The name "Norwalk" comes from the Algonquian word "noyank" meaning "point of land", or its Native American name, “Naramauke” (also spelled "Norwauke", "Norowake", or "Norwaake"), a Native American chief.
The farming of oysters has long been important to Norwalk, which was once nicknamed "Oyster Town." Each September, Norwalk holds its Oyster Festival.
Norwalk was purchased in 1640 by Roger Ludlow. The original purchase included the land between the Norwalk and Saugatuck rivers, at a distance of a "day’s walk" from the sea. Norwalk was chartered as a town on September 11, 1651.[2]
The traditional American song "Yankee Doodle" has Norwalk-related origins. During the French and Indian War, a regiment of Norwalkers arrived at Fort Crailo, NY. The British regiment began to mock and ridicule the rag-tag Connecticut troops, who had only chicken feathers for a uniform. Richard Shuckburgh, a British army surgeon, added words to a popular tune of the time, Lucy Locket (e.g., “stuck a feather in his cap and called it macaroni”, macaroni being the London slang at the time for a foppish dandy).
In 1776, American spy Nathan Hale set out from Norwalk by ship on his ill-fated intelligence-gathering mission.
British forces under General William Tryon arrived on July 10, 1779 and almost completely destroyed Norwalk; only six houses were spared. After the Revolutionary War, many residents were compensated for their losses with free land grants in the Connecticut Western Reserve in what is now Ohio; this later became Norwalk, Ohio.
Oyster farming in Norwalk peaked from the late 19th century to the early part of the 20th century. By 1880, it had the largest fleet of steam-powered oyster boats in the world.
In the mid-1970s, the city government and several local organizations started successful efforts to revitalize the South Norwalk business district ("SoNo"). The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk was founded as part of that effort.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.3 square miles (94 km2), of which, 22.8 square miles (59 km2) of it is land and 13.5 square miles (35 km2) of it (37.24%) is water.
Neighborhoods
Norwalk is composed of approximately 24 neighborhoods:
Broad River
Brookside
Central Norwalk/Norwalk Center/Downtown Norwalk/Midtown Norwalk
Norwalk experiences warm to hot and humid summers and cold snowy winters.
The seasonal extremes are tempered by proximity to Long Island Sound, with
daily high temperatures several degrees cooler in summer, and nightly lows higher in winter
compared to locations further inland.
On average the warmest month is July and the coolest month is January.
The highest recorded temperature was 103 °F (39 °C) in July 1966,
the lowest temperature was −15 °F (−26 °C) in January 1968.
The maximum average precipitation occurs in September, although monthly precipitation variations
are only slight (when snowfall is converted to meltwater depths as in the table below).[3]
As of the 2010 census, there were 85,603 people residing in the city.
The number of Hispanics, who may be of various races, is up by 10,889 — a 61 percent increase from the 12,966 who were counted in 2000.
Norwalk's overall population is up by 2,652. As of 2010, whites were 69 percent of the total (whites were 73.9 percent of the total in 2000); blacks, 14.2 percent; Asians, 4.8 percent; American Indians, Pacific Islanders and people counted as "some other race" were 9.4 percent of the total. Those who said they were of two or more races were 2.8 percent of the city's population (that totals 100.2 percent because the percentage figures are rounded).[4]
As of the census of 2000, there were 82,951 people, 32,711 households, and 20,967 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,637.3 people per square mile (1,404.1/km²). There were 33,753 housing units at an average density of 1,480.0 per square mile (571.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 73.95% White, 15.27% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 3.25% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.33% from other races, and 2.95% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.63% of the population.
The foreign nation in which the most residents of Norwalk were born was Colombia, the birthplace of 2.8% of Norwalk's total population and 14% of its foreign-born population.
There were 32,711 households, of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18, 47.9% were married couples living together, 12.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 28.2% of all households were individuals and 8.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was 22.1% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 35.5% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males. For every 100 females 18 or older, there were 91.4 males.
According to a 2007 estimate, the median income for a household in the city was $70,672, and the median income for a family was $83,695. Males had a median income of $46,988 versus $38,312 for females. The per capita income for the city was $31,781. About 5.0% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.6% of those under 18 and 6.3% of those 65 or older.
Politics
Norwalk leans slightly Democratic, with 1.3 active registered Democrats per Republican as of October 2005.
Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 25, 2005[5]
The city of Norwalk is a charter city. The City of Norwalk's administration offices are located at 125 East Avenue. Norwalk's common council consists of fifteen council members, five elected at-large and ten elected by district, two from each district. The mayor is elected separately, at large and serves for two years. Common Council meetings are held on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month.
The Common Council is the law-writing body of the City of Norwalk. The city's charter gives certain administrative powers exclusively to the Council and others jointly to the Council and Mayor.
The current at-large council members are Fred Bondi, Anna Duleep, Douglas E. Hempstead, Warren Peña, and Joanne T. Romano; and the district members are Matthew A. Miklave, and David A. Watts from District A; Carvin J. Hilliard and Michael K. Geake from District B; Nicholas D. Kydes and Michelle A. Maggio from District C; Bruce I. Kimmel and Jerry E. Petrini from District D; John E. Igneri and David T. McCarthy from District E.
Applera Corp. Applied Biosystems Group (ABI)[7] – headquarters, 301 Merritt Seven; the successor to Norwalk's old Perkin Elmer Corp. (the actual name of Perkin Elmer went to another company) Appelera Biosystems develops, manufactures, sells and services instrument systems, reagents and software for the life sciences industry. It is a separately traded stock under the holding company Applera Corp., also based in Norwalk. (Applera Corp. also includes Celera Genomics, best known for its work on the human genome project.) Appelera Biosystems has 4,030 employees companywide; $1.8 billion in 2005 revenues; CEO Tony L. White
Diageo North America—U.S. headquarters of the world's largest liquor maker
Emcor Group Inc. (EME)[8] – headquarters, 301 Merritt Seven (not to be confused with "Premcor Inc." of Greenwich); a Fortune 500 company that performs mechanical and electrical construction, energy infrastructure and facilities services for a range of businesses worldwide; 26,000 employees companywide; 506 in Connecticut; $4.7 billion in 2005 revenues; CEO Frank T. MacInnis
FactSet Research Systems – A leading provider of global financial and economic information, including fundamental financial data on tens of thousands of companies worldwide. Combining hundreds of databases into its own dedicated online service, FactSet also provides the tools to download, combine, and manipulate financial data for investment analysis. FactSet has offices in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, its headquarters are in Norwalk.
IMS Health — The world's largest supplier of pharmaceutical market intelligence recently moved its headquarters to Norwalk from Fairfield, Connecticut.
Kayak.com – headquarters, Connecticut Avenue; a travel search engine Web site founded in January 2005; Steve Hafner, CEO.
Media Storm LLC (privately held)[9] – headquarters, 99 Washington St., South Norwalk; helps entertainment marketers identify advertising vehicles, and then helps place the ads. The company helped promote the debut of the FX television program The Shield, which broke the record for the number of viewers for a cable television premier. In 2006 the company made Inc. magazine's "Inc. 500" list of fast-growing companies, coming in at No. 106, with 869.7% growth over three years (2002 to 2005). Media Storm had $72.5 million in annual revenues in 2005 and 22 employees. It was founded in November 2001 by managing partners Tim Williams and Craig Woerz, who formerly worked together at AOL Time Warner.
MBI, parent company of The Danbury Mint and Easton Press.
Northrop Grumman Norden Systems (formerly Norden Systems)[10] – a division of Northrop Grumman.
priceline.com (PCLN)[11] – headquarters; online service books airline tickets, hotel rooms, rental cars, cruises, vacation packages and mortgages; 532 employees companywide, 280 in Connecticut; $963 million in annual revenues; CEO Jeffrey H. Boyd
SoBe – a division; founded in Norwalk in 1996, it was bought by PepsiCo in 2000.
Southern Air - a cargo carrier airline based in Norwalk
Stew Leonard's – headquarters and flagship store on Westport Avenue
Tauck – An upscale escorted tour and cruise operator, with nearly 100 land tours, river cruises and ocean cruises in over 60 countries.
Tower Optical - a small, family-owned company making coin-operated viewers at major tourist sites since 1932.
Trans-Lux – maker of real time displays. Headquarters are in Norwalk, but manufacturing has moved elsewhere.
Xerox – World headquarters located at 45 Glover Avenue; global document management company, which manufactures and sells a range of color and black-and-white printers, multifunction systems, photo copiers, digital production printing presses, and related consulting services and supplies.
The Mill Hill Historic Park and Museum, a collection of historic buildings open to visitors on weekends from May through September and by appointment year round, and is maintained by the Norwalk Historical Society.
The Norwalk Islands are used by powerboaters, fishers, kayakers and canoeists as well as birdwatchers and campers for day trips and sometimes overnight camping stays.
Norwalk Museum,[13] — 41 North Main St. — in the Colonial Revival -style building that previously served as the South Norwalk City Hall prior to the incorporation of Norwalk and Old Well (South Norwalk) in 1913. Museum is currently closed.
Norwalk Youth Symphony performs at concerts held in the Norwalk City Hall on East Avenue.
The Silvermine Tavern[15] in a historic riverside mill complex of buildings in the Silvermine section of the city, closed its popular restaurant in 2009, though the inn remains open as a bed and breakfast and for special functions.
Baseball and softball are popular amateur sports with active leagues across many age groups in Norwalk. There are 4 baseball fields
and 16 Little League fields in the city.[16] Several of the fields are illuminated for nighttime play.[17] The Norwalk Little League team won the Little League World Series in 1952.[18]
The 14 year old Babe Ruth League team won the championship in 2008.[19]
In 2011, the Norwalk American Senior Legion baseball team won the Connecticut State Championship for the first time. This had not been accomplished by any other Norwalk Legion team in the storied 83 year history. The team defeated Branford, CT in the championship game. Also in 2010, the cal Ripken 12 year old Norwalk all star team made to the cal Ripken league world series and placed 3rd in the country.
The girls Norwalk Pride fast pitch softball team won the Connecticut State Championship in 2005, 2006, and 2007.
The Norwalk Biddy Basketball All Star team went to the World Championships in New Orleans, LA in 1986 and placed 7th in the world.
There are three golf courses in the city of Norwalk.[22]
The cross town rivalry between the city's two largest high schools' sports teams can be rather
fierce, particularly for the football and field hockey teams in the fall; as well as
lacrosse, baseball, and softball teams in the spring. McMahon high school's boys lacrosse
team went on to win the state division 2 lacrosse championship in 2000.
The public school system has three high schools, each covering Grades 9 through 12: The oldest, Norwalk High School (founded in 1902) is the home of the Norwalk Bears. Brien McMahon High School (founded in 1960) is named for U.S. Senator Brien McMahon. The third is Briggs High School, which was named for Dr. Richard C. Briggs, who was superintendent of schools from 1971 to 1980. Briggs High School was formerly known as the Briggs Center for Vocational Arts and is an alternative to the two traditional high schools.
There are twelve elementary schools in the Norwalk public school district: Brookside, Columbus Magnet, Cranbury, Fox Run, Jefferson, Kendall, Marvin, Naramake, Rowayton, Silvermine, Tracey, and Wolfpit. One charter school, Side by Side Community School, is located in South Norwalk.
In 2006, three of the city's four middle schools and nine of its twelve elementary schools, along with a "community school" were cited as falling behind in standards for the federal "No Child Left Behind" Act. Three elementary schools had not met the standards for two years in a row, so students in those schools are offered the choice to go to a Norwalk public school that hasn't been designated as needing improvement.
Norwalk is served 24/7 by Norwalk Hospital and Norwalk Hospital EMS, a progressive 911 paramedic service. The service consists of hospital based paramedics and EMT-Is who serve Norwalk as well as New Canaan, Wilton, Weston, and Westport. The service responded to over 9,500 medical emergencies in 2008 in the city of Norwalk and 6,000 in the neighboring communities. Norwalk Hospital EMS is widely known as one of the top services in the state and region. Typically the ambulances respond out of Norwalk Hospital as the paramedics and EMT-I assist in the Emergency Department while not in the field. NHEMS works closely with other Norwalk first responders (Norwalk Fire and Police Departments).
Fire Department
The city of Norwalk is protected 24/7, 365 by the 120 paid, professional firefighters of the city of Norwalk Fire Department (NFD). The Norwalk Fire Department operates out of 5 Fire Stations, located throughout the city, under the command of a Deputy Chief per shift. The NFD also maintains and operates a fire apparatus fleet of 5 Engines, 2 Trucks, 1 Rescue, 1 Tactical Rescue, 1 Haz-Mat. Unit, 1 Tanker, 1 Fireboat, and numerous special, support, and reserve units. There are 32 firefighters on duty at all times. The Norwalk Fire Department responds to over 6,000 emergency calls a year.[23][24]
Below is a list of all fire station locations and apparatus in the city of Norwalk.
The Norwalk Fire Department also operates a Fire Apparatus Maintenance Facility in Central Norwalk on Fairfield Ave. It houses a Haz-Mat./Crane Unit, a Tanker, 3 Reserve Engines (6, 7, 9), 2 Reserve Trucks (Ladder 1, 3), 2 Reserve Rescues (1, 3), a Reserve Deputy Chief's vehicle (Car 3), and numerous support vehicles. Also, Reserve Engine 6 and a second Reserve Deputy Chief's vehicle, as well as a fireboat and technical rescue trailer are stationed at Fire Headquarters on Connecticut Avenue and Reserve Engine 9 is stationed at the Broad River Fire Station. The city's fireboat, Marine 238 is docked at the Norwalk Police Department dock in South Norwalk.
Emergency Medical Services Assignment: 1 Engine, Norwalk EMS
Water Leak Assignment: 1 Truck
Police department
Founded in 1913, the Norwalk Police Department (NPD) currently has approximately 180 sworn police officers and 3 police dogs.[25] Police Officers of the Norwalk Police Department have reportedly earned a maximum annual salary of roughly $228,269.79.[26]
Annual events
Norwalk Harbor Splash!,[27] held in early June and started in 1995, the festival features arts and crafts booths, food vendors, music, a parade, and dragon boat races.
St. George Greek Orthodox Festival, held in early June, the festival features Greek delicacies, Pontic Greek dance exhibitions and a large carnival.
Round Hill Highland Games,[28] a festival of Scottish culture and athletic events, was started in 1923 in Greenwich, CT but interrupted during World War II, then restarted in 1952, and has been held in Norwalk's Cranbury Park on or around July 4 for a number of years. In 2006, the 83rd annual event attracted 4,000 people to hear bagpipes and watch the caber toss, the hammer throw, and other events; with athletes often wearing wool kilts. Games for children are also offered. Food and Scottish items are offered for sale. Organizers say the event is the third-oldest Scottish games festival in the United States.[29]
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Museum has hosted an annual antique show since 1978. In 2006 the show was held the last weekend in October and attracted dealers from Ohio and Pennsylvania as well as Connecticut.[32]
Sites on the National Register of Historic Places
Rock Ledge estate in Rowayton
Norwalk sites and districts on the National Register of Historic Places include the Norwalk Green Historic District (roughly bounded by Smith and Park Streets, Boston Post Road, East and Morgan Avenues). The district contains examples of Federal Style, Greek Revival, and Late Victorian architecture. (added 1987)[33]
Another local site on the Register is the Former Joseph Loth Company Building (25 Grand St.). The 133,000-square-foot (12,400 m2) building, since renovated as an apartment building and renamed "Clocktower Close" in the mid-1980s, has an 85-foot (26 m)-high Romanesque Revival clocktower[34] (added 1984)
These other sites are also on the Register: the Lockwood-Mathews Mansion (added 1970), the former Rock Ledge estate in Rowayton (1977), the Norwalk Museum (1995), and three lighthouses—the Sheffield Island Lighthouse, Peck Ledge Lighthouse, the Onion domed, 1906 Moorish Revival building of Beth Israel of Norwalk/Westport and Greens Ledge Lighthouse. The most recently added site to the historical register is Village Creek, which was the first community in the United States to be racially integrated. The community was added to the register in August 2010.
For additional Norwalk sites on the list, see South Norwalk.
Media
Several publications regularly cover news in Norwalk, including two daily newspapers, a weekly newspaper and two professional news websites. The Hour is an independent daily newspaper based in Norwalk and founded in 1871. The Advocate (Stamford), a unit of Hearst Corp., had a Norwalk edition with a bureau in the city, but both have since closed down, and the Advocate provides occasional coverage, much of which also appears in the Norwalk Citizen-News, a weekly also owned by Hearst. The Norwalk Daily Voice (owned by The Daily Voice, which is headquartered in New York City).
News 12 Connecticut, a 24-hour regional news channel covering events in southwestern Connecticut is based in Norwalk. News 12 Connecticut is owned and operated by Cablevision, a unit of Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. and is available to subscribers of that cable television service.
Rowayton is also covered by New Canaan-Darien & Rowayton magazine, a glossy monthly is owned by Moffly Publications.
Norwalkplus is a publication of Canaiden, LLC of Stamford.[35]
Interstate 95 crosses through Norwalk, and there are several exits within the Norwalk city limits. The Merritt Parkway also crosses through Norwalk. Both of these roads are designated to be north/south routes, but through Norwalk, both of them primarily travel east/west. The major north-south artery is Route 7, which begins at Interstate 95. There is an exit to the Merritt Parkway, but only southbound towards New York City, as environmental activists have successfully blocked a full interchange between the two arteries. In northern Norwalk, Route 7 changes from a limited access, divided highway to an ordinary surface road. Originally, the intent was to build the "Super 7" highway (in a different place than the current Route 7), which would link Interstate 95 with Interstate 84 in Danbury, but environmental groups and slow-growth advocates succeeded in preventing this highway from being built (although the state of Connecticut continues to own the land to build the highway). Other state highways in Norwalk are Route 53, Route 123, and Route 136.
The Route 123 bridge over the Norwalk River, which was undergoing being replaced from August 2007 to August 2008, was one of 12 bridges in the southwestern part of the state (including New Haven) with safety inspection ratings so low they are (or were) considered to be in critical condition.[36]
Utilities
Electricity in most of Norwalk is provided by the Northeast Utilities's
Connecticut Light and Power Company division (CL&P). However, within the second and
third taxing districts the taxing districts act as the local electric power
utility company. Residents of those districts are billed by the district. The districts in turn purchase
wholesale power and arrange for its delivery to, and distribution within, the district. Power lines and meters in
East Norwalk, South Norwalk, and parts of Rowayton are maintained by line crews employed by the district
and they may be seen driving about in trucks with district logos.[37][38] Both the second (SNEW) and third (TTD) district electric departments belong to the six member
Connecticut Municipal Electric Energy Cooperative which pools their wholesale power purchasing to obtain lower rates
for customers.[39] The history of municipal power in Norwalk extends back to the 1890s when
Albert A. Winchester was an early and forceful advocate of it. In 1892 Winchester designed the city of South Norwalk's
generating station – remnants of which still lie along Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in South Norwalk in front of the
railroad station.
The newer power plant on Manressa Island (near the Harbor View neighborhood)
does still generate power within the city. The Manressa generation plant was originally
a coal-fired plant but was converted to burn oil. It was operated up until the early
first decade of the 21st century by CL&P but is now operated under contract by another company.
In 2004 the third taxing district installed 3 diesel powered generators at the
Norden complex on Norden Place that were initially licensed only for emergency power supply.
By summer 2008 the generators, with a combined capacity of 6 Megawatts, had been upgraded to
allow licensed operation as regular power providers for the grid (not just emergency
power).[40]
In 2007 and 2008 the
construction of the Middletown-Norwalk transmission line disrupted traffic along the Boston Post Road, but the
completion of the line is hoped to help CL&P to provide additional power to lower Fairfield County. In addition
a high-voltage undersea line runs from Manressa Island to Long Island to help provide electric power to
Long Island Power Authority customers. In 2008 the city government of Norwalk started initial investigations
of whether the city might resume generating power for sale to electricity customers in the city.[41]
Natural gas is provided by Northeast Utilities' Yankee Gas subsidiary.[42]
Water in most of the city is provided by the Aquarion Water Company from reservoirs in Wilton.[42]
In the first and second taxing districts
the taxing districts act as the local water utility provider.[37][43]
College Road Trip (2008). — scenes filmed in town in mid-July 2007; shooting locations were the former Norwalk police headquarters building in Matthews Park, on the Merritt Parkway and along the Route 7 connector.[48]
^The Shorehaven
club is a private club in East Norwalk, the Silvermine club is a private
club in Silvermine (part of the course lies in the town of Wilton), and
the Oak Hills Park golf course is a public course in West Norwalk.
^"Antiques show will benefit museum" in "Area briefs" feature, The Advocate of Stamford, October 25, 2006, page A18, Stamford edition, "... the 29th annual Lockwood-Mathews Antiques Show ..." Remember, if the 29th was held in 2006, the first would have been held in 1978, counting must be done the way we count centuries such as the "first century" from the years 1–100 AD.
^Kaplan, Thomas, Martineau, Kim, and Kauffman, Matthew, "12 state bridges are judged to be in critical condition" article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, article reprinted from The Hartford Courant, August 5, 2007, pp1, A6
^"TTD Commission Invests in Norden Generators to Help to Control Electricity Prices". Inside Your Third; The Newsletter for Norwalk's Third Taxing District. 7 (8): pg. 1. 2008. ((cite journal)): |page= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
^Road Trip' hits the highway", photographs and long caption in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, Norwalk and Stamford editions, July 17, 2007, page 1
^Gizmo Graphics Web Design - Bruce C. brown. "Current Events". Silverminetavern.com. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
^Nickerson, John, "Chase Scene / Police: Man speeds through Oprah movie set", news article in The Advocate of Stamford, Connecticut, Norwalk edition, pp A9-A10
Norwalk Seaport Association, Sponsors of the annual Oyster festival (a 3-day carnival usually held the 2nd weekend of September) and other local heritage events
