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Southbury, Connecticut
Seal
Location in Connecticut
Coordinates: 41°28′25″N 73°14′03″W / 41.47361, -73.23417
NECTA	Bridgeport-Stamford
Region	Central Naugatuck Valley
Incorporated	1787
Government
- Type	Selectman-town meeting
- First selectman	Mark A. R. Cooper
Area
- Total	103.6 km² (40.0 sq mi)
- Land	101.2 km² (39.1 sq mi)
- Water	2.4 km² (0.9 sq mi)
Elevation	102 m (335 ft)
Population (2005)
- Total	19,677
- Density	194/km² (503/sq mi)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
- Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	06488
Area code(s)	203
FIPS code	09-69640
GNIS feature ID	0213507
Website: http://www.southbury-ct.gov/

Southbury is a town located in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States north of Oxford and Newtown and east of Brookfield. The population was 18,567 at the 2000 census.

Southbury is a town comprised of rural country areas,suburban neighborhoods and historic districts. Located a short distance from major business and commercial centers. The town is within 100 miles of New York City and 150 miles of Boston.

Contents 1 Geography 2 Demographics 3 Government 4 History 5 Schools 6 Southbury Public Library 7 Notable people, past and present 8 Notable Features 8.1 National Historic Registry 8.2 Other Notable Features 9 Heritage Village and the Aging Population 10 Southbury Land Trust 11 Southbury Ambulance Association 12 The Housatonic River 12.1 Shepaug Dam and eagle observation area 13 Denying Nazi Group a Pre-War Foothold 14 City Utility Services 15 References 16 External links

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 40.0 square miles (103.5 km²), of which, 39.1 square miles (101.2 km²) of it is land and 0.9 square miles (2.4 km²) of it (2.28%) is water.

Towns that border Southbury are Middlebury, Woodbury, Roxbury, Bridgewater, Brookfield, Oxford and Newtown.

Southbury is the only town in the entire country with the name 'Southbury'

Southbury includes in its incorporated area the areas known as South Britain and Southford.

As of the census² of 2000, there were 18,567 people, 7,225 households, and 4,833 families residing in the town. The population density was 475.4 people per square mile (183.5/km²). There were 7,799 housing units at an average density of 199.7/sq mi (77.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.34% White, 0.45% African American, 0.08% Native American, 1.15% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.35% from other races, and 0.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.59% of the population.

There were 7,225 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.8% were married couples living together, 5.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.1% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 21.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.41 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.8% under the age of 18, 3.3% from 18 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 25.1% from 45 to 64, and 26.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 46 years. For every 100 females there were 86.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $61,919, and the median income for a family was $81,109. Males had a median income of $62,460 versus $40,750 for females. The per capita income for the town was $32,545. About 1.9% of families and 4.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.3% of those under age 18 and 5.0% of those age 65 or over. The median home value was $209,100.

As of July 2006, it is estimated that there are 19,686 (+6.0% from 2000) people in Southbury. The estimated median income has risen to $68,000 (+9.8%). The estimated median home & condo value has risen to $338,100 (+61.7%).^[1]

Historical population of Southbury[2]
1800	1850	1900	1950	1960	1970	1980	1990	2000
1,757	1,484	1,238	3,828	5,186	7,852	14,156	15,818	18,567

Southbury has a six-member Board of Selectmen, including the First Selectman, Mark A. Cooper. The rest of the Board of Selectmen consists of^[3]:

• Ken Kerin
• Barbara McLaughlin
• Carol Hubert
• John Turk
• Bill (H. William) Davis

More members of the government of the town:

• Town Treasurer William Sarosky^[4]
• Director of Elderly Services Jennifer Fiorillo
• Head Librarian Shirley Thorson
• Town Clerk Ginger Salisbury
• Fire Marshal Henry Stormer
• Assessor Michael Moriarty
• Chief Animal Control Officer Marilyn Muratori
• Building Official Mark Cody
• Director of Public Works Thomas Crowe
• Inland Wetlands Enforcement Officer Mark Massoud
• Director, Parks and Recreations Diane Schaefer
• Resident Trooper Sgt. Kenneth Kramer
• Director, Social Services Sandra Saren
• Tax Collector Penny Cognato
• Zoning Enforcement Officer Mark Massoud

The town of Southbury was one of several towns formed out of a parcel of land purchased from the Paugussett Indians in 1659. It was originally part of Woodbury, as settled in 1673. A new meetinghouse, for the Southbury Ecclesiastical Society, was built in 1733, and in 1787 the town of Southbury was incorporated.^[5]

In the early 1990's, Southbury was the subject of a lawsuit by the Golden Hill Paugusett Indian tribe. The 100-member tribe sought to take the land of roughly 1,200 property holders in the town. The lawsuit was thrown out in 1993, based on the fact that the man who brought the suit was not a chieftan, contrary to his claims, and had no standing to bring the suit.^[6]

Southbury is part of the Pomperaug Regional School District 15 school system, which includes only itself and Middlebury, CT. The system contains five elementary, two middle and one high school. Both middle schools are national blue ribbon schools.

There has long been a "battle" going between the two towns over the amount each pays towards the system. ^[7] Southbury is considerably larger than Middlebury, with considerably more tax base. This has resulted in Southbury taking up the vast majority of the school system, yet because of the substantial tax base in Southbury, each resident pays less per student.

The Southbury Public Library is a department of the town, with its own 9-member Board of Directors.^[8] On May 1, 2006 Southbury officially opened its new library (its 3rd, though no two have ever been in use concurrently) at 100 Poverty Road. This $6 million project was the first public building constructed in Southbury in 30 years. It is a 32,000 square foot, 2 floor, state of the art facility. It contains around 90,000 books. It has computers, audiobooks, DVD's, recording rooms for recording books for the blind, meeting rooms, internet, a fireplace and a coffee bar.^[9] Selections recorded for the blind at the Southbury Public Library become part of the National Library Service catalog.^[10]

Planning for the library began in 1998, with an original projected bond issue of $7.35m. The planning committee solicited donations from the public, which resulted in two single donations of $100,000 or more, and five more of between $25,000 and $99,000, in addition to smaller donations.^[11]

The old library building, at 561 Main Street South, will be converted to hold offices for the Parks and Recreation department, and possibly a new senior center. The old library was built in 1969, and expanded in 1979.^[12]

The oldest library building was located in South Britain (a section and Historic District of Southbury) and was replaced in 1969.^[13]

• Philip Evergood (1901–1973), a painter, etcher, lithographer, sculptor, illustrator and writer, resided in town.
• Wallace Nutting (1861 - 1941) a famed photographer (and also a minister, author, lecturer, furniture maker) moved his photography studio to a farm in town from New York City in 1899. in 1912, he moved again to Framingham, Massachusetts.
• Leland Stowe (1899–1994) Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and one of the first to recognize the expansionist character of the German Nazi regime.
• Ed Sullivan (1901 - 1974), host of a popular television variety show, had a country home in town.
• Joel Hinman (1802 - 1870), Chief Justice, Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors, was born in Southbury.^[14]

• Aaron Bronson House — 846 Southford Rd.
• Adin Wheeler House and Theodore F. Wheeler Wheelwright Shop — 125 Quaker Farms Rd.
• Bullet Hill School — Main St. and Seymour Rd.
• Hurley Road Historic District — 6 and 17 Hurley Rd.
• Little Pootatuck Brook Archeological Site
• Plaster House — 117 Plaster House Rd.
• Reuben Curtiss House — 1770 Bucks Hill Rd.
• Russian Village Historic District — Roughly Kiev Dr. and Russian Village Rd. between US 6 and the Pomperaug River
• Sanford Road Historic District — 480 and 487 Sanford Rd.
• South Britain Historic District — E. Flat Hill, Hawkins, Library, and Middle Rds., and 497-864 S. Britain Rd.
• Southbury Historic District No. 1 — Main St. from Woodbury Town Line to Old Waterbury Rd.
• Southbury Training School — 1484 S. Britain Rd., a 1,600 acre section of Southbury developed as a facility for mentally retarded adults.
• William Hurd House — 327 Hulls Hill Rd.

• Kettletown State Park, a state park that includes camp grounds located in Southbury off I-84 Exit 15.
• Southford Falls State Park, a state park located in Southbury off I-84 Exit 15 and I-84 Exit 16.
• Heritage Village — a retirement community in Southbury.

Southbury is home to a variety of retirement facilities, including Heritage Village, New England's largest retirement community. Due to places such as this, by 2013 30% of the population of Southbury will be over 60. By 2020, 40% will be.^[15] Southbury has developed a 3-phase plan to increase elder services.

The Southbury Land Trust is a "private nonprofit conservation organization dedicated to the protection and preservation of Southbury Connecticut's natural resources for the enjoyment and benefit of all present and future generations." Basically, the SLT purchases or is gifted with land which it places development restrictions on. They currently control more than 800 acres of land in Southbury. Much of this land is open to the public.^[16]

The Southbury Ambulance Association was started as a volunteer organization in 1953 by the Southbury Lions Club, handling both Southbury and Woodbury. The SAA had some of the first EMT's in the state in the 1970's. Until 1978, only SLC members were allowed to join the SAA, which caused difficulties in finding sufficient crew for the ambulance service. As of 1997, the SAA was responding to more than 1,500 service calls a year. Today, the SAA still operates as a volunteer organization which receives zero funding from the town. It currently operates three ambulances.^[17]

The Housatonic River forms the western boundary of Southbury. Southbury has a public beach on it. It also runs along Kettletown State Park.

The Shepaug Dam on the Housatonic River is part of a hydroelectric power plant, operated by FirstLight Power Resources, capable of a peak power output of 42,600 kw. ^[18] This dam is a popular nesting and feeding ground for wintering eagles and hawks, including the Bald Eagle. Near the power station, FirstLight also operates an eagle observation area first opened by the utility's predecessor, Northeast Utilities, in the mid-1980s.^[19] Access is free, and some telescopes are provided. Utility company employees and volunteers from the Connecticut Audobon Society are also at the observation area.^[19] Advanced reservations are required.^[20] Eagless are attracted to the spot because the water churning through the dam's hydroelectric turbine keeps the surface from icing over, allowing the birds to fish. Red-tailed hawks, goshawks, great blue herons and other waterfowl are also attracted to the spot.^[19]

In November 1937 residents of the farming outpost got word that a man by the name of Wolfgang Jung had purchased 178 acres in the town. Residents quickly looked into his plans and discovered that he was a member of the German-American Bund, an organization of ethnic Germans living in the United States who supported Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Its leader, Fritz Kuhn, was considered the leading anti-Semite in the country. Word soon got out that they were in fact planning on building their largest training facility in the country. Residents objected by calling a town meeting and set up a zoning department with one simple rule, no miltary activity excluding the United States army. The law was adopted December 14 and the Bund stopped work and eventually sold the land.^[21]

Only a small area of Southbury is covered by water or sewer systems, with the vast majority left to wells & septic. Southbury is generally concerned with its water table, to the point where the only car wash in town is required to recycle all of their water used, an expensive process.

The town water provider is Aquarion. The gas provider is Yankee Gas Company. The cable (TV, internet, and soon, phone) provider is Charter Communications. The electric provider is Connecticut Light & Power (a Northeast Utilities Company). The phone provider (POTS & DSL) is AT&T.

• Town of Southbury
• Tribury Chamber of Commerce
• Southbury Public Library
• Pomperaug Regional School District 15
• The Pomperaug Health District serves Southbury, Woodbury and Oxford.
• Northwest Connecticut Convention & Visitors Bureau
• Southbury.org Community Site & Discussion

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