Watertown

History

Watertown, before colonization, belonged to the Paugasuck Indians. In that time, the colony was called "Mattatock", though it had several variations in spelling through the years. Colonization of the area today called Watertown began in 1684 when Thomas Judd and other proprietors bought the land as a group. Some years later, in 1893, The Taft School was established in Watertown and has been there ever since.

Geography

Watertown is in southeastern Litchfield County and is bordered to the southeast by the city of Waterbury in New Haven County. Other bordering towns are Middlebury to the south, Woodbury and Bethlehem to the west, Morris to the northwest, and Thomaston to the east. It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. The elevation at the town center is . According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 1.72%, are water. Oakville, which is often mistaken for a separate town, is in the southeastern part of Watertown. Although Oakville has its own post office and ZIP code, it does not have a charter or town government of its own. Oakville receives all of its town services (police, fire, water and so on) from Watertown.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  16,115
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  15,745
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,600
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,864
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,383
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  13,489
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  13,336
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,196

Largest nearby schools

• Crosby High School
  High · Waterbury · 1,400 students · 15.9:1 ratio
• John F. Kennedy High School
  High · Waterbury · 1,297 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Naugatuck High School
  High · Naugatuck · 1,288 students · 14.2:1 ratio
• Bristol Central High School
  High · Bristol · 1,246 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Wilby High School
  High · Waterbury · 1,157 students · 14.6:1 ratio
• Michael F. Wallace Middle School
  Middle · Waterbury · 1,062 students · 11.5:1 ratio
• Pomperaug Regional High School
  High · Southbury · 1,039 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Waterbury Arts Magnet School
  High · Waterbury · 821 students · 16.8:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.66 — 2014-08-14
  6 km SW of Deep River Center, Connecticut