Norwich, Connecticut

The harbor, 1906

The town of Norwich was founded on the site of what is now Norwichtown in 1659 by settlers from Saybrook Colony led by Major John Mason and James Fitch.[5] They purchased the land "nine miles square" that became Norwich from Mohegan Sachem Uncas.[6] One of the co-founders of Norwich was Thomas Leffingwell who rescued Uncas when surrounded by his Narragansett enemies, and whose son established the Leffingwell Inn.[7] In 1668, a wharf was established at Yantic Cove. Settlement was primarily in the three-mile (4.8 km) area around the Norwichtown Green. The 69 founding families soon divided up the land in the Norwichtown vicinity for farms and businesses.

By 1694, the public landing built at the head of the Thames River allowed ships to unload goods at the harbor; the harbor area is known as the Chelsea neighborhood. The distance from the port to Norwichtown was served by the East and West Roads which became Washington Street and Broadway. The original center of the town was a neighborhood now called Norwichtown, an inland location chosen to be the center of a primarily agricultural farming community. By the late 18th century, shipping at the harbor became far more important than farming, especially when industrial mills began manufacturing on the three smaller rivers. By the early 19th century, the center of Norwich had effectively moved to the Chelsea neighborhood. The official buildings of the city were located in the harbor area, such as the city hall, courts, and post office, and all the large 19th-century urban blocks. The former center is now called Norwichtown to distinguish it from the current city.

Norwich merchants were shipping goods directly from England, but the Stamp Act of 1764 forced Norwich to become more self-sufficient. Large mills and factories sprang up at the falls on the rivers which traverse the town, the largest of which was the Ponemah Mill in the Taftville neighborhood. The ship captains of Norwich and New London were skillful at avoiding Imperial taxation during peacetime and were later just as successful eluding warships during the American Revolution. Norwich supported the cause for independence by supplying soldiers, ships, and munitions, and it was also a center of activity for the Sons of Liberty.

The Oxford English Dictionary attests the first recorded use of the word "Hello" to The Norwich Courier on October 18, 1826.[8] Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 19th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing. This was also spurred by the building of the Norwich and Worcester Railroad in 1832–1837, bringing goods and people in and out of Norwich. By the 1870s, the Springfield and New London Railroad was also running trains through Norwich.

In 1892, the city's first electric trolleys started service to the area and to some cities, including New London, Willimantic, Putnam, and Westerly, Rhode Island.[9] The town and city of Norwich were consolidated in 1952.[10]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 29.5 square miles (76.4 km²), of which 28.3 sq mi (73.4 km²) is land and 1.2 sq mi (3.0 km²) (3.87%) is water.

As of the census[17] of 2000, there were 36,117 people, 15,091 households, and 9,069 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,274.7 people per square mile (492.2/km²). There were 16,600 housing units at an average density of 585.9 per square mile (226.2/km²).

Twenty-nine percent of households had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.7% were married couples living together, 15.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.9% were non-families. Thirty-two percent of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city, the age distribution of the population shows 24.1% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.

In 2012, the population had risen to 40,502 and the racial makeup of the city was 70% White, 13% Hispanic or Latino, 10% Black or African American, 8% Asian, and 1% Native American. A significant influx of Chinese Americans has settled in Norwich since 2010.

The 2012 median income for a household in the city was $51,300. Fifteen percent of the population were below the poverty line.

The AA Eastern League Connecticut Defenders, previously the Norwich Navigators, were a farm team of the San Francisco Giants and they played at Senator Thomas J. Dodd Memorial Stadium from both's inception in 1995 until the team announced its move to Richmond, Virginia for the 2010 season, where they are now known as the Richmond Flying Squirrels. However, starting in 2010, Dodd Stadium became the home to the Connecticut Tigers (formerly the Oneonta Tigers, now named Norwich Sea Unicorns) in the Class-A short-season New York–Penn League. The ESPN mini-series The Bronx Is Burning was filmed at Dodd Stadium.

The city elects a Mayor, who presides over the City Council, which includes six other members, all elected at large. The Mayor serves a maximum of two four-year terms; the council members serve two-year terms. The council appoints the Town and City Clerk, a City Manager who acts as chief executive officer of the city government, the city Planning Commission, and Zoning Board of Appeals.[19]

Elementary and middle school residents are zoned to Norwich Public Schools.[20] The middle schools of Norwich are Teachers' Memorial Middle School and Kelly Middle School. Norwich is also home to the Integrated Day Charter School, an alternative to the area of public schools.

The Norwich Free Academy is the primary high school for students living in Norwich and several surrounding towns, including Bozrah, Canterbury, Franklin, Lisbon, Preston, Sprague, and Voluntown. The Norwich Free Academy was incorporated in 1855 by an act of the Connecticut Legislature, and operates as a privately endowed independent school governed by its Board of Trustees and funded by private, municipal, and state sources. In 2006, Sidney Frank donated $12 million to the Norwich Free Academy[21] which resulted in the campus's newest building being named after him: the Sidney E. Frank Center for Visual and Performing Arts.

Norwich Technical High School, A Connecticut Technical High School System School, also serves the area. This school is a public option to those within the Norwich area, and many other towns surrounding Norwich. To those within the Norwich area, transportation is provided by Norwich Public Schools via the same buses that serve Norwich Free Academy in the morning, and in the afternoon students are transported to Norwich Free Academy to use their buses to return home.

Three Rivers Community College also serves the region.[22]

• Norwich

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Norwich, Connecticut.

Wikisource has the text of a 1921 Collier's Encyclopedia article about Norwich, Connecticut.

• Official website
• Norwich Community Development Corporation
• A Brief History of Norwich
• The Christopher Leffingwell House Museum
• Mystic Country: The Eastern Regional Tourism District
• WTNH News Article Article on Removal of the sign.
• "Norwich, a town and city, and one of the county seats of New London co., Connecticut" . The American Cyclopædia. 1879.