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town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States
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Guilford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It borders Madison, Branford, North Branford, and Durham. It is situated on I-95 and the Connecticut coast. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 22,264 at the July 2024 estimate made by the United States Census Bureau.
Prior to European colonization, the area that became Guilford was the site of Menunkatuck, a Quinnipiac village. The Quinnipiac spoke Quiripi, one of the Eastern Algonquian branches of the Algonquian language family.
By 1614, the Dutch had surveyed, charted, and established New Netherland, a colonial province, with claimed territories from the Delmarva Peninsula to Cape Cod. This included claims over the Quinnipiac territory. However, a lack of any significant Dutch presence in the area gave English settlers an opportunity to settle in the Quinnipiac territory. Dutch claims over land that included Menunkatuck (and would later include Guilford) remained until the 1674 Treaty of Westminster that ended the Third Anglo-Dutch War.
In June 1637 during the Pequot War, a force of 100 English soldiers and Narragansett, Mohegan, and Montauk allies arrived from Long Island in pursuit of the Pequot grand sachem Sassacus near Menunkatuck. At a neck of land known today as Sachems Head, they captured and executed three Pequot sachems before continuing on west in pursuit of Sassacus.
In 1639, after landing in the plantation of Quinnipiaic (later known as New Haven) via ship from England, a group of 24 English Puritan families led by Rev. Henry Whitfield chose to settle almost 13 miles away near Menukatuck. During their voyage from England, the settlers drafted and signed the Plantation Covenant on June 1, 1639 (O.S.). The text of the covenant is memorialized by an engraved pink Stony Creek granite slab at the corner of Old Whitfield and Whitfield streets. On September 29, 1639 (O.S.), the colonists secured a land grant for their settlement from Shaumpishuh, the female sachem of Menunkatuck.
Guilford was admitted to New Haven Colony in 1643. In 1664, New Haven Colony, including Guilford, joined Connecticut Colony.
The English settlement originally shared the name Menunkatuck with the Quinnipiac village. On July 6, 1643 (O.S.), records of the General Court session held at New Haven note that Menunkatuck changed its name to “Guilforde,” although no reason for the change was recorded. It is assumed that Guilford was named after the town of Guildford, England, the native home of a share of its first English settlers. In early maps of the Connecticut Colony, the town is seen on several maps as "Gilford."
Guilford is considered by some to have the third largest collection of historic homes in New England, with important buildings from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. There are five historic house museums, including Dudley Farm and the Henry Whitfield House (1639), the oldest dwelling house in Connecticut and the oldest stone house built by English settlers in North America. The Comfort Starr House (1695) is one of the oldest wooden framed private dwellings in Connecticut, and one of the few houses remaining of the original signers who settled Guilford.
In June 1781, during the American Revolution, a skirmish was fought on Leete's Island between the Associated Loyalists and local militia under Captain Peter Vail.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 49.7 square miles (129 km2), of which 47.0 square miles (122 km2) is land and 2.7 square miles (6.9 km2 or 5.39%) is water.
The primary settlement in Guilford, known as Guilford Center, is located in the southern part of town around the intersection of U.S. Route 1 and Connecticut Route 77. It is served by three exits of Interstate 95, which passes just north of the town center. The Guilford Center census-designated place had a population of 2,597 at the 2010 census.
The northwest side of Guilford is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Important features of the Metacomet ridge in Guilford include Totoket Mountain; its most notable peak, Bluff Head; and two eastern high points on the Totoket Mountain ridge named East Sugarloaf and West Sugarloaf. The 50-mile (80 km) Mattabesett Trail traverses Bluff Head; a shorter network of trails criss-cross the Sugarloaves. Guilford also contains the Westwoods Trail System which covers 39 miles (63 km) of trails on 1,200 acres (4.9 km2) of land.
The Shore Line East train stops at Guilford station with service to Branford, East Haven, New Haven and New London, and the Connecticut Transit S bus travels between Guilford and New Haven several times each day.
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I-95 runs through downtown Guilford where it has three interchanges. Exit 57 onto (Boston Post Road) US 1, exit 58 onto Church Street (Route 77), and exit 59 onto Goose Lane (connecting to US 1 and Route 146). Northbound it leads to Old Saybrook, New London, Providence, and Boston. Southbound it leads to New Haven, Bridgeport, Stamford, and New York City.
US 1, known locally as Boston Post Road, also runs through downtown Guilford, serving as the town's main commercial area. It connects to Interstate 95, Route 77, and Route 146. It follows a similar route to I-95, connecting to Boston to the North and New York City to the South.
Route 77 is the main route between downtown Guilford and the neighboring town of Durham. It begins at the town green at a junction with Route 146. From there it heads North through the town crossing US 1, Interstate 95, and Route 80. From there it passes through North Guilford and into Durham, ending just South of the Durham town center at a junction with Route 17.
Route 146 is a scenic coastal road connecting downtown Guilford to the neighboring town of Branford. It begins on the East side of town at a junction with US 1. From there it passes along the South side of the town green where it connects to the Southern terminus of Route 77. It continues along the coast, through the neighborhood of Sachem's Head and into Branford.
Route 80 cuts across the town, forming the dividing line between North and South Guilford. To the West it connects to New Haven, Foxon, and North Branford. In Guilford it has a junction with Route 77. To the East it passes through Madison, connecting to Killingworth and Deep River.
Other minor communities and geographic features in Guilford are Guilford Lakes, Indian Cove, and Old Quarry.
As of the census of 2000, there were 21,398 people, 8,151 households, and 6,039 families residing in the town. The population density was 454.8 inhabitants per square mile (175.6/km2). There were 8,724 housing units at an average density of 185.4 per square mile (71.6/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.04% White, 0.93% African American, 0.05% Native American, 1.65% Asian, 0.41% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.13% of the population.
There were 8,151 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. Of all households 21.6% were made up of individuals, and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.4% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $76,843, and the median income for a family was $87,045 (these figures had risen to $90,026 and $104,852 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $60,623 versus $40,307 for females. The per capita income for the town was $37,161. About 2.3% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
In the 2008 presidential election, Democrat Barack Obama received 61.02% of the town vote, against 38.06% for Republican John McCain. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton carried the town with 59.2% over Republican Donald Trump with 37.1%. Joe Biden won the town with 64.68% of the vote in 2020 and Kamala Harris won with 64.40% in 2024. George H. W. Bush was the last Republican to win Guilford, receiving 55.87% of the vote in 1988.
American Cruise Lines has its headquarters in Guilford. There are many small businesses throughout the town, including the shops on the Guilford Green.
Guilford is served by the Guilford Public Schools district, which provides comprehensive education from kindergarten through high school. The district comprises four elementary schools, two middle schools, and a high school, offering a range of academic and extracurricular programs.
The Guilford Free Library is a resource for the community, providing access to a vast collection of books, digital media, historical materials about Guilford's history and genealogy, and educational programs for all ages. The library hosts numerous events, workshops, and activities aimed at promoting literacy and lifelong learning.
The following parks are owned and operated by the town government:
Text from the Wikipedia article “Guilford, Connecticut”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.