Easton, Connecticut


Easton is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 7,490 at the 2010 census. Easton contains the historic district of Aspetuck.
The town is situated among Redding, Monroe, Trumbull, Fairfield, Weston, and Newtown.

History

Easton was first settled in 1757 by men and women from Fairfield. In 1762 a congregation called the North Fairfield Society was established, and it gradually evolved into Easton. In 1787 Weston, then including lands now defined as Easton, was incorporated out of Fairfield. The area was slow to develop because of the rough hills along the Aspetuck River, and so it was not until 1845 that what is now Easton separated from Weston. Today, half of the town's property is owned by the Aquarion Water Company of Connecticut, the major supplier of water in the area.
On June 1, 1968, the deaf and blind activist Helen Keller died at the age of 87 in her Easton home, where she chose to spend her final days. Her house is still intact today and has been owned by several families since her death. The local middle school bears her name.
The 2009 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree was a Norway Spruce donated from a private residence in Easton.

On the National Register of Historic Places

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which, of it is land and of it is water.

Emergency services

Emergency medical services

Easton Volunteer Emergency Medical Service is located at 448 Sport Hill Road and offers the EMT-B certification course. The agency was established in 1946 and currently has two ambulances, a Polaris UTV and 2006 GMC pickup and a staff of three Chief officers, two career techs and twenty nine volunteers.
Ambulance 852 GM/PL Custom 2016
Ambulance 851 Ford/Lifeline 2009

Fire department

The town of Easton is protected constantly by the eight paid firefighters of the Easton Fire Department and the volunteer firefighters of the Easton Volunteer Fire Company # 1. Founded in 1921, EFD operates out of one fire station, located at 1 Center Road in the center of town, and runs an apparatus fleet of three engines, one attack engine, one haz-mat unit, one brush unit, and one command vehicle. The Easton Fire Department responds to over 500 emergency calls annually. In 2015, the fire department responded to 539 incidents.

Police department

The Easton Police Department is located at 700 Morehouse Road. The department includes a K9 unit, D.A.R.E and an animal control unit. The Easton Police Explorer Post 2001 is an affiliated with the department. Easton Police are also first responders for all EMS calls in town. They are all certified EMR's or EMT's and can provide oxygen, perform basic first aid, and defibrillation.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 7,490 people, 2,465 households, and 2,077 families residing in the town. The population density was 265.2 people per square mile. There were 2,511 housing units at an average density of 91.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 96.74% White, 0.22% African American, 0.04% Native American, 2.02% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.41% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.76% of the population.
Of the 2,465 households, 42.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 75.8% were married couples living together, 6.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 15.7% were non-families. 12.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 3.23 individuals.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.7% under the age of 18, 5.5% from 18 to 24, 24.7% from 25 to 44, 37% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.3 males. The sex ratio is 94.3 males per 100 females.
The median income for a household in the town was $132,000, and the median income for a family was $155,227. Males had a median income of $101,636 versus $83,333 for females. The per capita income for the town was $59,546. About 2.2% of families and 3.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 2.6% of those age 65 or over.

Government and politics

Historically, Easton has been a reliably Republican stronghold. However, in 2016, town residents voted for Democrat Hillary Clinton with a plurality.
YearDemocraticRepublicanThird Parties
201648.67% 2,20347.08% 2,1314.24% 192
201243.16% 1,84155.79% 2,3801.05% 45
200849.47% 2,23849.93% 2,2590.60% 27
200444.34% 2,00254.53% 2,4621.13% 51
200042.76% 1,78352.18% 2,1765.06% 211
199638.86% 1,47550.16% 1,90410.99% 417
199230.85% 1,23247.80% 1,90921.36% 853
198829.94% 1,10668.65% 2,5361.41% 52
198424.83% 89574.79% 2,6960.39% 14
198023.91% 82164.11% 2,20111.97% 411
197629.38% 92169.92% 2,1920.70% 22
197223.77% 68174.24% 2,1271.99% 57
196827.05% 65568.07% 1,6484.87% 118
196438.09% 80161.91% 1,3020.00% 0
196024.39% 46675.61% 1,4450.00% 0
195614.79% 25185.21% 1,4460.00% 0
195217.87% 26276.74% 1,1255.39% 79

Voter registration and party enrollment as of November 5, 2018Voter registration and party enrollment as of November 5, 2018Voter registration and party enrollment as of November 5, 2018Voter registration and party enrollment as of November 5, 2018Voter registration and party enrollment as of November 5, 2018Voter registration and party enrollment as of November 5, 2018
PartyPartyActive votersInactive votersTotal votersPercentage

Bridge issues

The Route 59 bridge in Easton, which carries more than 10,000 cars and trucks every day over the Mill River, has a substructure rated in critical condition by state safety inspectors. As of early August 2007, the bridge was one of 12 in the southwestern part of the state with safety inspection ratings so low they are considered to be in critical condition. The ratings for these bridges were worse than the I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, which collapsed during rush hour on August 1, 2007.

Notable people

Easton has three schools: Samuel Staples Elementary school, for children in grades from kindergarten to 5th grade, Helen Keller Middle School, for children in grades 6 through 8, and the private school Easton Country Day for children K-12. High school students attend Joel Barlow High School in Redding.
Additionally, Easton has a privately owned, non-profit community center named Easton Community Center. This community center has a preschool named Playtots Preschool and is for ages under 2 to 5 years old.