Ellington, Connecticut facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Ellington, Connecticut
Town
Town of Ellington
The town green
Flag Seal
Motto(s):  "A Great Place to Grow"
Tolland County and Connecticut  Capitol Planning Region and Connecticut
Country	United States
U.S. state	Connecticut
County	Tolland
Region	Capitol Region
Incorporated	1786
Government
• Type	Selectman-town meeting
Area
• Total	34.6 sq mi (89.6 km2)
• Land	34.1 sq mi (88.2 km2)
• Water	0.6 sq mi (1.4 km2)
Elevation	246 ft (75 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	16,426
• Density	482/sq mi (186.2/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code	06029
Area code(s)	860/959
FIPS code	09-25360
GNIS feature ID	0212330

Ellington is a town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. It's a part of the Capitol Planning Region. The town was officially created in May 1786, separating from East Windsor. In 2020, about 16,426 people lived here.

History of Ellington

The area now known as Ellington was first called "Weexskashuck" by Native Americans. This name means "Great Marsh." Early European settlers also called it Great Marsh or Goshen.

In 1671, the town of Windsor bought this land from the Native Americans. This was done to make up for land lost in a border dispute with Massachusetts. However, no one tried to settle the rich land for another 50 years. Samuel Pinney was the first settler in what is now Ellington. A road in town is still named after him.

In 1733, Ellington became a parish (a church district) of Windsor. Later, in May 1768, East Windsor split from Windsor. It included the land that is now East Windsor, South Windsor, and Ellington. Twenty years later, in May 1786, Ellington officially became its own town.

Ellington was mostly a farming community. The Crystal Lake area was once a popular summer resort. Today, Ellington still has a lot of land used for farming, including raising cattle and growing corn.

Ellington is home to one of America's oldest roadside memorials. It remembers a boy named Samuel Knight who died in a road accident on November 8, 1812. A stone marks the spot where he was killed when he was 10 years old. The Christian hymn, "I love to steal awhile away", was written in Ellington by Phoebe Hinsdale Brown in August 1818.

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, Ellington became home to many Jewish immigrant farmers. They were helped by a kind person named Baron Maurice de Hirsch and his Jewish Colonization Association. They built a synagogue (a Jewish place of worship) called Congregation Knesseth Israel. It is still used today and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Ellington Supermarket in May 2006, which has closed now.

On January 1, 1967, Ellington made national news. Its residents helped the fire department rescue a pilot. The pilot's plane had engine trouble and couldn't find a runway in thick fog. A quick-thinking state trooper, Lionel Labreche, led dozens of people to the town's unlit airstrip, Hyde Field. They used their car headlights to light up the runway, helping the pilot land safely.

In 1991, there was a plan to build a low-level nuclear waste dump in Ellington. But people living in the area strongly disagreed. Their protests made the state stop the plan.

As Ellington entered the 21st century, it grew very quickly. It became the 6th fastest-growing town in Connecticut. It changed from a rural farming town to a suburban community. For example, the local Ellington Supermarket was replaced by a larger Big Y supermarket chain. A movie called The Supermarket was even made about this change.

Geography of Ellington

Ellington covers about 34.6 square miles (89.6 square kilometers) in total. Most of this is land (34.0 sq mi or 88.2 km2), and a small part is water (0.6 sq mi or 1.4 km2).

Ellington shares its borders with several other towns:

• East Windsor
• South Windsor
• Vernon
• Tolland
• Willington
• Stafford
• Somers
• Enfield

The town has a "panhandle" shape that stretches east to the Willimantic River. This part of town includes Crystal Lake. A large part of eastern Ellington is covered by the Shenipsit State Forest. This forest is bordered by Shenipsit Lake to the south and Soapstone Mountain to the north.

Ellington Neighborhoods

• Crystal Lake
• Ellington Center
• Sadd's Mill
• Highland Ave
• Windermere
• Woodside Acres
• Mosley Plains
• Gasek Farms
• Crystal Ridge

Population and People

Ellington's population grew by 20.8% between 2000 and 2010. This made it one of only four towns in Connecticut to grow by at least 20% during that time.

In 2000, there were 12,921 people living in Ellington. About 25.2% of the people were under 18 years old. The average age was 37 years.

Economy and Jobs

Ellington is a fast-growing community. It is changing from a rural farming town into a suburban area. This means more people are moving here from cities, and more homes and businesses are being built.

Here are some of the biggest employers in Ellington as of 2023:

Education in Ellington

Ellington Public Schools is the school district for the town. There are five public schools:

Elementary Schools

• Center School (Kindergarten to 6th grade)
• Crystal Lake School (Kindergarten to 6th grade)
• Windermere School (Kindergarten to 6th grade)

Middle School

• Ellington Middle School (7th and 8th grade)

High School

• Ellington High School

Transportation and Roads

Roads

No major Interstate Highways go through Ellington. However, the town is about a ten to fifteen-minute drive from both Interstate 84 and Interstate 91.

Several Connecticut State Roads run through Ellington:

• Connecticut Route 30 – This road goes north-south through the Crystal Lake area.
• Connecticut Route 32 - This road passes north-south along the very eastern edge of town.
• Connecticut Route 83 – This is the main north-south road through the middle of town.
• Connecticut Route 74 – This road is on the southern edge of town and is important in Ellington's Five Corners area.
• Connecticut Route 140 – This is the town's main east-west road, crossing the entire width of town.
• Connecticut Route 286 – This road goes north from Five Corners to the center of town, then turns east to become Ellington's Main Street.

Rail

Ellington once had a seven-mile-long rail line built in 1876. It ran from Vernon to Melrose. This rail line stopped being used in the mid-1900s. The New England Central Railroad also briefly passes through the very eastern edge of Ellington, but it does not have any stops there.

Ellington's town beach, Sandy Beach, located on Crystal Lake

Airports

• Ellington Airport – This is a small airport next to the town's industrial park. Besides private planes, it has flight training and helicopter schools. Parachuting is a popular activity there on weekends.
• Skylark Airpark – Another small airport located in the nearby town of East Windsor.
• Bradley International Airport – Connecticut's main commercial airport for bigger planes. It is about ten miles west of Ellington.

Water

Crystal Lake, in the eastern part of town, is a popular spot for boating.

Notable People from Ellington

Many interesting people have connections to Ellington:

• John H. Brockway (1801–1870), a U.S. Representative.
• Henry Billings Brown (1836–1913), a US Supreme Court justice.
• Orlow W. Chapman (1832–1890), a politician and Solicitor General of the United States.
• Stephen Jenks (1772–1856), a music composer.
• Mike Massaro, a reporter for NASCAR on NBC.
• Mike McGuirl (born 1998), a basketball player for Hapoel Haifa.
• Frank Mozzicato (born 2003), a baseball player drafted by the Kansas City Royals.
• Steve Park (born 1967), a multiple winner in the NASCAR Cup Series.
• Henry Weston Smith (1827–1876), a Methodist preacher.
• Mike Vranos (born 1961), who started the hedge fund Ellington Management Company.

See also

In Spanish: Ellington (Connecticut) para niños