Fairfield County, Connecticut

Fairfield County is located in the southwestern corner of the of. Its population according to the 2000 census was 882,567, but a 2006 survey put the population at 905,000. It is the most populous county in the State of Connecticut.

While Fairfield County is a wealthy county in the country because of small towns like Greenwich, Wilton, Darien, Weston, and New Canaan, all consistently ranked in the twenty most affluent communities in the United States, it is also home to less affluent and some lower middle class and poor areas such as Bridgeport, some of Norwalk, and Stamford. The city of Bridgeport is mostly home to minorities and is a perfect example of Connecticut's famed "wealth gap," as all other towns in Fairfield County are considered affluent by national standards.

The towns in Fairfield County bordering are sometimes referred to as .

The county's largest cities are Bridgeport, Stamford, Danbury, and Norwalk. Together these cities contain about 420,000 people - almost half the population of the county.

As is the case with all eight of Connecticut's counties, there is no county government, and no county seat. In Connecticut, towns are responsible for all local government activities, including fire and rescue, snow removal and schools. In a few cases, neighboring towns will share certain resources. However, Fairfield County is merely a group of towns on a map, and has no particular authority.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,168 (837 ). 1,621 km² (626 sq mi) of it is land and 547 km² (211 sq mi) of it (25.23%) is water.

The terrain of the county trends from flat near the coast to hilly and higher near its northern extremity. The highest elevation is 1,290 feet (393 m) above sea level along the state line south of Branch Hill in the Town of Sherman; the lowest point is sea level itself.

Adjacent Counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southwest)
 * (west)
 * (northwest)

History
Fairfield County was the home of many small and unconnected Native American tribes prior to the coming of the Europeans. The first European settlers were Puritans from England. was a prominent early lawyer and judge in this and neighboring Litchfield County.

Although it is often viewed as an extension of metro-New York City, Fairfield County has had much industry in its own right. Stamford, Connecticut is an example of edge city urbanization, with many large and important companies having offices there.

At the height of its influence in the 1920s, the had a distinct presence in the county and county politics. The group was most active in. The Klan has since disappeared from the county.

Cities, towns, sections of towns and villages*
*  Villages are named localities within towns, but have no separate corporate existence from the towns they are in.
 * (Town)
 * Stony Hill
 * (City) Former county seat
 * Black Rock
 * North End
 * Newfield
 * Ox Hill
 * Hollow
 * Mill Hill
 * South End/Seaside Park
 * West Side
 * East Side
 * East End
 * Steel Point
 * (Town)
 * (City)
 * Germantown
 * Mill Plain
 * Little Brazil
 * (Town)
 * Noroton
 * Noroton Heights
 * Tokeneke
 * (Town)
 * Aspetuck
 * Sport Hill
 * (Town)
 * Southport
 * (Town)
 * Byram
 * Old Greenwich
 * Riverside 
 * Back Country
 * Belle Haven
 * (Town)
 * Stepney
 * Stevenson
 * (Town)
 *  (part)
 * (Town)
 * Candlewood Corners
 * (Town)
 * Sandy Hook
 * Dodgingtown
 * Botsford
 * (City)
 * Cranbury
 *  (part)
 * (Town)
 *  (most)
 * Redding Ridge
 * West Redding
 * Five Points
 * (Town)
 * Ridgebury
 * (City)
 * Huntington
 * White Hills
 * Long Hill
 * (Town)
 * (City)
 * Belltown
 * Newfield
 * North Stamford
 * Turn of River
 * West Side
 * (Town)
 * Hawley Lane
 * Lordship
 * Paradise Green
 * Putney
 * Oronoque
 * (Town)
 * Long Hill
 * Nichols
 * Tashua
 * (Town)
 *  (part)
 * (Town)
 * Saugatuck
 * (Town)
 * Cannondale
 *  (part)
 *  (part)
 * Paradise Green
 * Putney
 * Oronoque
 * (Town)
 * Long Hill
 * Nichols
 * Tashua
 * (Town)
 *  (part)
 * (Town)
 * Saugatuck
 * (Town)
 * Cannondale
 *  (part)
 *  (part)
 *  (part)

Mass transit
With the county's major thoroughfares, Interstate 95 and the Merritt Parkway, increasingly clogged with traffic, state officials are looking toward mass transit to ease the traffic burden. In the 2005 and 2006 sessions of the Legislature, massive appropriations were made to buy more rail cars for the Metro-North New Haven Line and branch lines. Ferry lines for some commuters in and out of Stamford are also in development.

New office buildings are being concentrated near railroad stations in, and other municipalities in the county to allow for more rail commuting. Proximity to Stamford's Metro-North train station was cited by the as a key reason for locating its new U.S. headquarters building in downtown Stamford; construction on the office tower started in late 2006.

Rail
Commuter Rail is perhaps Fairfield County's most important transportation artery, as it allows many of its affluent residents an efficient ride to. Service is provided on 's, and every town on the shoreline has at least one station. Connecting lines bring service to New Canaan from Stamford and to Danbury from South Norwalk. Many trains run express from New York to Stamford, making it an easy 35 minute ride. Stamford and Bridgeport are also served by Amtrak, and both cities see a significant number of boardings.

Bus service
Connecticut Transit (CTTRANSIT) runs local and inter-city buses to all some parts of the county. Norwalk Wheels is a bus service for Norwalk. GBTA is for the Bridgeport Area and eastern Fairfield County.

Major roads
Traffic is widely seen as one of the most significant problems in Fairfield County.

Boston Post Road

 * , known by various names along its length, most commonly "Boston Post Road", is the oldest north-south route in the county, running through all of its shoreline cities and towns. Since the route runs along the East Coast, for uniformity's sake, in Connecticut east is officially called "North" and west is officially "South".

Also potentially confusing are the numerous names that Route 1 takes as it goes from town to town. In Greenwich, for instance, it is called Putnam Avenue. In Stamford it becomes Main Street or Tresser Boulevard. In Darien and Fairfield it is called Boston Post Road or "the Post Road". In Norwalk it is known as Connecticut Avenue.

Interstate 95

 * Interstate 95, known within Connecticut as the or the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike, crosses the state approximately parallel to U.S. Route 1. The road is most commonly referred to as "I-95". The highway is six lanes (sometimes eight lanes) throughout the county. It was completed in 1958 and is often clogged with traffic particularly during morning and evening s.

With the cost of land so high along the Gold Coast, state lawmakers say they don't consider widening the highway to be fiscally feasible, although occasional stretches between entrances and nearby exits are now sometimes connected with a fourth "operational improvement" lane (for instance, westbound between the Exit 10 interchange in Darien and Exit 8 in Stamford). Expect similar added lanes in Darien and elsewhere in the Fairfield County portion of the highway in the future, lawmakers and state Department of Transportation officials say.

Merritt Parkway
The, also known as "The Merritt" or Connecticut Route 15, is a truck-free scenic parkway that runs through the county parallel and generally several miles north of Interstate 95. Like I-95, the route typically slows down during rush hours, but rarely stops.

The interchange between the Merritt Parkway and Route 7 in Norwalk was completed around the year 2000. The project was held up in a lawsuit won by preservationists concerned about the historic Merritt Parkway bridges. It is now exit 39 off the Merritt, and exit 16 off I-95.

Interstate 84
, which runs through Danbury, is scheduled to be widened to a six-lane highway at all points between Danbury and Waterbury. State officials say they hope the widening will not only benefit drivers regularly on the route but also entice some cars from the more crowded Interstate 95, which is roughly parallel to it. Heavier trucks are unlikely to use Interstate 84 more often, however, because the route is much hillier than I-95 according to a state Department of Transportation official.

U.S. Route 7
With its southern terminus at Interstate 95 in central Norwalk, heads north through Wilton, Ridgefield, and Danbury to points north. In Danbury and almost all of Norwalk, the route is a highway (known as "Super 7" in the Danbury area or "The Connector" in Norwalk) but it becomes a four-lane road just south of the Wilton-Norwalk border and up to Danbury. There is significant opposition to making the route a limited access highway for the entire length by residents of Wilton and Ridgefield.

Connecticut Route 8
terminates (or starts) in Downtown Bridgeport from I 95 with Connecticut Route 25 and goes north. It splits from Connecticut Route 25 at the Bridgeport/ Trumbull town line and continues north into southeastern Trumbull and Shelton, then beyond the county through some of "The Valley" towns of the Naugatuck River Valley to Waterbury and beyond. Construction of the route provided some impetus for the creation of office parks in Shelton and home construction there and in other parts of The Valley.

Connecticut Route 25
Starts in Downtown Bridgeport from I 95 with Route 8 and goes north. It splits from Connecticut Route 8 at the Bridgeport/ Trumbull town line and continues into Trumbull (expressway Ends in northern Trumbull, but still continues into Monroe, Newtown then continues to Brookfield.

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 882,567 people, 324,232 households, and 228,259 families residing in the county. The was 545/km² (1,410/sq mi). There were 339,466 housing units at an average density of 209/km² (542/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 79.31%, 10.01% or , 0.20% , 3.25% , 0.04% , 4.70% from , and 2.49% from two or more races. 11.88% of the population were or  of any race. 17.6% were of, 12.4% , 6.5% and 6.4%  ancestry according to.

In 2005 70.9% of Fairfield County's population was Non-Hispanic whites. 10.7% of the population was African-Americans. Asians were 4.1% of the population. Latinos now constituted 14.0% of the population.

As of 2000, 76.2% spoke, 11.0% , 2.0% , 1.7% and 1.1%  as their first language. Some of the last group were Haitians, although other Haitians would identify Haitian creole as their first language.

There were 324,232 households out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.50% were living together, 11.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.60% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.18.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.60% under the age of 18, 7.00% from 18 to 24, 30.90% from 25 to 44, 23.30% from 45 to 64, and 13.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $65,249, and the median income for a family was $77,690. Males had a median income of $51,996 versus $37,108 for females. The for the county was $38,350. About 5.00% of families and 6.90% of the population were below the, including 8.30% of those under age 18 and 6.60% of those age 65 or over.

Hospitals in the county

 * in
 * in
 * in
 * in
 * in

Countywide

 * Fairfield County Business Journal
 * Fairfield County Weekly

Daily newspapers covering the county

 * The Advocate of Stamford - STAMFORD edition -- published by Southern Connecticut Newspapers Inc., a subsidiary of the Tribune Company
 * The Advocate of Stamford - NORWALK edition
 * Connecticut Post -- owned by Media General Group
 * The Hartford Courant (occasionally covers Fairfield County) -- owned by the Tribune Company
 * The Hour of Norwalk registration required -- controlled by a trust under the ultimate authority of Norwalk Probate Court
 * Greenwich Time -- published by Southern Connecticut Newspapers Inc., a subsidiary of the Tribune Company
 * New York Daily News (occasionally covers Fairfield County)
 * New York Post (occasionally covers Fairfield County)
 * New York Times (occasionally covers Fairfield County)
 * The News-Times of Danbury, owned by Ottaway Newspapers, a subsidiary of Dow Jones

Spanish language newspapers

 * El Sol News countywide, based in Stamford
 * El Canillita distributed across southwestern Connecticut
 * Pluma Libre distributed across southwestern Connecticut

Colleges

 * Housatonic Community College in Bridgeport
 * link
 * University of Connecticut, Stamford campus
 * Norwalk Community College
 * St. Vincent's College in Bridgeport
 * in Bridgeport
 * in Bridgeport

Music: Orchestras in the county

 * Greater Bridgeport Symphony. Founded in 1945, its concerts are held at Klien Memorial Auditorium in Bridgeport. The orchestra offers a free outdoors pops concert in the summer at Fairfield University. Gustav Meier has been with the GBSO for 35 years.


 * Connecticut Grand Opera, a not-for-profit, professional opera company founded in 1993 and based in Stamford, where it performs at the Palace Theatre. On its web site, the CGO claims to offer "the most ambitious opera season of any company between New York and Boston."


 * Danbury Symphony Orchestra. This orchestra does not have its own Web site and only part of a web page at the Danbury Music Center web site is devoted to it.


 * Greenwich Symphony Orchestra. Begun in 1958 as the Greenwich Philharmonia, the orchestra has grown to 90 members who perform at the Dickerman Hollister Auditorium at Greenwich High School. It also performs a pops concert in the summer. David Gilbert has been music director and conductor since 1975.


 * Norwalk Symphony Orchestra. Its concerts take place in a graceful, large "Norwalk Concert Hall" auditorium of Norwalk City Hall. Founded in 1939, the NSO remained primarily a community orchestra of volunteers. In 1956, the Norwalk Youth Symphony was created, and younger musicians often were invited to be part of the orchestra. Diane Wittry has been music director and conductor since 2002. For the past eight years she has held the same title at the Allentown (Pennsylvania) Symphony.


 * Ridgefield Symphony OrchestraAnnually, the RSO presents four subscription concerts at the Anne S. Richardson Auditorium at Ridgefield High School, and two chamber music concerts at the Ridgefield Playhouse for the Performing Arts (only one is scheduled in the 2006-07 season), along with an annual "family concert" and performances in Ridgefield schools.


 * Stamford Symphony Orchestra The SSO typically gives five pairs of classical concerts and three pops concerts a season at the 1,586-seat Palace Theatre. It also performs a concet for elementary school students and a family concert series.

Historic sites

 * National Register of Historic Places listing for Fairfield Co., Connecticut

Tourism links

 * Coastal Fairfield County Convention and Visitors Bureau serves Stamford, Norwalk, Bridgeport, and Shelton and the towns of Greenwich, Darien, New Canaan, Wilton, Westport,Weston, Fairfield, Easton, Monroe, Stratford, and Trumbull.
 * Northeast Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau, in Fairfield County, it serves Ridgefield, Redding, Newtown, Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, Sherman and New Fairfield.

County business associations and institutions

 * Business Council of Fairfield County