Southbury, Connecticut facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Southbury, Connecticut
Town
Town of Southbury
Southbury Town Hall
Seal
New Haven County and Connecticut  Naugatuck Valley Planning Region and Connecticut
Country	United States
State	Connecticut
County	New Haven
Region	Naugatuck Valley
Incorporated	1787
Government
• Type	Selectman-town meeting
Area
• Total	40.1 sq mi (103.8 km2)
• Land	39.0 sq mi (101.0 km2)
• Water	1.1 sq mi (2.8 km2)
Elevation	335 ft (102 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	19,879
• Density	496.02/sq mi (191.51/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	06488
Area code(s)	203/475
FIPS code	09-69640
GNIS feature ID	0213507

Southbury is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is located north of Oxford and Newtown. It is also east of Brookfield. In 2020, about 19,879 people lived there. The town is part of the Naugatuck Valley Planning Region.

Southbury has wide-open rural areas, suburban neighborhoods, and places with lots of history. It's not far from big business and shopping centers. The town is about 67 miles (107 km) north of New York City. It is also 34 miles (54 km) south of Hartford.

Southbury is the only place in the United States with this name. That's why its town seal says Unica Unaque. This means "The One and Only."

History of Southbury

Town historical sign on Main Street South

Southbury was one of several towns created from land bought from the Pootatuck Native Americans. Southbury was first part of Woodbury, which started in 1673. A church building for the Southbury Ecclesiastical Society was built in 1733. In 1787, Southbury officially became its own town. After being in Litchfield County for 20 years, Southbury moved to New Haven County in 1807.

Industry and Russian Village

In the 1800s, water power was very important for Southbury's businesses. These included mills, places that made leather (tanneries), and places that made alcohol (distilleries). The Pomperaug River and the Housatonic River provided most of this power. As the Industrial Revolution grew, many of these businesses moved to bigger cities like Waterbury.

In the 1920s, some Russian people, like Count Ilya Tolstoy (son of the famous writer Leo Tolstoy) and George Grebenstchikoff, started an artists' community. It was at one end of Main Street and was called Churaevka or "Russian Village." At its busiest, Churaevka had a printing press. Russian and Ukrainian writers used this press. The composer Sergei Rachmaninoff even visited the community. Most of the original immigrant families are gone now. However, St. Sergius Chapel, designed by Nicholas Roerich and built in 1932–1933, is still there. Churaevka is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Standing Up to the German American Bund

In November 1937, people in Southbury heard that a man named Wolfgang Jung bought 178 acres (0.72 km2) in town. Residents looked into his plans. They found out he was part of the German American Bund. This group was made of German-Americans who supported Adolf Hitler and Nazi Germany. Their leader, Fritz Kuhn, was known for being very anti-Jewish.

Soon, everyone knew the group planned to build their largest training camp in the country there. The townspeople objected. They held a town meeting and created a zoning department. They made one simple rule: no military activity was allowed, except for the United States Army. This law was passed on December 14. The Bund stopped their work and eventually sold the land.

Modern Southbury

For most of its history, Southbury was a farming town. But this changed when the Interstate Highway System was built. When Interstate 84 opened through Southbury by 1963, it became easy to travel to New York and Hartford. It also improved access to Danbury and Waterbury.

Heritage Village opened in 1967. It was built on a 1,000-acre (4.0 km2) site. In 1987, IBM built a large office and research building in Southbury. It employed over 2,500 workers. Southbury changed from a rural area to the varied town it is today. It now has a commercial downtown, neighborhoods, farms, and large rural areas. Today, about 17% of Southbury is open space. The town wants to increase this to 20%.

Geography

Southbury covers a total area of 103.8 square kilometers (40.1 sq mi). About 101.0 square kilometers (39.0 sq mi) is land. The remaining 2.8 square kilometers (1.1 sq mi), or 2.69%, is water.

Southbury shares borders with several towns:

• Middlebury to the northeast.
• Oxford to the east and southeast.
• Newtown to the southwest.
• Bridgewater to the west.
• Roxbury and Woodbury to the north.

The areas known as South Britain and Southford are part of the town of Southbury.

Population and Community

In 2000, there were 18,567 people living in Southbury. There were 7,225 households, and 4,833 families. About 29.0% of households had children under 18. About 26.1% of the population was 65 or older. The average age was 46 years.

Heritage Village and Senior Living

Southbury has many places for older adults to live. One of the largest is Heritage Village. It's a retirement community that covers 1,000 acres (4.0 km2). It has about 2,580 homes and 4,000 residents. It's known as an "active retirement" community because it offers many activities. People who want to live in Heritage Village must be 55 years or older.

Southbury has been planning to add more services for its older population. The old Southbury Library building was turned into a senior center. It also houses the Parks & Recreation Department.

Other places for older adults in Southbury include:

• The Hearth at Southbury
• Lutheran Home of Southbury
• River Glen Health Care Center
• Pomperaug Woods
• Watermark at East Hill

Education

Southbury Training School greenhouse

Southbury is part of the Pomperaug Regional School District. This school system includes both Southbury and Middlebury. The district has four elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school.

Schools located in Southbury are:

• Gainfield Elementary School
• Pomperaug Elementary School
• Rochambeau Middle School
• Pomperaug High School

Students in this district can also choose to attend other schools:

• W.F. Kaynor Technical High School (in Waterbury)
• Henry Abbott Technical High School (in Danbury)
• Nonnewaug High School (in Woodbury, which has an agricultural program)

Recreation

The Southbury Parks & Recreation Department moved into the old Southbury Library building in 2007. Southbury offers many town sports, including:

• Babe Ruth/Cal Ripken baseball
• Basketball
• Pop Warner football
• Soccer
• Lacrosse

There has been some discussion about town sports. Since 2006, the Parks and Recreation Department has stopped players from outside Southbury from joining town-sponsored sports. This rule was made because the town's sports fields were becoming too crowded.

Local Media

• Waterbury Republican-American – A daily newspaper based in Waterbury.
• The Danbury News-Times – A daily newspaper based in Danbury.
• Voices – A local newspaper that serves Southbury and many nearby towns.
• WTCH – A local TV station run by students and staff at Pomperaug High School. You can watch it on Channel 17 in Southbury and Channel 16 in Middlebury.

Infrastructure

Most of Southbury uses wells for water and septic systems for waste. Only a small part of the town has public water or sewer systems. Southbury is careful about its water supply. For example, the only car wash in town must recycle all the water it uses, which is an expensive process.

The company that provides water to the town is Aquarion. Yankee Gas Company provides gas. Charter Communications provides cable TV, internet, and phone services. Eversource Energy provides electricity. Frontier Communications provides phone and DSL internet.

Notable Features

Audubon Center Bent of the River trail

Audubon Center Bent of the River

Historic Places

Several places in Southbury are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites. Some of these include:

• Aaron Bronson House
• Adin Wheeler House and Theodore F. Wheeler Wheelwright Shop
• Bullet Hill School
• Hurley Road Historic District
• Little Pootatuck Brook Archeological Site
• Plaster House
• Reuben Curtiss House
• Russian Village Historic District (also known as Churaevka)
• Sanford Road Historic District
• South Britain Historic District
• Southbury Historic District No. 1
• Southbury Training School
• William Hurd House

Lenore H. Davidson Administration Building at Southbury Training School

B'nai Israel Synagogue. Southbury, CT.

Overview of the B'nai Israel Temple. 444 Main St N, Southbury, CT.

Church of the Epiphany

Southbury Training School

The Southbury Training School is a place where people with developmental disabilities live. It has a large campus of 1,400 acres (5.7 km2). This includes farmland and 125 residential cottages. There are different ideas about the future of the Southbury Training School. Some people think it should close, while others think it should house more residents.

Southbury Public Library

The Southbury Public Library is a part of the town. It has its own board of directors. On May 1, 2006, Southbury opened its new library. This was the third library building, but only one has ever been used at a time. The new library cost $6 million and was the first public building built in Southbury in 30 years.

It is a 32,000-square-foot (3,000 m2) building with two floors. It has about 90,000 books, computers, audiobooks, and DVDs. It also has special rooms for recording books for people who are blind. These recordings become part of a national library catalog. The library also has meeting rooms, internet access, a fireplace, and a coffee bar.

The old library building, built in 1969, is now used for the Parks and Recreation Department offices and a new senior center. The oldest library building was in South Britain. It was built in 1904 and had about 1,000 books.

Shepaug Dam and Eagle Observation Area

The Shepaug Dam is on the Housatonic River. It's part of a power plant that makes electricity. This dam is a popular spot for eagles and hawks to nest and find food in the winter. Many bald eagles come here.

Near the power station, FirstLight Power Resources runs an eagle observation area. It opened in the mid-1980s. You can visit for free, and telescopes are provided. Employees and volunteers from groups like the Connecticut Audubon Society are there to help visitors. You need to make reservations in advance. Eagles like this spot because the water moving through the dam's turbines keeps the surface from freezing. This allows the birds to fish. Other birds like Red-tailed hawks, goshawks, great blue herons, and other waterfowl also visit. The dam created a lake called Lake Lillinonah.

Parks and Nature

Southford Falls

Southbury has several parks and natural areas for outdoor activities:

• Kettletown State Park: A state park on the Housatonic River with campgrounds.
• Southford Falls State Park: Another state park known for its waterfalls.
• George Waldo State Park: A state park also located on the Housatonic River.
• Ballentine Park: A town park with fields, basketball courts, and a public swimming pool for residents.
• George Ewald Park: A town park with little league baseball fields.
• Audubon Center at Bent of the River: A 700-acre (2.8 km2) nature sanctuary. It has about 15 miles (24 km) of hiking trails, a nature library, and a bird-watching balcony.
• Community House: A park with newly updated basketball courts, a soccer field, a football field, a baseball field, and tennis courts.

Businesses

IBM Southbury

The largest company complex in Southbury belongs to IBM. IBM built its facilities on a 230-acre (0.93 km2) site. Only authorized people can access the site. It was designed to have 1,100,000 square feet (100,000 m2) of office space for 2,500 people. It also had large data centers. The facility generates its own power using jet turbine technology. In 2006, the power plant was updated to meet higher energy needs.

IBM Southbury was originally planned to be a new main office for IBM. However, it has mostly been used as an IBM Global Services facility. There are four buildings: A, B, C, and Central Services. Buildings A and C are currently closed. In December 2023, IBM announced that the complex would close on January 26, 2024. The jobs there will move to other locations.

Southbury Corporate Park

The Southbury Corporate Park is a planned 125-acre (0.51 km2) site. It is located between I-84 exits 13 and 14. It is approved for about 900,000 square feet (84,000 m2) of corporate offices. The town bought the land for $5 million. The goal is to attract large companies. An arts center was also suggested for the site, but that idea was later changed.

Community Organizations

Southbury Volunteer Firemen's Association

The Southbury Volunteer Firemen's Association, Inc. is a private, non-profit group. Its purpose is to provide emergency services to the community. They serve a rural area that includes parts of Interstate 84, homes, businesses, and other buildings. Founded in 1932, they operate from 4 locations. They have 16 special fire vehicles and 107 members. They help with putting out fires, rescuing people from car crashes, handling dangerous materials, and water rescues.

Southbury Ambulance Association

The Southbury Ambulance Association (SAA) started in 1953. It was a volunteer group created by the Southbury Lions Club. It served both Southbury and Woodbury. The SAA had some of the first EMTs (Emergency Medical Technicians) in Connecticut in the 1970s. Until 1978, only members of the Lions Club could join the SAA. This made it hard to find enough people to work on the ambulances. As of 1997, the SAA was responding to over 1,500 calls each year. Today, the SAA is still a volunteer organization. It does not receive money from the town. It currently operates three ambulances.

Southbury Land Trust

The Southbury Land Trust is a private, non-profit group. It works to protect and save Southbury's natural areas. This is for everyone to enjoy now and in the future. The Land Trust buys land or receives it as gifts. They then place rules on the land to prevent building on it. They currently control over 800 acres (3.2 km2) of land in Southbury. Much of this land is open for the public to visit.

Notable People

Henry Ward Beecher farm in Southbury

Many interesting people have lived in Southbury, including:

• Polly Bergen (1930–2014), an actress and singer.
• Victor Borge (1909–2000), a comedian. He owned the Colonial House in Southbury, which is now a community center.
• Linda Cohn (born 1959), a sportscaster for ESPN.
• Philip Evergood (1901–1973), a painter and artist.
• Jan Miner (1917–2004), an actress famous for playing "Madge the Manicurist" in Palmolive soap commercials.
• Wallace Nutting (1861–1941), a famous photographer and author.
• Katie Stevens (born 1992), an actress and singer known for the TV series Faking It.
• Billy Frolick (born 1959), a screenwriter who wrote Madagascar.
• Leland Stowe (1899–1994), a journalist who won a Pulitzer Prize.
• Ed Sullivan (1901–1974), a famous television host. He had a country home in Southbury.
• Gladys Taber (1899–1980), an author who wrote 59 books. She lived in a 1690 farmhouse called "Stillmeadow."
• Sada Thompson (1927–2011), an actress known for her role in the TV drama Family.
• Krista Watterworth, an interior designer and TV personality.

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See also

In Spanish: Southbury para niños