Colchester

History

On March 31, 1661, the original settlement of Colchester was founded by Jeremy Adams on a 340-acre area of land, then known as "Jeremiah's Farme." The land was given to Jeremy by Uncas, Sachem of the Mohegan tribe. When Connecticut's first counties were created in 1666, Colchester stayed under Adams' ownership and was not incorporated into any new county, possibly because of its proximity to both Hartford and New London County. It would not formally join a county until 1698. At this time, Colchester was mainly a farming community. In 2009, Colchester adopted a right-to-farm ordinance, recognizing the "significant role" that agriculture played in Colchester's "heritage and future." On October 13, 1698, Michael Taintor II, Samuel Northam and Nathaniel Foote III applied to officially settle Colchester. Jeremiah's Farme was selected as the main point of reference for the town, with its north boundary as the Twenty Mile River. The southern side is bordered by Lyme, and the west boundary meets the east bounds of Middletown and Haddam. The east and northeast boundary runs to the bounds of Lebanon and Norwich. During the initial settlement, the area was also referred to as the Plantation of the Twenty-mile River. On May 11, 1699, the town's principal founders asked the general court of Hartford for assistance, alleging that several persons had hindered the advancement of the settlement by claiming ownership of "considerable tracts of land" within the grant. Nathaniel Foote and his family were some of the first to settle here and finished building their house in 1702. The house began construction in 1699 by Nathaniel Foote III and was then finished by his son Nathaniel Foote IV. The first schoolmaster began operations in 1705, and a schoolhouse was finished in 1711. The…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.49%, is water. Among the many waterways are the Salmon River, Jeremy River, and Dickinson Creek, which is spanned by the Lyman Viaduct. It is approximately halfway between Hartford (25 miles away) and New London (28 miles away). *Colchester center *Golden Hill Paugussett Reservation *North Westchester *Westchester This climatic region is typified by large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and cold (sometimes severely cold) winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Colchester has a humid continental climate, abbreviated "Dfb" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Bacon Academy
  High · Colchester · 672 students · 11:1 ratio
• Colchester Elementary School
  Elementary · Colchester · 630 students · 13.7:1 ratio
• William J. Johnston Middle School
  Middle · Colchester · 477 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Jack Jackter Intermediate School
  Elementary · Colchester · 444 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Salem Elementary School
  Elementary · Salem · 397 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• Lebanon Elementary School
  Elementary · Lebanon · 366 students · 12.2:1 ratio
• Lyman Memorial High School
  High · Lebanon · 322 students · 8.3:1 ratio
• Lebanon Middle School
  Middle · Lebanon · 264 students · 9.1:1 ratio