West Hartford

Sister cities

• Haifa

History

According to archaeological evidence, the Wampanoag people used West Hartford as one of their winter camps. Fishing and hunting along the Connecticut River, the area of West Hartford offered the Wampanoag people a refuge from the cold winter wind and the river's severe spring flooding. In 1636 Reverend Thomas Hooker led a group of followers from what is now Cambridge, Massachusetts to the "Great River" and established Hartford, Connecticut and the Connecticut Colony. As the colony grew, additional land was needed. In 1672 the Proprietors of Hartford ordered that a Division be created to the West. A total of "72 Long Lots" were laid out between today's Quaker Lane in the East and Mountain Road in the West. The northern boundary was Bloomfield, and the Southern, present day New Britain Avenue. (The western boundary was extended in 1830 to include part of Farmington). In the 1670s, the area was referred to as the "West Division" of Hartford. This remained the official name until 1806 when Connecticut General Assembly started referring to it as "the Society of West Hartford." It is believed that the first homesteader to West Hartford was Stephen Hosmer whose father was in Hooker's first group of Hartford settlers and who later owned just north of the present day Center. In 1679, Stephen Hosmer's father sent him to establish a sawmill on the property. Young Hosmer would eventually go back to live in Hartford, but in his 1693 estate inventory, in West Hartford along with a house and a sawmill are listed. For nearly a century the property would be handed down throughout the family. Evidence still remains of the Town's first industry, as Stephen Hosmer's mill pond and dam can still be found today on the westernmost side of North Main Street. By the time of the American…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 1.91%, is water. The west side of West Hartford 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 West Hartford include Talcott Mountain and a number of highland water reservoirs belonging to the Metropolitan District, which maintains watershed and recreation resources on the property. The Metacomet Trail traverses the ridge. The town's web site indicates that the highest point in town is above sea level on Talcott (Avon) Mountain. The altitude at Town Hall is . West Hartford is adjacent to and west of Hartford, the state capital, and borders Bloomfield, Newington, New Britain, Farmington, and Avon. West Hartford is approximately southwest of Boston and northeast of New York City. Interstate 84 runs through West Hartford.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• New Britain High School
  High · New Britain · 2,331 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Glastonbury High School
  High · Glastonbury · 1,801 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• East Hartford High School
  High · East Hartford · 1,698 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• Conard High School
  High · West Hartford · 1,418 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Hall High School
  High · West Hartford · 1,408 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• Newington High School
  High · Newington · 1,327 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Farmington High School
  High · Farmington · 1,263 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Simsbury High School
  High · Simsbury · 1,217 students · 12.2:1 ratio