Wallingford, Connecticut

The Connecticut General Assembly created the town on October 10, 1667. This original plot of land near the Quinnipiac River is now considered Main Street. Starting on May 12, 1670, there were 126 people who lived in temporary housing, and five years later in 1675 there were 40 permanent homes.[5]

In 1697 Wallingford was the site of the last witchcraft trial in New England. Winifred Benham was thrice tried for witchcraft and acquitted all three times.[6]

The 1878 Wallingford tornado struck on August 9 of that year. It killed at least 29 and likely 34 people in Wallingford, the most by any tornado event in Connecticut history.

Wallingford is home to a large variety of industries and major corporations spanning the spectrum of the medical, health care, service, hi-tech specialty metal manufacturing and research development. The development of the Barnes Industrial Parks, Casimir Pulaski Industrial Park, Centract Park and MedWay Industrial Park have greatly contributed to a diversified tax base. An Interchange Zone which permits restrictive commercial development of office parks, research and development centers and hotels was created at the intersection of interstate 91 and Route 68.[7] The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, the town's largest taxpayer, has established a research and development facility in Wallingford's MedWay Industrial Park. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company moved out in 2017 and the structures were demolished in 2018.

In terms of Wallingford's manufacturing and design history, silver-producing companies like Hall, Elton & Co.,[8] Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co.[9] and R. Wallace & Sons are of particular note.[10] Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co. as well as Wallingford's Watrous Manufacturing Co. later became part of the International Silver Company, which was headquartered in the neighboring city of Meriden.[11]

• 
  New York Insulated Wire Company, 1910.
• 
  Library and Marlborough House, about 1909.
• 
  Bridge and falls at Quinnipiac River in Wallingford, 1907.

The Wallingford Public School System consists of eight elementary schools: Cook Hill, E. C. Stevens, Highland, and Moses Y. Beach Elementary Schools covering Pre-K to second grade and Parker Farms, Pond Hill, Rock Hill, and Mary G. Fritz Elementary Schools covering grades three to five; two middle schools, Dag Hammarskjöld and James H. Moran; and two high schools, Lyman Hall and Mark T. Sheehan.[12][13]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.9 square miles (103.3 km²), of which 39.0 square miles (101.1 km²) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km²), or 2.16%, is water.

The town of Wallingford sits astride the Quinnipiac River in northern New Haven County. It is 5 miles (8 km) south of Meriden and about 13 miles (21 km) north of New Haven. Towns bordering Wallingford are Cheshire, Durham, Hamden, Meriden, Middlefield, North Branford and North Haven. Situated in the Hartford-New Haven-Springfield corridor, Wallingford is traversed by U.S. Route 5, Interstate 91, and State Highways Route 15 (Wilbur Cross Parkway), Route 68, Route 71 and Route 150.

As of the census[18] of 2010, there were 45,135 people and 18,518 households residing in the town. According to the 2018 American Community Survey, the population density was 1,146.8 people per square mile. There were 19,914 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 86% White, 2% African American, less than 1% Native American, 4% Asian, less than 1% from other races, and 1% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7% of the population.

There were 18,518 households, out of which 64% were married couples living together, 12% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18% were non-families. The average household size was 2.4.

Wallingford is an upper middle class suburban community with a 2019 median household income of $80,793[19] and an average household income of $104,679.[20] The mean family income was $119,765,[21] and the per capita income in the town was $43,407.[22]

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.0% under the age of 18, 6.0% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 24.0% from 45 to 64, and 15.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.7 males.

Wallingford is also located on the New Haven-Hartford-Springfield rail line with daily passenger service to points north and south and to New York City via a connection in New Haven. It is served by the CTrail Hartford Line (consisting of Connecticut Department of Transportation and Amtrak trains) and by Amtrak's Northeast Regional, and Valley Flyer.

From 1943 to 1944 the Boston Braves held spring training in Wallingford at Choate's Winter Exercise Building.[23] The town is the home of the Connecticut Bearcats, a New England Football League team.

Paul Mellon Arts Center, designed by I. M. Pei.

• Choate Rosemary Hall
• Oakdale Theatre
• Paul Mellon Arts Center
• Yalesville Underpass

• Charles Henry Stanley Davis, History of Wallingford, Conn., from Its Settlement in 1670 to the Present Time, Including Meriden, which was One of Its Parishes until 1806, and Cheshire, which was Incorporated in 1780. Meriden, CT: Charles Henry Stanley Davis, 1870.
• John B. Kendrick, History of the Wallingford Disaster. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co., 1878.
• Charles Bancroft Gillespie, Souvenir History of Wallingford, Connecticut, 1895. New Haven, CT: Journal Publishing Co., 1895.

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Wallingford, Connecticut.

• Town of Wallingford official website
• Maps of Wallingford (1881–1919) online
• History books on Wallingford (1870-1918) online