Founding
town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States
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Stratford is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. It is situated on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. The town is part of the Greater Bridgeport Planning Region and the Bridgeport–Stamford–Norwalk Metropolitan Statistical Area a component of the greater New York metropolitan area. It was settled by the Puritans in 1639.
The population was 52,355 as of the 2020 census. It is bordered on the west by Bridgeport, to the north by Trumbull and Shelton, and on the east by Milford (across the Housatonic River). Stratford has a historical legacy in aviation, the military, and theater.
Stratford was founded in 1639 by Puritan leader Reverend Adam Blakeman, William Beardsley, and either 16 families (according to legend) or approximately 35 families (suggested by later research) who had recently arrived in Connecticut Colony from England seeking religious freedom. In 1639 the General Court in Hartford made reference to the town as the "new plantation at Pequannock". In 1640 the community was known as Cupheag, a Native American Paugussett word meaning "at the enclosed place" or "place of shelter". By April 13, 1643, the growing town was known as Stratford, in honor of Stratford-upon-Avon in England.
Stratford is one of many towns in the northeastern American colonies founded as part of the Great Migration in the 1630s when Puritan families fled an increasingly polarized England in the decade before the civil war between Charles I and Parliament. Some of the Stratford settlers were from families who had first moved from England to the Netherlands to seek religious freedom, like their predecessors on the Mayflower, and decided to come to the New World when their children began to adopt Dutch culture and language. Like other Puritan or Pilgrim towns founded during this time, early Stratford was a place where church leadership and town leadership were united under the pastor of the church, in this case Reverend Blakeman. The goal of the communities was to create perfect outposts of religious idealism where the wilderness would separate them from the interference of kings, parliaments, or any other secular authority. During the witch trials in Connecticut, Goody Bassett was hanged in Stratford in May 1651.
Blakeman ruled Stratford until his death in 1665, but as the second generation of Stratford grew up, many of the children rejected what they perceived as the exceptional austerity of the town's founders. They and later generations sought to change the religious dictums of their elders, and the utopian nature of Stratford and similar communities was gradually replaced with more standard colonial administration. By the late 17th century, the Connecticut government had assumed political control over Stratford.
Many descendants of the original founding Puritan families remain in Stratford today after over 350 years; for centuries they often intermarried within the original small group of 17th century Pilgrim families. Despite its Puritan origins, Stratford was the site of the first Anglican church in Connecticut, founded in 1707 and ministered by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson. Settlers from Stratford founded other cities and towns including Newark, New Jersey established in 1666 by members of the Stratford founding families who believed the town's religious purity had been compromised by the changes after Blakeman's death. Cambria, New York (now Lockport, New York) and other towns were founded or expanded around new churches by Stratford descendants taking part in the westward migration. President Gerald Ford was a descendant of one of the Stratford founding families which was led by .
Stratford was one of the two principal settlements in southwestern Connecticut, the other being Fairfield. Over time it gave rise to several new towns which broke off and incorporated separately. These towns were created from parts of Stratford:
A trolley was built connecting Lordship to Bridgeport in 1914, connecting the resort area to the neighboring city.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 19.9 square miles (52 km2), of which 17.6 square miles (46 km2) is land and 2.3 square miles (6.0 km2), or 11.52%, is water. Stratford has a minimum elevation of zero feet above sea level along its coastline, with a maximum altitude of 295 feet (90 m) near its northern border, and an average elevation of 23 feet (7.0 m).
The town contains five islands, all in the Housatonic River. These are Carting Island, Long Island, Peacock Island, and Pope's Flat north of Interstate 95, as well as Goose Island. None of the islands are habitable because of their low elevations. A sixth island known as Brinsmade Island washed away prior to 1964.
Long Beach – Approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) long, the eastern end of the beach is open to the public and has parking and lifeguards. The central part of the beach is a nature preserve whose land is set aside for wildlife, particularly nesting raptors like American kestrels and ospreys. The western end of the beach was once the site of about 40 cottages, which were abandoned because of the town's discontinuation of the lease to the land. The cottages were demolished in fall 2010.
Russian Beach – Located between Long and Short beaches, Russian Beach has parking and the Point-No-Point walkway. Fishing is allowed, as is swimming although the beach has no lifeguards.
Short Beach – Short Beach Park is 30 acres (120,000 m2) in size and sits at the mouth of the Housatonic River. It has three picnic pavilions, basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a handicapped-accessible playground, a skateboard park, a lighted softball field, a soccer field, two baseball fields and a lacrosse field. The beach has 1,000 feet (300 m) of frontage with a concession stand, bathrooms, a deck and lifeguards. The park is home to Short Beach Golf Course, a nine-hole par-3 course.
The Great Meadows Unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge is a key bird migration stopover. The open water area of the Great Salt Marsh is known as Lewis Gut.
Located in the north end of Stratford, this 250-acre (1.0 km2) site is primarily a mixed deciduous forest, with some wetlands and ponds. Named for President Franklin D. Roosevelt, it was set aside in the 1930s, when much of the infrastructure was created as a Works Progress Administration project. The forest includes campsites with cooking pits, picnic tables, and walking trails.
Stratford is the location of two Superfund sites designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency including a variety of locations related to asbestos dumping and disposal by Raymark Industries, whose manufacturing was previously headquartered in Stratford, and the former Stratford Army Engine Plant. The Raymark site is on the EPA's National Priorities List. Stratford Army Engine Plant is not on the National Priorities list, but is being cleaned up by the U.S. Army.
From 1919 to 1989, Raymark manufactured brake pads and other friction products for the automobile industry under the name Raybestos. The company disposed of wastes containing lead, asbestos, PCBs, and other hazardous substances at its Stratford manufacturing plant. Raymark dried the waste material and made it available for use as fill material for lawns, playgrounds, and schoolyards. In 1993, the EPA and the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection began working together to complete the cleanup of contamination Raymark left in Stratford. EPA completed its cleanup of the contaminated residential properties in 1995 and the former Raymark plant property in 1997. Plans for cleanup of the Ferry Creek area and surrounding properties where additional Raymark waste was historically disposed are being developed by the EPA. The cost of cleaning up the Raymark Site is estimated to have exceeded $200 million.
As of the census of 2010, there were 51,384 people, 20,095 households, and 13,614 families residing in the town. The population density was 2,919.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,127.2/km2). There were 21,091 housing units at an average density of 1,198.4 per square mile (462.7/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 76.4% White, 14.3% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 4.2% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 13.8% of the population.
There were 20,095 households, of which 28.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.1% were married couples living together, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.3% were non-families. 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.11.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.2 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the town was $53,494, and the median income for a family was $64,364. Males had a median income of $45,552 versus $34,575 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,501. About 3.5% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.6% of those under age 18 and 5.8% of those age 65 or over.
Top employers in Stratford according to the town's 2025 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report
In 1939, one of the world's first successful commercial helicopters was developed in Stratford by Igor Sikorsky and flown at his plant. His company, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation, is still the town's largest employer. Also in 1939, Lycoming Engines produced Wright radial engines here. After World War II, the plant was converted to produce turbines.
The Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft Division in Stratford built 7,829 F4U fighters from 1940 to 1952, including the prototype. The planes were in extensive combat in the Pacific Theatre of operations during World War II, and played a supporting role in the Korean War. A Corsair sits on a pedestal at the airport as a memorial to the war effort. The Stratford Eagles Composite Squadron, Civil Air Patrol, is based in Stratford, at the Sikorsky Memorial Airport. Athletic Brewing Company, the leading U.S. manufacturer of non-alcoholic craft beer, with a 61% market share in 2021 is based in Stratford.
Stratford is home to the headquarters of Sikorsky Aircraft, a Lockheed Martin (LMT) subsidiary founded by Igor Sikorsky, developer of the first successful American helicopter. Every Marine One (the helicopter of the president of the United States) has been manufactured in Stratford since 1957. On July 20, 2015, Lockheed Martin announced an agreement to purchase Sikorsky Aircraft from UTC for $9 billion.
Text from the Wikipedia article “Stratford, Connecticut”, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.