Sherman, Connecticut
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| Sherman, Connecticut | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| NECTA | Danbury |
| Region | Housatonic Valley |
| Incorporated | 1802 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Selectman-town meeting |
| - First selectman | Andrea B. O'Connor |
| Area | |
| - Total | 60.6 km² (23.4 sq mi) |
| - Land | 56.5 km² (21.8 sq mi) |
| - Water | 4.0 km² (1.6 sq mi) |
| Elevation | 142 m (466 ft) |
| Population (2005) | |
| - Total | 4,129 |
| - Density | 73/km² (189/sq mi) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 06784 |
| Area code(s) | 860 |
| FIPS code | 09-68310 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0213505 |
| Website: http://www.townofshermanct.org/ | |
Sherman is the northernmost town of Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,827 at the 2000 census. The town is named for New Haven's famous Founding Father, Roger Sherman.
The Appalachian Trail goes through the northern end of Sherman for 1 to 2 miles. Part of Squantz Pond State Park is in the town.
Sherman has one area on the National Register of Historic Places: The Sherman Historic District, bounded roughly by the intersection of Old Greenswood Road and Route 37, northeast past the intersection of Route 37 East and Route 39 North and Sawmill Road. The district was added to the National Register on August 31, 1991.
The town is the only one in Fairfield County with the 860 area code.
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[edit] Education
There is one public school in Sherman named the Sherman School (http://www.shermanschool.com/) it has about 400 kids and runs from pre-school up to grade 8. There is no high school in Sherman therefore students are given the option to choose from six high schools that the town will pay for them to attend (they include: New Milford High School, New Fairfield High School, Brookfield High School, Henry Abbott Tech, Shepaug High School, and Nonnewaug High School). The current principal is Mary Boylan.
[edit] Notable people, past and present
- Arshile Gorky, an abstract expressionist painter, hanged himself in town in 1948, at the age of 44. He is buried in North Cemetery in town. He lived on Spring Lake Road in Sherman. He was under a lot of pressure from multiple tragedies occurring in his life, (fires destroying much of his work, his marriage falling apart, painful memories of Armenian Genocide, etc.
- Both famous actor Brad Pitt and Game show host Howie Mandel looked at houses in Sherman. Also, New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter bought a house for his parents inside the Sail Harbour private community.
- Mikhail Baryshnikov lived in Sherman for a time with his family.
| Historical population of Sherman[4] |
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| 1810 | 949 |
| 1820 | 957 |
| 1830 | 947 |
| 1840 | 938 |
| 1850 | 984 |
| 1860 | 911 |
| 1870 | 846 |
| 1880 | 828 |
| 1890 | 668 |
| 1900 | 658 |
| 1910 | 569 |
| 1920 | 533 |
| 1930 | 391 |
| 1940 | 477 |
| 1950 | 549 |
| 1960 | 825 |
| 1970 | 1,459 |
| 1980 | 2,281 |
| 1990 | 2,809 |
| 2000 | 3,827 |
[edit] Geography
There are many hills and According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.4 square miles (60.5 km²), of which, 21.8 square miles (56.5 km²) of it is land and 1.6 square miles (4.0 km²) of it (6.68%) is water.
[edit] Naromiyocknowhusunkatankshunk Brook
Sherman is the location of the Naromiyocknowhusunkatankshunk Brook (29 letters), on the north end of town near the New Milford border. The Indian name means "water flowing from the hills," (the English wording is 17 letters long). The Naromi Land Trust in Sherman derived its name from the brook.[1]
For some time the brook was officially known as "Morrissey" Brook (9 letters), but an official name change was put into Public Act 01-194, "An Act Concerning Certain Real Property Transactions," which was approved July 11, 2001.[2] The 29-letter name was noted in an 1882 book, History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, 1703-1882, by Samuel Orcutt.[3]
[edit] Candlewood Lake
Candlewood Lake stretches all the way from the south tip in northern Danbury, CT to the north tip in Sherman near a park named Veterans' Field. The lake is the largest lake in the state of Connecticut and suprisingly, is not natural but man made. The water comes from the Rocky River hydro electric power plant in New Milford, CT by the Housatonic River. The water is pumped through a huge pipe straight into the lake.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 3,827 people, 1,434 households, and 1,092 families residing in the town. The population density was 175.6 people per square mile (67.8/km²). There were 1,606 housing units at an average density of 73.7/sq mi (28.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.36% White, 0.55% African American, 0.03% Native American, 0.68% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.72% of the population.
There were 1,434 households out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 68.3% were married couples living together, 5.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 18.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.9% 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 3.09.
In the town the population was spread out with 26.7% under the age of 18, 3.2% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 30.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 95.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $76,202, and the median income for a family was $81,996. Males had a median income of $61,513 versus $42,134 for females. The per capita income for the town was $39,070. About 2.6% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 2.1% of those under age 18 and 5.9% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] References
- ^ [1]Home Web page of the Naromi Land Trust Web site, accessed August 11, 2006
- ^ [2] Web page for Public Act 01-194 at Connecticut General Assembly Web site, accessed August 11, 2001
- ^ [3] Web page reproducing part of the text of History of the Towns of New Milford and Bridgewater, 1703-1882, by Samuel Orcutt at RootsWeb.com Web site, accessed August 11, 2006
- ^ American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Retrieved on 2008-01-31.
[edit] External links
- Northeast Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau
- Naromi Land Trust
- Sherman Volunteer Fire Department
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