Torrington
City
City of Torrington
Coe Memorial Park
Seal
Litchfield County and Connecticut  Northwest Hills Planning Region and Connecticut
Show Torrington Show Connecticut Show the United States
Coordinates: 41°48′23″N 73°07′50″W / 41.80639°N 73.13056°W / 41.80639; -73.13056
Country	United States
U.S. state	Connecticut
County	Litchfield
Region	Northwest Hills
Incorporated (town)	1740
Incorporated (city)	1923
Government
• Type	Mayor-council
• Mayor	Elinor C. Carbone (R)
• City Council	Paul E. Cavagnero Keri Hoehne Armand Maniccia David Oliver Ann Ruwet Drake Waldron
Area [1]
• Total	40.33 sq mi (104.46 km2)
• Land	39.77 sq mi (103.01 km2)
• Water	0.56 sq mi (1.44 km2)
Elevation	541 ft (165 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	35,515
• Density	893/sq mi (344.8/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (EST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP code	06790
Area code(s)	860/959
FIPS code	09-76500
GNIS feature ID	0211514
Major highways
Website	http://www.torringtonct.org/

Torrington is the most populated municipality and largest city in Litchfield County, Connecticut and the Northwest Hills Planning Region. It is also the core city of Greater Torrington, one of the largest micropolitan areas in the United States.^[2] The city population was 35,515 according to the 2020 census.^[3] The city is located roughly 23 miles (37 km) west of Hartford, 34 miles (55 km) southwest of Springfield, Massachusetts, 67 miles (108 km) southeast of Albany, New York, 84 miles (135 km) northeast of New York City, and 127 miles (204 km) west of Boston, Massachusetts.

Torrington is a former mill town, as are most other towns along the Naugatuck River Valley. Downtown Torrington is home to the Nutmeg Conservatory for the Arts, which trains ballet dancers and whose Company performs in the Warner Theatre, a 1,700-seat auditorium built in 1931 as a cinema by the Warner Brothers film studio. Downtown Torrington hosts the largest Lodge of Elks in New England. Elks Lodge #372 supports many community activities and events. Downtown Torrington also hosts KidsPlay, a children's museum which was founded in 2012 and expanded their location in 2015 after purchasing the adjacent building.^[4]

Torrington has two radio stations, WAPJ 89.9 FM, operated by the non-profit Torrington Community Radio Foundation, and WSNG 610 AM, owned by Buckley Broadcasting.

Torrington has two daily newspapers. The Republican-American, which circulates a Litchfield County edition and has a bureau on Franklin Street, and The Register Citizen, which serves Torrington and Winsted, in addition to most of the Northwest Corner. Charlotte Hungerford Hospital has also developed into an important health care resource for the area. In 2008, Torrington was named by Bizjournals as the number one "Dreamtown" (micropolitan statistical area) out of ten in the United States to live in.^[5]

History

Torrington was first settled in 1735 by Ebenezer Lyman, Jr., of Durham, Connecticut. The downtown section of Torrington was known as Wolcottville, after the Wolcott family of Connecticut, which produced several governors between 1813 and 1881.^[6] Its early settlers resided on the hills west of the Naugatuck River where the first school, church, store, and tavern were constructed. Later, the eastern hill known as Torringford was settled, as it provided the best farmland. Torrington was given permission to organize a government and incorporate as a town in October 1740. The town is named after Torrington in Devon, England.^[7]

The fast moving waters of the Naugatuck River were used to power early nineteenth-century industries. Industrial growth skyrocketed when Frederick Wolcott constructed a woolen mill in 1813. The mill attracted a large workforce and created demands for goods, services, and housing.

From a postcard sent in 1906

Israel Coe and Erastus Hodges began the construction of two brass mills on the Naugatuck River in 1834. This event sparked the beginning of the brass industry in Torrington, which later would spread throughout the entire Naugatuck Valley. In 1849, the Naugatuck Valley railroad was completed, connecting Torrington with other population centers, ending its isolation, and stimulating further industrial growth. Soon, Torrington was producing a variety of metal products, including needles, brass, hardware, bicycles, and tacks. Torrington's growing industrial plants attracted English, Irish, and German immigrants throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Between 1880 and 1920, Torrington's population soared from 3,000 to 22,000 as immigration from southern and eastern Europe increased; most immigrants during this period were Poles, Czechs, Slovaks, and Italians. Torrington was chartered as a city in 1923.

In 1955, a massive flood destroyed much of the downtown area and other property in the region when Hurricanes Connie and Diane caused local rivers to overflow. Torrington is home to several state parks, one of which is the very popular Burr Pond State Park. In 1851, Milo Burr placed a dam across the confluence of several mountain streams impounding water for power. The tannery and three active sawmills erected downstream consumed the finest pines and oaks for miles around to meet the needs of lumber production. The clearings became homesites, and Connecticut's industrial leadership was further strengthened. Burr Pond was designated as a state park in 1949. The pond itself has several small inlets and islands. The shore is rocky and there are deep drop-offs in several places, but the pond only has a maximum depth of thirteen feet. Fish species present include largemouth bass, chain pickerel, black crappie, yellow perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, and brown bullhead. Gail Borden, discoverer of the process of milk preservation by evaporation and condensation, built the world's first condensed milk factory here, in 1856. The new milk product proved to be of great value, particularly to the Union Army during the Civil War. Fire destroyed the mill in 1877. A bronze tablet marks its site, just below the falls.

Torrington is the birthplace of abolitionist John Brown. The birthplace accidentally burned in 1918.^[8] In the year 2000, the Torrington Historical Society acquired the property in merger with the John Brown Association. Plans are now being formulated to improve visitor services and to construct interpretive trails on the property. Torrington Historical Society.

There was a 100-acre University of Connecticut regional campus in Torrington. It closed in May 2016 due to low enrollment ^[9] In 2018 the site was sold to Five Points Arts Gallery for $375,000.^[10]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 40.4 square miles (104.6 km²). Approximately 39.8 square miles (103.1 km²) of it is land and 1.5 km² (0.6 sq mi or 1.41%) of it is water.

The eastern and western sides of the city, at its borders, are at the tops of peaks, while the downtown and central sections of the city are in the Naugatuck River Valley. This provides some interesting views from the higher locations, with the city lights as a backdrop below. Due to the lack of suitable highways and bypass routes in an East–west direction, crossing the city requires driving down into the valley and back up the other side.

Demographics

As of the census^[16] of 2000, there were 35,202 people, 14,743 households, and 9,125 families residing in the city. The population density was 884.7 inhabitants per square mile (341.6/km²). There were 16,147 housing units at an average density of 405.8 per square mile (156.7/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 93.03% White, 2.15% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 1.83% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 1.31% from other races, and 1.47% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.30% of the population.

There were 14,743 households, out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 10.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.1% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.0% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $41,841, and the median income for a family was $54,375. Males had a median income of $37,702 versus $28,418 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,406.

Government

Torrington is governed by a mayor and a six member Board of Councilmen.^[17] Torrington also elects a board of education, a board of public safety, city clerk, and a city treasurer.

Infrastructure

Sports teams/events

On the National Register of Historic Places

• Downtown Torrington Historic District—Roughly bounded by Church and Alvord Sts., Center Cemetery, Willow St., E. Main St., Litchfield St., and Prospect St. (added 1988)
• Fyler-Hotchkiss Estate—192 Main St. (added 1987)
• James Alldis House—355 Prospect St. (added 1982)

The Warner Theatre in Torrington, CT.

• Migeon Avenue Historic District—Roughly along Migeon Ave. and parts of Forest St. (added 2002)
• Paugnut Forest Administration Building—385 Burr Mountain Rd. (added 1986)
• Skee's Diner—589 Main St. (added 2002)
• South School—362 S. Main St. (added 1986)
• Torringford Street Historic District—Torringford St. from East Main St. to W. Hill Rd. (added 1991)
• Torrington Fire Department Headquarters—117 Water St. (added 1987)
• Villa Friuli—58 High St. (added 1991)
• Warner Theatre—68-82 Main St. (added 1984)
• Warrenton Woolen Mill—839 Main St. (added 1987)
• Water Street Historic District—Roughly along Water St., from Church St. to Prospect St. (added 2003)

Notable people

• James Ashborn (1816–1876), came to Torrington from England as a young adult, was the first to file a patent for the capo^[26][27]
• John Brown (1800–1859), abolitionist, was born in Torrington
• Josiah Bunting III (born 1939), author, educator, soldier and Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute
• W. G. Curtis (1857–1913), a homesteader and politician, lived in Torrington, Connecticut, and later founded and named the town of Torrington, Wyoming after his former residence
• Dick Ebersol (born 1947), chairman of NBC Universal Sports, was born in Torrington
• Frank Fixaris (1934–2006), Maine sportscaster, was born in Torrington and grew up at 600 Prospect St.
• Aline Huke Frink (1904–2000), mathematician, professor at Pennsylvania State University, born in Torrington
• Matt Gorman (born 1989), Republican political strategist and television analyst, was born in Torrington.
• Ellen Maria Huntington Gates (1835–1920), hymn writer and poet
• Horace Holley (1887–1960), prominent follower of the Bahai Faith was born in Torrington
• Samuel John Mills (1783–1818), Congregationalist missionary
• Lyman Cornelius Smith (1850–1910), an industrialist and founder of the L.C. Smith & Brothers Typewriter Company, which grew into the Smith-Corona Company, was born here
• William L. Shirer, Author of “The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich”, lived on the 40 acre estate on Stillwater Pond Road (formerly, Brass Mill Damn Rd.); once the location of Torrington’s first dairy farm.
• Steven Strogatz, American mathematician and popularizer of mathematics, born in Torrington
• Karl Swenson (1908–1978), actor, who died in Torrington
• Tracey Thurman, a victim of domestic violence that drew national attention in 1985^[28]
• Patricia Wald (1928–2019), first female judge of the Washington, D.C., circuit, was born and raised in Torrington
• Jordan Williams (born 1990), basketball center for the Maryland Terrapins and the New Jersey Nets
• Jocko Willink (born 1971), US Navy SEAL Lt. Commander, Author, Podcaster. Born in Torrington
• Bill C. Davis (1961–2021), playwright, was living in Torrington at the time of his death

References

• Torrington City Government Website
• Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce
• Torrington Police Department
• Torrington Emergency Management
• Torrington Elks Lodge #372
• Northwest Connecticut Arts Council
• Northwest Connecticut Convention and Visitors Bureau
• Coe Memorial Park website
• Torrington Public School System
• Catholic School System
• Oliver Wolcott Technical High School
• Northwestern Connecticut Community College in adjacent Winsted
• Torringford Volunteer Fire Department website Archived 2019-06-09 at the Wayback Machine
• Torrington Firefighter's Union website

References