Wallingford, Connecticut

Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, centrally located between New Haven and Hartford, and Boston and New York City. The town is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 44,396 at the 2020 census. The community was named after Wallingford, in England.

History
The Connecticut General Assembly created the town on October 10, 1667. This original plot of land near the Quinnipiac River is now considered Main Street. Starting on May 12, 1670, there were 126 people who lived in temporary housing, and five years later in 1675 there were 40 permanent homes.

In 1697 Wallingford was the site of the last witchcraft trial in New England. Winifred Benham was thrice tried for witchcraft and acquitted all three times.

The 1878 Wallingford tornado struck on August 9 of that year. It killed at least 29 and possibly as many as 34 people in Wallingford, the most by any tornado event in Connecticut history.

Wallingford is home to a large variety of industries and major corporations spanning the spectrum of medical, healthcare, service, hi-tech specialty manufacturing and research development. The development of the Barnes Industrial Parks, Casimir Pulaski Industrial Park, Centract Park and MedWay Industrial Park have greatly contributed to a diversified tax base. An Interchange Zone which permits restrictive commercial development of office parks, research and development centers and hotels was created at the intersection of interstate 91 and Route 68. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, the town's largest taxpayer, has established a research and development facility in Wallingford's MedWay Industrial Park. The Bristol-Myers Squibb Company moved out in 2017 and the structures were demolished in 2018.

In terms of Wallingford's manufacturing and design history, silver-producing companies like Hall, Elton & Co., Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co. and R. Wallace & Sons are of particular note. Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co. as well as Wallingford's Watrous Manufacturing Co. later became part of the International Silver Company, which was headquartered in the neighboring city of Meriden.

Education
The Wallingford Public School System consists of eight elementary schools: Cook Hill, E. C. Stevens, Highland, and Moses Y. Beach Elementary Schools covering Pre-K to second grade and Parker Farms, Pond Hill, Rock Hill, and Mary G. Fritz Elementary Schools covering grades three to five; two middle schools, Dag Hammarskjöld and James H. Moran; and two high schools, Lyman Hall and Mark T. Sheehan.

Private schools

 * Choate Rosemary Hall, a private, co-educational, college-preparatory boarding school
 * Heritage Baptist Academy
 * Holy Trinity School

Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 39.9 square miles (103.3 km$2$), of which 39.0 square miles (101.1 km$2$) is land and 0.9 square miles (2.2 km$2$), or 2.16%, is water.

The town of Wallingford sits astride the Quinnipiac River in northern New Haven County, roughly 90 miles northeast of New York City. It is 5 mi south of Meriden and about 13 mi north of New Haven. Towns bordering Wallingford are Cheshire, Durham, Hamden, Meriden, Middlefield, North Branford and North Haven. Situated in the Hartford-New Haven-Springfield corridor, Wallingford is traversed by U.S. Route 5, Interstate 91, and State Highways Route 15 (Wilbur Cross Parkway), Route 68, Route 71 and Route 150.

Principal communities

 * East Wallingford
 * Quinnipiac (partly in North Haven)
 * Tracy
 * Wallingford Center
 * Yalesville

Demographics
As of 2022, Wallingford is home to approximately 44,446 residents. The racial makeup leans white (80.2%), with a notable Hispanic presence (11.6%) and smaller proportions of Asian (4.4%) and other groups. The median age sits at 44.3, indicating a blend of families and young professionals. Family households comprise 63% of the total, with 24% having children under their roof.

Wallingford’s 2022 median household income was $98,456, and the median family income was $120,823. The average household and family income was $115,652 and $139,258, respectively. Compared to the national average, Wallingford's median income is significantly higher, putting it in the top 25% of U.S. households.

Top employers
Top employers in Wallingford according to the town's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report:

Mass transit
Wallingford is also located on the New Haven–Springfield Line, with daily passenger service to points north and south, providing direct access to New York City along with Boston via a connection in New Haven. It is served at Wallingford station by the CT Rail (Connecticut Department of Transportation) Hartford Line trains and by Amtrak's Hartford Line, Northeast Regional, and Valley Flyer.

Airports
Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN) in East Haven, Westchester County Airport in Westchester County, and Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Windsor Locks are the closest commercial airports to Wallingford.

Municipal Electric Utility
Wallingford is one of the relatively few communities in the state with its own electricity provider, independent of major power companies.

The Wallingford Electric Division provides electricity to the vast majority of residents in Wallingford. Sparked by the need for electric lights in the late 1890s, Wallingford's journey with power began with a privately run company. The town took the reins in 1927, birthing the Wallingford Electric Division. Growing demand led to steam plants and acquisitions, solidifying its regional role. Embracing the 21st century's green shift, the Division now leads in renewables and smart grid technologies, illuminating not just homes but a sustainable future for the town.

Sports
In 1943 and 1944 the Boston Braves held spring training in Wallingford at Choate's Winter Exercise Building. The town is the home of the Connecticut Bearcats, a New England Football League team.

Notable people

 * Erich Auerbach, German philologist
 * Moses Yale Beach, American inventor, entrepreneur, philanthropist and publisher, who started the Associated Press, and is credited with originating print syndication
 * William Yale Beach, early banker of Wallingford, real estate developer in the city, son of Moses Yale Beach
 * Stephen R. Bradley, United States Senator
 * Michael Buckley, YouTuber
 * Mary Atwater Choate, cofounded Choate Rosemary Hall
 * William Gardner Choate, American judge, cofounded Choate Rosemary Hall
 * Bates Cooke, US Congressman
 * D.J. Cotrona, actor
 * Pasquale DeBaise (1926–2022), businessman and Connecticut state legislator
 * Beverly Donofrio, author
 * Morton Downey, singer, businessman
 * Morton Downey, Jr. (1932–2001), talk show host
 * Lauren Geremia, interior designer
 * Robert Gober, influential contemporary artist
 * Lyman Hall, an American Founding Father, physician, clergyman, statesman, and Declaration of Independence signatory
 * Dorothy Kosinski, art scholar
 * Raoul Lufbery, World War I flying ace
 * John A. McGuire, member of the United States House of Representatives
 * Art Nugent, cartoonist, creator of Uncle Art's Funland
 * Jay Allen Sanford, author and cartoonist
 * Samuel Simpson, silversmith industrialist and entrepreneur
 * Hilton Valentine (1943–2021), musician associated with The Animals, moved to Wallingford in 1977
 * Theophilus Yale, captain, magistrate and early settler of Wallingford
 * Elihu Yale, captain, pioneer bayonet manufacturer in Connecticut
 * Charles Dwight Yale, Connecticut State Senator, businessman, co-proprietor of Simpson, Hall, Miller & Co.
 * Thomas Yale, one of the cofounders of Wallingford, son of Capt. Thomas Yale

Points of interest

 * Choate Rosemary Hall
 * Oakdale Theatre
 * Paul Mellon Arts Center
 * Yalesville Underpass

National Register of Historic Places
Ten buildings and districts in Wallingford are listed on the National Register of Historic Places:


 * Center Street Cemetery, added August 1, 1997
 * Franklin Johnson House, added November 23, 1998
 * John Barker House, added August 3, 1974
 * Joseph Blakeslee House, added April 13, 1998
 * Nehemiah Royce House, added August 24, 1998
 * Samuel Parsons House, added April 12, 1982
 * Samuel Simpson House, added June 18, 1986
 * Theophilus Jones House, added January 30, 1992
 * Wallingford Center Historic District, added December 2, 1993
 * Wallingford railroad station, added November 19, 1993

General references

 * Davis, Charles Henry Stanley (1870). History of Wallingford, Conn., from Its Settlement in 1670 to the Present Time, Including Meriden, which was One of Its Parishes until 1806, and Cheshire, which was Incorporated in 1780. Meriden, CT: Charles Henry Stanley Davis.
 * Gillespie, Charles Bancroft (1895). Souvenir History of Wallingford, Connecticut, 1895. New Haven, CT: Journal Publishing Co.
 * Kendrick, John B. (1878). History of the Wallingford Disaster. Hartford, CT: Case, Lockwood and Brainard Co.