Colebrook, Connecticut

Colebrook, Connecticut
Town
Location in Litchfield County, Connecticut
Coordinates: 42°00′05″N 73°05′04″W / 42.00139°N 73.08444°WCoordinates: 42°00′05″N 73°05′04″W / 42.00139°N 73.08444°W
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
NECTA	Torrington, CT
Region	Litchfield Hills
Incorporated	1779
Government
• Type	Selectman-town meeting
• First selectman	Thomas D. McKeon (R)
• Selectman	Christopher L. Johnstone (R)
• Selectman	Joseph J. Alciati, Sr. (D)
Area
• Total	32.9 sq mi (85.2 km^2)
• Land	31.5 sq mi (81.5 km^2)
• Water	1.4 sq mi (3.8 km^2)
Elevation	961 ft (293 m)
Population (2005)[1]
• Total	1,540
• Density	49/sq mi (19/km^2)
Time zone	Eastern (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code	06021
Area code(s)	860
FIPS code	09-16050
GNIS feature ID	0213410
Website	www.colebrooktownhall.org

Colebrook is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,471 at the 2000 census. Colebrook was named after Colebrooke, in the English county of Devon.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 32.9 square miles (85 km²), of which 31.5 square miles (82 km²) is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) (4.40%) is water. The Algonquin State Forest is located within the town.

Principal communities

• Colebrook center
• North Colebrook
• Robertsville

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1820	1,274		—
1850	1,317		—
1860	1,375		4.4%
1870	1,141		−17.0%
1880	1,148		0.6%
1890	1,098		−4.4%
1900	684		−37.7%
1910	557		−18.6%
1920	492		−11.7%
1930	564		14.6%
1940	547		−3.0%
1950	592		8.2%
1960	791		33.6%
1970	1,020		29.0%
1980	1,221		19.7%
1990	1,365		11.8%
2000	1,471		7.8%
2010	1,485		1.0%
Est. 2014	1,445	[2]	−2.7%
U.S. Decennial Census[3]

As of the census^[4] of 2000, there were 1,471 people, 566 households, and 419 families residing in the town. The population density was 46.7 people per square mile (18.0/km²). There were 656 housing units at an average density of 20.8 per square mile (8.0/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.01% White, 0.68% African American, 0.61% Asian, 0.88% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.45% of the population.

There were 566 households out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the town the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $58,684, and the median income for a family was $64,286. Males had a median income of $42,647 versus $35,987 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,789. About 1.4% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.

Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 27, 2015[5]
Party		Active voters	Inactive voters	Total voters	Percentage
	Democratic	244	16	260	24.76%
	Republican	259	21	280	26.67%
	Unaffiliated	449	43	492	46.86%
	Minor Parties	17	1	18	1.71%
Total		969	81	1050	100%

Transportation

The town is served by Route 8, Route 182, and Route 183.

Notable locations

• Rock Hall (Colebrook, Connecticut), listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• Camp Jewell YMCA, a YMCA camp

Wind farm siting

Wind Colebrook was a proposal to build the state's first utility scale wind turbine project, for which permitting was ultimately denied.

BNE Energy is cleared to build three wind turbines in Colebrook

Notable residents

• Rufus Babcock, 2nd President of Colby College, was born in North Colbrook.
• Abiram Chamberlain (1837–1911), the 60th Governor of Connecticut was born in Colebrook.
• Donald Barr, (1921–2004), novelist, educator, and book reviewer for the New York Times, retired to Colebrook in the 1980s.^[6]
• Jonathan Edwards (the younger) (1745–1801), theologian, lived and preached in Colebrook for four years.
• Short story writer Harris Merton Lyon lived in North Colebrook.^[7]
• James Phelps (1822–1900), judge, Connecticut Representative and Senator, and US Congressman was born in town.
• Lancelot Phelps (1784–1866), US Congressman and father to James Phelps was a longtime resident.
• Ammi Phillips (1788–1865), artist, was born in Colebrook.
• Thomas Robbins (minister) (1777–1856), Congregational minister, bibliophile, and an antiquarian died in Colebrook.
• Julius Rockwell (1805–1888), judge and US Congressman for Massachusetts was born in town.

References

1. U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates
2. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014". Retrieved June 4, 2015.
3. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Archived from the original on May 11, 2015. Retrieved June 4, 2015.
4. "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
5. "Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 27, 2015" (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-05. Retrieved 2016-02-05.
6. Saxon, Wolfgang (February 10, 2004). "Donald Barr, 82, Headmaster And Science Honors Educator". The New York Times.
7. Max J. Puzel, The Man in the Mirror: William Marion Reedy and His Magazine, University of Missouri Press, 1998, pp. 256-259

External links

• Northwest Connecticut Arts Council
• Northwest Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Northwestern Connecticut Community College in Winsted