Durham

History

Before European settlers arrived, the Coginchaug area was a Native American hunting ground. European settlers purchased tracts of land from the Mattabesset (Wangunk) tribe around 1662. These later became part of Durham, which was incorporated in 1708. The settlement was named after Durham, England. It took land from Guilford and Haddam. Durham has one of the first public libraries in the United States. It was founded in 1733, two years after Benjamin Franklin started the Philadelphia library. Moses Austin who, along with his son Stephen F. Austin, began the settlement of Spanish and Mexican Texas by Anglo-Americans, was born in Durham in 1761. In the 1830s Durham came to prominence as the birthplace of Richard P. Robinson, who was tried for and acquitted of the infamous murder of Helen Jewett.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and 0.2 square mile (40 ha or 0.67%) is water. The town center CDP has a total area of , of which is land and 0.16% is water. The west side of Durham is flanked by the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Notable features of the Metacomet ridge in Durham include Trimountain, Fowler Mountain, Pistapaug Mountain, and the northern tip of Totoket Mountain. The 50-mile (80-kilometer) Mattabesett Trail traverses the ridge. Miller's Pond State Park is located within the town.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  20,898
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  19,850
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  18,286
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  17,408
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  16,422
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,200
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,732
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  15,466

Largest nearby schools

• Middletown High School
  High · Middletown · 1,214 students · 11.3:1 ratio
• Beman Middle School
  Middle · Middletown · 968 students · 10.9:1 ratio
• Haddam-Killingworth High School
  High · Higganum · 546 students · 10.7:1 ratio
• Vinal Technical High School
  High · Middletown · 529 students · 10.6:1 ratio
• Haddam-Killingworth Middle School
  Middle · Killingworth · 399 students · 10:1 ratio
• Coginchaug Regional High School
  High · Durham · 384 students · 9.6:1 ratio
• Snow School
  Elementary · Middletown · 332 students · 15.1:1 ratio
• Burr District Elementary School
  Elementary · Higganum · 331 students · 11.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.66 — 2014-08-14
  6 km SW of Deep River Center, Connecticut