Canterbury is a
townThe New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. An institution that does not have a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in that they were originally set up so that all...
in
Windham CountyWindham County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of 2000, the population was 109,091.The entire county is within the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor, as designated by the National Park Service.-History:Windham...
,
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,692 at the 2000 census.
In 1832,
Prudence CrandallPrudence Crandall , a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy with her education of African-American girls in Canterbury, Connecticut...
, a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy when she opened a school for black girls in town. The
Connecticut General AssemblyThe Connecticut General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member lower Connecticut House of Representatives and the 36-member upper Connecticut Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford...
passed the "Black Law" which prohibited the education of black children from out of state, but Crandall persisted in teaching, and was briefly jailed in 1832. Mobs forced the closure of the school in 1834, and Crandall married and moved out of state.
Canterbury is a
townThe New England town is the basic unit of local government in each of the six New England states. An institution that does not have a direct counterpart in most other U.S. states, New England towns are conceptually similar to civil townships in that they were originally set up so that all...
in
Windham CountyWindham County is a county located in the northeastern corner of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of 2000, the population was 109,091.The entire county is within the Quinebaug and Shetucket Rivers Valley National Heritage Corridor, as designated by the National Park Service.-History:Windham...
,
ConnecticutConnecticut is a state in the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and New York to the west and south ....
,
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 4,692 at the 2000 census.
History
In 1832,
Prudence CrandallPrudence Crandall , a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy with her education of African-American girls in Canterbury, Connecticut...
, a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy when she opened a school for black girls in town. The
Connecticut General AssemblyThe Connecticut General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member lower Connecticut House of Representatives and the 36-member upper Connecticut Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford...
passed the "Black Law" which prohibited the education of black children from out of state, but Crandall persisted in teaching, and was briefly jailed in 1832. Mobs forced the closure of the school in 1834, and Crandall married and moved out of state. Connecticut repealed the Black Law in 1838, and later recognized Crandall with a small pension in 1886, four years before her death.
The school still stands in Canterbury, and currently serves as the
Prudence Crandall MuseumPrudence Crandall House, also known as Elisha Payne House, is a historic house in Canterbury, Connecticut. It was the home ofPrudence Crandall, the abolitionist and educator, and is now home to the Prudence Crandall Museum....
.
Registered historic places in town
- Canterbury Center Historic District
Canterbury Center Historic District is a historic district and town center of Canterbury, Connecticut. It is located in the area around the junction of Route 169 and Route 14 , including properties along Elmdale and Library Roads...
— Roughly along Elmdale, Library, N. Canterbury, S. Canterbury, and Westminster Rds. (added May 10, 1998). The historic district includes Colonial, Federal, and other architectural styles.
- Capt. John Clark House — Rte. 169, S of Canterbury (added November 6, 1970)
- Jonathan Wheeler House — N. Society Rd. (added March 11, 1982)
- March Route of Rochambeau's Army: Manship Road-Barstow Road — Manship Rd., Barstow Rd. from jct. with Manship Rd. to Westminster Rd. (added February 8, 2003)
- Prudence Crandall House
Prudence Crandall House, also known as Elisha Payne House, is a historic house in Canterbury, Connecticut. It was the home ofPrudence Crandall, the abolitionist and educator, and is now home to the Prudence Crandall Museum....
— Jct. of CT 14 and 169 (added November 22, 1970)
Notable people, past and present
- Prudence Crandall
Prudence Crandall , a schoolteacher raised as a Quaker, stirred controversy with her education of African-American girls in Canterbury, Connecticut...
(1803-1890), a schoolteacher who set up a school for black girls in town despite local resistance
- John Adams
John Adams was an American educator noted for organizing several hundred Sunday schools. His life was celebrated by Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr...
, (1772-1863), born in Canterbury, noted educator and organizer of several hundred Sunday school"Sunday school" is the generic name for many different types of religious education pursued on Sundays by various denominations.-Development:The first Sunday school may have been that opened in 1751 in St. Mary's Church, Nottingham...
s
- Horace Austin
Horace Austin was an American politician. He served as the 6th Governor of Minnesota from January 9, 1870 to January 7, 1874. He was a Republican....
(1831–1905) the sixth governor of MinnesotaMinnesota is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. The twelfth largest state by area in the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.2 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the...
(1870-1874), was born in town.
- William Durkee Williamson (1779-1846) a governor of Maine
The State of Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordering the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, New Hampshire to the southwest, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is the northernmost portion of...
(1821) was born in town.
- Charles Rocket
Charles Rocket was an American film and television actor, notable for his tenure as a cast member on Saturday Night Live as well as for his appearances as the villain Nicholas Andre in the film Dumb and Dumber, Dave Dennison, the father in Disney's Hocus Pocus and Adam, the Angel of Death, in the...
, born Charles Adams Claverie (1949–2005), actor and former resident, who died in town.
- Moses Cleaveland
Moses Cleaveland was a lawyer, politician, soldier, and surveyor from Connecticut who founded the U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio, while surveying the Western Reserve in 1796.-Early life:...
(1754-1806), a surveyor and namesake of Cleaveland, Ohio.
- Ephraim Paine
Ephraim Paine was an American physician and political leader from Dutchess County, New York. He was a delegate for New York to the Continental Congress in 1784....
(1730–1785) delegate for New York to the Continental Congress in 1784, was born in town.
- Margaret Wise Brown
Margaret Wise Brown was a prolific American author of children's literature, including the books Goodnight Moon and The Runaway Bunny, both illustrated by Clement Hurd.-Biography:...
, childhood home of
Government
Canterbury's new administration was elected on November 6, 2007. They will serve through November 2009. Brian Sear is First Selectman, and Second Selectman is Leslie M. Wrigley. Both were endorsed by the Democrats and the Canterbury First party. Third Selectman is Republican, Christopher C. Johnson. Natalie Ruth Cordes, also a Republican, was elected to serve as Town Clerk of Canterbury CT.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005 |
| Party |
Active Voters |
Inactive Voters |
Total Voters |
Percentage
|
RepublicanThe Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the Grand Old Party or the GOP, despite being the younger of the two major parties. In the U.S...
|
986 |
64 |
1,050 |
29.50%
|
Democratic The Democratic Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. It is the oldest political party in continuous operation in the United States and it is one of the oldest parties in the world. In the U.S...
|
713 |
40 |
753 |
21.16%
|
Unaffiliated |
1,652 |
104 |
1,756 |
49.34%
|
Minor Parties |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0.0% |
| Total |
3,351 |
208 |
3,559 |
100% |
Geography
According to the
United States Census BureauThe United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data. As part of the United States Department of Commerce, the Census Bureau serves as the leading source of quality data about...
, the town has a total area of 40.2 square miles (104.0 km²), of which, 39.9 square miles (103.3 km²) of it is land and 0.2 square miles (0.6 km²) of it (0.62%) is water.
Demographics
As of the
censusA "census" is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population.In other words every 10 years...next one would be in 2010 The term is used mostly in connection with...
of 2000, there were 4,692 people, 1,717 households, and 1,339 families residing in the town. The
population densityPopulation density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans. It is a key term used in geography....
was 117.6 people per square mile (45.4/km²). There were 1,762 housing units at an average density of 44.2/sq mi (17.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.34% White, 0.36% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.26% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.30% from
other racesRace and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the United States Census Bureau and the Federal Office of Management and Budget , are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.07% of the population.
There were 1,717 households out of which 37.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.5% were
married couplesMarriage is a social union or legal contract between individuals that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged by a variety of ways, depending on the culture or demographic...
living together, 8.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 22.0% were non-families. 16.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 6.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.06.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.7% under the age of 18, 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.4% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.9 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $55,547, and the median income for a family was $65,095. Males had a median income of $41,521 versus $28,672 for females. The
per capita incomePer capita income means how much each individual receives, in monetary terms, of the yearly income generated in the country. This is what each citizen is to receive if the yearly national income is divided equally among everyone. Per capita income is usually reported in units of currency per year...
for the town was $22,317. About 3.5% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.2% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Students from grades
Kindergartenis a form of education for young children which serves as a transition from home to the commencement of more formal schooling. Children are taught to develop basic skills through creative play and social interaction. In most countries kindergarten is part of the preschool system of early childhood...
through 8 are zoned to the Canterbury School District. The district has two schools:
The local elementary school for kindergarten through fourth grades is Canterbury Elementary School, whose mascot is the Kitt Fox. The local middle school for fifth through eighth grades is Dr. Helen Baldwin Middle School, whose mascot is the bulldog.
As Canterbury has no high school of its own, Canterbury students have the option of attending H.H. Ellis Technical High School, Norwich Technical High School, Windham Vocational-Technical High School,
Woodstock AcademyWoodstock Academy, founded in 1801, is a private high school for students located in Woodstock, Connecticut, United States.The school is not within any school district and is not controlled by any municipality; therefore it describes itself as an "independent school." The Connecticut State...
,
Norwich Free AcademyThe Norwich Free Academy founded in 1854 and in operation since 1856, is a high school located in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. The Academy serves as the primary high school for Norwich and the surrounding towns of Canterbury, Bozrah, Voluntown, Sprague, Lisbon, Franklin, Preston andseveral...
, or Griswold Senior High School.
External links