Bridgewater, Connecticut

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Bridgewater, Connecticut


mapsize1 =
map_caption1 =
subdivision_type = NECTA
subdivision_name = Danbury
subdivision_type1 = Region
subdivision_name1 = Housatonic Valley
settlement_type = Town


imagesize =
image_caption =


mapsize = 250px
map_caption = Location in Connecticut
subdivision_type2 =
subdivision_name2 =
government_type = Selectman-town meeting
leader_title = First selectman
leader_name = William T. Stuart
established_title = Incorporated
established_date = 1856
area_land_km2 = 42.0
area_water_km2 = 2.7
area_total_sq_mi = 17.3
area_magnitude =
area_total_km2 = 44.8
population_as_of = 2005
population_total = 1898
population_footnotes = [ [http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/files/SUB-EST2005_9.csv U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates] ]
population_density_sq_mi = 117
population_density_km2 = 45
timezone = Eastern
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = Eastern
utc_offset_DST = -4
area_land_sq_mi = 16.2
area_water_sq_mi = 1.0
elevation_m = 218
elevation_ft = 715
latd = 41 |latm = 31 |lats = 33 |latNS = N
longd = 73 |longm = 21 |longs = 39 |longEW = W
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 06752
region =
website = http://www.bridgewatertownhall.org/
area_code = 860
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 09-08210
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0213397
footnotes =

Bridgewater is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,824 at the 2000 census. It is the only remaining dry town in Connecticut.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 17.3 square miles (44.7 km²), of which, 16.2 square miles (42.0 km²) of it is land and 1.0 square miles (2.7 km²) of it (5.97%) is water. Bridgewater is located on the east bank of the Housatonic River

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 1,824 people, 703 households, and 525 families residing in the town. The population density was 112.4 people per square mile (43.4/km²). There were 779 housing units at an average density of 48.0/sq mi (18.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.53% White, 0.93% African American, 0.05% Native American, 0.71% Asian, 0.11% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.49% of the population.

There were 703 households out of which 29.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 67.4% were married couples living together, 5.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.2% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 23.8% from 25 to 44, 35.9% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.5 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $80,420, and the median income for a family was $94,720. Males had a median income of $61,750 versus $40,455 for females. The per capita income for the town was $42,505. About 2.3% of families and 4.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.8% of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Bridgwater is served by two state highways: Route 67 running east-west in the northern part of town, and Route 133 running north-south.

The Burnham Library

In 1904, the Bridgewater Library Association was established, succeeding previous lending libraries operated by individuals in town. In 1909 room for library purposes was set aside in recently built town hall. A bequest from William Dixon Burnham, a native who made his fortune in shipping, allowed a Greek Revival style building to be erected from 1925 to 1926, using Mine Hill granite from nearby Roxbury. The dedication took place on August 26, 1926. [http://www.burnhamlibrary.org/about/history.htm] "Library History" Web page at the "Burnham Public Library" Web site, accessed July 23, 2006]

By the early 1960s, the library's two floors were finally becoming cramped. With the death of town resident Van Wyck Brooks, a biographer and critic, a "Van Wyck Brooks Memorial Fund was set up to raise money for a library wing in his name. The effort, however, flopped, despite support from such celebrities as Pearl Buck and Archibald MacLeish. Just enough money was raised for a bust of the author and a display of some of his memorabilia. His desk, books and other items can be found on display in the library's biography section. The fund-raising committee disbanded in 1972, but a year later, a surprising source of funding became known.

Charles E. Piggott, a hermit, misanthrope and miser who had lived in a slum in Los Angeles, died in 1973. A bulldozer operator was razing his shack, which had been considered a municipal nuisance, but he happened to notice something shiny. It was a bottle with Piggott's holographic will inside.

Despite the fact that Piggott had no connection to Bridgewater, Connecticut whatever, and even though he had never been east of the Rocky Mountains in his life, he left the Fund $300,000. The money had been made through Piggott's careful investments over the years. The state of California contested the will, and the library hired a lawyer, at considerable cost, to defend the bequest. Eventually the lawyer won the case and the library got $210,000.

By 1980, the Van Wyck Brooks Memorial Wing was dedicated, doubling the size of the library.

Burton Bernstein, a longtime town resident, researched why Piggott would give money to the library, then wrote an article on the bequest which appeared in the December 18, 1978, issue of The New Yorker. It turned out that Piggott was a voracious reader on any number of subjects and loved public libraries (which are, after all, free). Bernstein believes that at a library he came across Van Wyck Brooks’ "The Flowering of New England," in which Henry David Thoreau is described. Piggott may have compared himself to Thoreau or at least seen some wisdom in some of Thoreau's ideas as presented by Brooks. Perhaps this quote stuck in his mind: "The mass of men led lives of quiet desperation… Did they not know that the wisest had always lived, with respect to comforts and luxuries, a life more simple and meagre than the poor?… Poverty had given him all this wealth."

Piggott heard of the Van Wyck Brooks Memorial Fund, recognized the name, and, Bernstein believes, decided to contribute.

Notable residents, past and present

*Van Wyck Brooks (1886-1963), a long-time town resident, was a literary critic, biographer, and historian.
*Mia Farrow - Actor
*Diane Sawyer and Mike Nichols - television reporter and film director
*Luman Hamlin Weller was a United States Representative from Iowa.
*Lanford Monroe (1950-2000), wildlife artist and sculptor

References

External links

* [http://www.bridgewatertownhall.org/ Town of Bridgewater official Web site]
* [http://www.burnhamlibrary.org/ Burnham Library, the town public library]
* [http://www.region-12.org/ Regional School District 12]
* [http://www.litchfieldhills.com/app/about/index.jsp Northeast Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau]
* [http://www.artsnwct.org/ Northwest Connecticut Arts Council]
* [http://www.nwctc.commnet.edu/ Northwestern Connecticut Community College] in Winstead