,166 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 3,607.0 inhabitants per square mile (1,391.6/km²). There were 6,026 housing units at an average density of 1,373.7 per square mile (530.0/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 70.35% White, 6.25% African American, 0.59% Native American, 1.67% Asian, 0.13% Pacific Islander, 16.87% from other races, and 4.13% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.19% of the population.

There were 5,604 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 33.5% were married couples living together, 18.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.5% were non-families. 33.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.45 and the average family size was 3.13.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 22.4% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 16.1% from 45 to 64, and 11.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.6 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $30,155, and the median income for a family was $38,427. Males had a median income of $30,697 versus $23,297 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $15,727. About 14.6% of families and 19.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.7% of those under age 18 and 12.6% of those age 65 or over.

Willimantic's largest private employer is Willimantic Waste Paper Company, which specializes in the collection and recycling of fiber products, scrap metal, and co-mingled plastic refuse. Brand-Rex Corporation also maintains a major cable manufacturing facility in Willimantic, which manufactures specialty wire and cable for commercial and industrial customers.

Media

Newspapers

Radio

Education

Public Schools

In this college town are located Eastern Connecticut State University as well as the downtown campus of Quinebaug Valley Community College.

Appearances in pop culture

A 2003 60 Minutes story, featuring reporter Dan Rather, focused on Willimantic due to the use of heroin at the Hooker Hotel.

A 2004 documentary entitled Heroin Town rebutted the 60 Minutes story and offered a positive spin on what was perceived by many Willimantic residents to not be truthful.

In 2007, writer-director A.D. Calvo filmed portions of his debut film, The Other Side of the Tracks, in Willimantic. More recently, during the summer of 2011, Calvo returned to film the majority of his third feature, House of Dust, on the campus of Eastern Connecticut State University and various other locations in town.

Notable residents

Giant sculptures of frogs atop spools of thread adorn a bridge next to the mill

References

  1. ↑ Principal Communities in Connecticut, Dept. of Economic and Community Development
  2. 1 2 http://www.masshightech.com/stories/2002/01/28/story35-Willimantic-hopes-companies-will-leap-to-tech-center.html "Willimantic hopes companies will leap to tech center"
  3. ↑ Air Line Rail Trail - History
  4. ↑ "Transportation, Railroads and the Mills"
  5. ↑ http://www.threadcity.org/61/?form_58.replyids=7&form_62.replyids=164&form_62.userid=3
  6. ↑ University of Connecticut: "American Thread Company Records"
  7. ↑ Current Labor Force Data for Connecticut Towns (LAUS) - State of Connecticut
  8. ↑ "Heroin Town". The Hartford Courant. October 20–24, 2002. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
  9. ↑ American Journalism Review: "The Truth Hurts
  10. ↑ "Once A Drug Haven, Willimantic Sees Positive Changes 11-10-2010 - WFSB 3 Connecticut". Wfsb.com. 2013-04-17. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  11. ↑ Willimantic Whitewater Partnership
  12. ↑ Artspace
  13. ↑ "The WILI Boom Box Parade". Wili-am.com. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  14. ↑ Tim Page (2000-06-05). "No 76 Trombones In This Parade". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
  15. ↑ "The WILI Boom Box Parade". WILI.com. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
  16. ↑ "Third Thursday Street Fest". Willimanticstreetfest.com. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  17. ↑ "Willimantic Renaissance". Third Thursday Street Fest. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
  18. ↑ "Willimantic Food Co-op". Willimantic Food Co-op. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  19. ↑ Archived May 9, 2010, at the Wayback Machine.
  20. ↑ Beth Bruno (1998-08-06). "Insights: Thread City Bread". SNET.net. Archived from the original on 2007-02-06. Retrieved 2007-06-08.
  21. ↑ Department of Transportation. "Department of Transportation". Ct.gov. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  22. ↑ "Bridge Ornaments Help Tell the Legend of the Windham Frog Fight". ConnecticutHistory.org. Retrieved 2014-07-07.
  23. ↑ Windham Garden on the Bridge. The Garden Club of Windham. Accessed April 29, 2013.
  24. ↑ "About Us". Garden Club of Windham. 2002-10-23. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  25. ↑ "Connecticut Eastern Railroad Museum". Cteastrrmuseum.org. Retrieved 2013-04-29.
  26. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2008-01-31.

External links

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