Windsor, Connecticut

Windsor is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, and was the first English settlement in the state. It lies on the northern border of Connecticut's capital, Hartford. The population was estimated at 28,778 in 2005.

Poquonock is a northern area of Windsor that has its own zip code (06064) for PO Box purposes. Other areas in Windsor, which are not incorporated, include Rainbow and Hayden Station in the north, and Wilson and Deerfield in the south.

The Day Hill Road area is known as Windsor's Corporate Area, although other centers of business include New England Tradeport, Kennedy Industry Park and Kennedy Business Park, all near Bradley International Airport and the Addison Road Industrial Park.

History
The coastal areas and riverways were traditional areas of settlement by various cultures of indigenous peoples, who had been in the region for thousands of years. They relied on the rivers for fishing, water and transportation. Before European contact, the historic Pequot and Mohegan tribes had been one Algonquian-speaking people. After they separated, they became competitors and traditional enemies in the Connecticut region.

During the first part of the 17th century, the Pequot and Mohegan Nations had been at war. The Podunk were forced to pay tribute to the more powerful Pequot, who claimed their land. Eventually, the Podunk invited a small party of settlers from Plymouth, Massachusetts to settle as a mediating force between the other tribes. In exchange they granted them a plot of land at the confluence of the Farmington River and the west side of the Connecticut River. After Edward Winslow came from Plymouth to inspect the land, William Holmes led a small party, arriving at the site on September 26, 1633 where they founded a trading post.

Native Americans referred to the area as Matianuck. It was about 50 mi up river, at the end of waters navigable by ship and above the Dutch fort at Hartford, offering an advantageous location for the English to trade with the Indians before they reached the Dutch. (The Sicaog tribe had made a similar offer to mediate to the Dutch in New Amsterdam. New Netherland had far fewer European settlers than New England and were not in a position to take up the opportunity.)

In 1635, 60 or more people, led by the Reverends Maverick and Warham arrived, having trekked overland from Dorchester, Massachusetts. They had arrived in the New World five years earlier on the ship "Mary and John" from Plymouth, England and settled in Dorchester. Reverend Warham promptly renamed the settlement Dorchester. During the next few years, more settlers arrived from Dorchester, outnumbering and soon displacing the original Plymouth contingent, who mostly returned to Plymouth.

In 1637, the colony's General Court changed the name of the settlement from Dorchester to Windsor, named after the town of Windsor England on the River Thames.

Several towns that border Windsor were once entirely or partially part of Windsor including: Windsor Locks; South Windsor; East Windsor; Ellington, (which was later part of East Windsor); and Bloomfield, (originally called "Wintonbury"; a composite of the town names Windsor, Farmington and Simsbury).

The first "highway" in Connecticut opened in 1638 between Windsor and Hartford. As the English settled other towns further up the Connecticut River, such as Springfield and Northampton, Massachusetts, trading routes were extended to them.

The Hartford & Springfield Street Railway, a trolley, connected with the Connecticut Company in Windsor Center until 1925. Buses replaced trolleys between Rainbow (a northern section of Windsor) and Windsor Center in 1930. Trolley cars continued to run from Windsor to Hartford until 1940.

The original Windsor settlers have many descendants around the country and beyond. Many are members of The Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor (DFAW).

Other points of interest
On historic Palisado Avenue, one can find the First Church In Windsor, Congregational and adjacent graveyard.

Across the street on the Palisado green stands a statue of John Mason (a founder of Windsor and colonial leader in the Pequot War). The historic plaque also lists and honors Robert Seeley, his second in command.

Further north is the home of Oliver Ellsworth, third Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court.

The town center is well-planned in comparison to many of the others in the Greater Hartford area. It has a relative diversity of chains and local shops, as well as a recently restored Amtrak train station dating to the 1850s. The Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut is located in Windsor.

Historic sites
Windsor is home to the following locations on the National Register of Historic Places:


 * Allyn, Capt. Benjamin, II, House – 119 Deerfield Rd. (added 1979)
 * Giles Barber House – 411—413 Windsor Avenue (added 1988)
 * Bissell Tavern-Bissell's Stage House – 1022 Palisado Avenue (added 1985)
 * Broad Street Green Historic District – Roughly along Broad Street from Batchelder Rd. to Union St. (added 1999)
 * Benomi Case House – 436 Rainbow Rd.  (added 1988)
 * Hartford & New Haven Railroad Depot – 41 Central St. (added 1988)
 * Hartford & New Haven Railroad-Freight Depot – 40 Central St. (added 1988)
 * Hezekiah Chaffee House – Meadow Lane, off Palisado Green  (added 1972)
 * Taylor Chapman House – 407 Palisado Avenue (added 1988)
 * Horace H. Ellsworth House –  316 Palisado Avenue (added 1988)
 * Oliver Ellsworth Homestead – 778 Palisado Avenue (added 1970)
 * Farmington River Railroad Bridge – Spans Farmington River and Pleasant St. W of Palisado Ave. (added 1972)
 * Palisado Avenue Historic District – Palisado Ave. between the Farmington River and Bissell Ferry Rd. (added 1987)

Connecticut Shade Tobacco
Tobacco farming in Connecticut has a long history. When the first settlers came to the valley in the 1630s, tobacco was already being grown by the native population. By 1700, tobacco was being exported via the Connecticut River to European ports. The use of Connecticut tobacco as a cigar wrapper leaf began in the 1820s. By the 1830s, tobacco farmers were experimenting with different seeds and processing techniques.

Area farmers grew tobacco for the two outside layers of cigars, the binder and the wrapper. A tobacco leaf type named Shoestring, then Broadleaf and Havana Seed were used. In the late 19th century a fine grained leaf type imported from Sumatra began to replace the wrapper from the Connecticut River valley. The tobacco farmers matched the Sumatran leaf by making shade tents of cloth to cut sunlight and raise humidity. The first tent was raised in 1900 on River Street in Windsor. Windsor tobacco leaves are highly prized by fine cigar makers, and are used as the cigar's outer wrapping. The former president of U.S. operations for Davidoff, a Swiss maker of luxury goods company including premium Cuban cigars, praised Connecticut shade tobacco as "A nice Connecticut wrapper" and "…very silky, very fine. From a marketing point of view, it is considered at the moment to be one of the best tasting and looking wrappers available" in a Cigar Aficionado article on why the world's best cigars use Connecticut tobacco wrapper leaves.

The technique of growing shade tobacco has changed little in the past hundred years. To form the shade tents, a tobacco field is set with posts in a grid layout. Wires are stretched from post to post, and a light, durable fabric (once cotton but now a synthetic fiber) is tied across them and draped along the sides. For example, twenty posts in four rows of five will create twelve square cells in three rows of four. Under the tents the sunlight is soft and diffused the air is humid and the ambient temperature is slightly warmer than outside. Filtering the sun produces a thinner and more elastic tobacco leaf that cures to a lighter, even color.

At its height, there was greater than 15000 acre of tobacco being cultivated under shade in the Connecticut River valley. Currently, the amount of tobacco being grown in the valley is just over a steady 2000 acre. Approximately 34,000 acres (140 km²) of land in Connecticut is covered by Windsor Soil, named after the town.

The movie "Parrish", starring Troy Donoahue and Karl Malden, was set in the tobacco farms of Windsor, and filmed here in 1961.

While much of the Day Hill Road section of town has been given over to industry, the long red wooden sheds that are used to store and dry the tobacco are still noticeable. The Connecticut Valley Tobacco Museum containing authentic farming implements and tools can be found at Northwest Park located in Windsor.

Education

 * One public school for pre-school and kindergarten: Roger Wolcott Early Childhood Center,
 * Four public elementary schools (Grades 1–5): Oliver Ellsworth Elementary School, Clover Street Elementary School, John F. Kennedy Elementary School, and Poquonock Elementary School,
 * One public middle school (Grades 6–8): Sage Park Middle School and
 * One public high school (Grades 9–12): Windsor High School.
 * Two public libraries: Windsor Public Library and Wilson Public Library
 * Loomis Chaffee, the well-known college preparatory school is located in Windsor, on a 320 acre (1.3 km²) campus at the confluence of the Connecticut and Farmington rivers.
 * Saint Gabriel's School is a private school that teaches grades kindergarten through eighth.
 * Trinity Christian School is a private school that teaches grades kindergarten through seventh.
 * Praise, Power, Prayer Christian School is a private school that teaches grades kindergarten through twelfth.
 * Branford Hall Career Institute is located on Day Hill Road.
 * Baran Institute of Technology is located on Day Hill Road.

Parks

 * Windsor Meadows State Park is in the south east corner of town. The park runs down the shore of the Connecticut River.
 * Keney Park, in the south, straddles Windsor and Hartford; it includes Cricket Fields and a Golf Course.
 * Northwest Park, Windsor's largest park, is located in the northwest corner of Windsor. It includes a nature center, trails and an animal barn showcasing a burro, sheep, chickens, goats, rabbits, ducks, and a turkey.
 * Welch Park is in the neighborhood of Poquonock on the Farmington River. Welch Park is home to a public pool and numerous baseball diamonds, along with a small playground.
 * Stroh Park is off of Route 159 near Wilson Congregational Church towards the south end of town. Stroh Park is home to a public pool, tennis courts, a playground, and a pond.
 * Strawberry Hills Park is located on River Street. A popular location in the summer months for those interested in canoeing and kayaking the Farmington River.

Events

 * The Northwest Park Country Fair is held every fall.
 * The Shad Derby Festival is held every spring in the town center.

Entertainment

 * Tradition Golf Club.
 * Keney Park Golf Club.
 * The Troy Donahue movie Parrish, was filmed on Windsor's tobacco "plantations" in 1961.
 * The movie Academy Boyz was shot at Loomis Chaffee in 1997.

Religion

 * Hopewell Baptist Church
 * Windsor Home Church
 * Pilgrim Way Baptist Church
 * Grace Baptist Church
 * Greater St. Paul's Baptist Church of Deliverance
 * Saint Gabriel's Church, Roman Catholic
 * Saint Gertrude's Church, Roman Catholic
 * Saint Joseph's Church, Roman Catholic
 * The First Church in Windsor, United Church of Christ
 * Poquonock Community Church, Independent Congregational
 * Wilson Congregational Church, United Church of Christ
 * Holy Zion Church of the Jubilee
 * Mount Carmel Christian Ministries
 * Faith Community Church
 * Grace Episcopal Church
 * Archer Memorial AME Zion Church
 * Trinity United Methodist Church
 * Christ the King Lutheran Church
 * Congregation Beth Ahm, Jewish
 * River of Life Christian Church
 * Tohrah Judea
 * Connecticut Valley Church of Christ
 * Praise Power & Prayer Christian Temple
 * Islamic Center of Connecticut

Transportation

 * Windsor, Connecticut (Amtrak station)
 * Bradley International Airport, which serves Greater Hartford as well as the greater Pioneer Valley, is located in the adjacent town of Windsor Locks to the north.
 * Connecticut Transit: There are eight routes serving Windsor: 15, 30, 32, 34, 36, 40, 54, and 92.
 * The 30-Bradley Flyer route bus runs between Hartford and Bradley International Airport through Windsor.
 * The 32, 34, and 36 routes run between Windsor Center and Downtown Hartford along Windsor and Poquonock Avenues. While the 32 route terminates at the Poquonock Park & Ride Lot, the 34 route continues on to serve the Walgreens Distribution Center in the Rainbow neighborhood, and the 36 route continues on to connect with the 54 route in the Day Hill Road Corporate Area.
 * The 92 route provides crosstown trips through Windsor beginning at Copaco in Bloomfield and ending at the Shoppes at Buckland Hills in Manchester.
 * The 40-North Main Street-Wilson route terminates at the Wilson Park & Ride Lot.
 * Service to the Poquonock Park & Ride Lot is provided by the local 30, 32, 34, 36, and 54 routes as well as the 15-Windsor Express route, which provides express service between Poquonock Avenue and Downtown Hartford via I-91.
 * Interstate 91 has 7 exits in Windsor, including an High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lane traveling north and south between Hartford and the Bradley Airport Connector (Route 20).
 * Interstate 291 (Connecticut) begins in Windsor with 3 exits; it connects Interstate 91 with Interstate 84 (east).
 * A rail line runs along the Connecticut River through Windsor, with one stop for Amtrak trains in Windsor's Center. An 1856 brownstone bridge carries the tracks over Pleasant St and the Farmington River.  Incorporating a horizontal curve, its engineering was noteworthy when built.

Public safety

 * Windsor Police Department is located at the Windsor Safety Complex, in the middle of town, next to I-91, on Bloomfield Avenue.
 * Windsor Volunteer Fire Department has 5 stations: Windsor Station (at the Windsor Safety Complex), Wilson Station, Poquonock Station, Rainbow Road Station and Hayden Station.
 * Windsor Volunteer Ambulance is also located at the Windsor Safety Complex.

Notable residents



 * Al Anderson, guitarist, singer and songwiter, best known for his 20-year stint in NRBQ.
 * Moe Drabowsky, major league baseball pitcher.
 * Oliver Ellsworth, third Chief Justice of the United States, a drafter of the Constitution and American founding father, was born in town.
 * John Fitch, inventor of the steamboat.
 * Mike Joy (b. 1949), TV sports announcer who serves as the lap-by-lap voice of FOX Sports' NASCAR coverage, served four elected terms on the Windsor Town Cou
 * Lancelot Phelps, (1784–1866), US Representative from Connecticut.
 * Oliver Phelps, (1749–1809)
 * Iceman John Scully, professional boxer, world title challenger, ESPN Classic Boxing Broadcaster
 * Oliver Wolcott, American founding father, born in town.
 * Roger Wolcott (1679–1767), weaver, colonial governor of Connecticut (1751–54), father of Oliver Wolcott.

Geography
Windsor's highest point is on Day Hill at 230 feet (70 m).

Windsor's lowest point is at the Connecticut River shore at 5 feet (2 m). The Connecticut River defines Windsor's east border. The city of Hartford, the Capital of Connecticut, is adjacent to Windsor to the south. The town of Windsor Locks, home of Bradley International Airport, is adjacent to Windsor to the north. Prior to its incorporation in 1854, it was known as the Pine Meadow section of Windsor. The towns of East Windsor and South Windsor are on east side of the Connecticut River, which defines Windsor's eastern border. The town of Bloomfield is to the west. The town of East Granby is to the northwest.

The Farmington River joins the Connecticut River in Windsor. The Farmington River is dammed in the northwest corner of Windsor to form the 234 acre Rainbow Reservoir.

Principal communities

 * Deerfield
 * Hayden Station
 * Poquonock
 * Rainbow
 * Wilson
 * Windsor Center

Population
Population density was 368.0/km² (953.0/sq mi).

In the town the population was spread out with 24.6% under the age of 18, 5.9% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.5 males. 7,604 families residing in the town. 10,900 housing units at an average density of 367.9/sq mi (142.0/km²). 10,577 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.7% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families.

23.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

The average household size was 2.61 and the average family size was 3.10.

Income
In the 2000 U.S. Census, median income for a household in the town was $64,137, and median income for a family was $73,064. ($76,637 and $84,510, respectively, as of a 2007 estimate ). Males had a median income of $45,443 versus $37,476 for females (2000).

Windsor was one of a handful of towns in the country where, in the United States Census, 2000, median income for black households ($64,159) was larger than white households ($63,624). Asian households had a median income of $75,716. Hispanic or Latino (of any race) households have a median income of $69,808.

The per capita income for the town was $27,633 (risen to $33,242, in 2007 census estimate ). About 2.2% of families and 3.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.3% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

Diversity
Racial makeup of the town was
 * White 65.12%
 * African American 27.09%
 * Native American 0.16%
 * Asian 3.14%
 * Pacific Islander 0.03%
 * other races 2.09%
 * 2.38% from two or more races.
 * Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.98% of the population.

Windsor High School has 1471 students enrolled and demographics for 2004–2005 were:
 * Black 46.2%
 * White 41.1%
 * Hispanic 8.8%
 * Asian 3.8%
 * Native American 0.1%

Politics
Connecticut House of Representatives:
 * David A. Baram (D)
 * Elaine C. O'Brien (D)
 * Peggy Sayers (D)

Connecticut Senate:
 * Eric D. Coleman (D)
 * John Kissel (R)

United States House of Representatives:
 * John B. Larson (D)

Minor party registrations in Windsor include Green, Libertarian, and Working Families.