Norwalk

Norwalk was settled in 1649, incorporated September 1651, and named after the Algonquin word noyank, meaning "point of land", or more probably from the native American name "Naramauke". The Battle of Norwalk took place during the Revolutionary War, and led to the burning of most of the town. In 1853, the first ever train disaster in the United States happened over the Norwalk River. In 1955, multiple hurricanes hit the city, causing flooding in Norwalk Harbor. The city has a total area of 36.3 square miles (94 km²), of which, 22.8 square miles. (59 km²) is land and 13.5 square. miles (35 km 2) (37.24%) is water. The highest elevation is 315 feet (96 m) above sea level on the fairway of the 16th hole of the Silvermine Golf Course. In 2010, there were 85,603 people, 35,415 households, and 21,630 families residing in the city. The population's spread gave 22% under the age of 18, with 7.3% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, and 12.8% aged 65 or older. According to the 2020 United States Census, it has a population of 91,184. In the 1970s, efforts were taken to historically preserve South Norwalk, resulting in the creation of the Washington Street Historic District. During the 19th and early 20th century, Norwalk was a major railroad stop for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad.

History

Norwalk was settled in 1649, incorporated September 1651, and named after the Algonquin word noyank, meaning "point of land", or more probably from the native American name "Naramauke". The Battle of Norwalk took place during the Revolutionary War, and led to the burning of most of the town. In 1853, the first ever train disaster in the United States happened over the Norwalk River. During the 19th and early 20th century, Norwalk was a major railroad stop for the New York, New Haven, and Hartford Railroad. In 1955, multiple hurricanes hit the city, causing flooding in Norwalk Harbor. In the 1970s, efforts were taken to historically preserve South Norwalk, resulting in the creation of the Washington Street Historic District. The Ku Klux Klan had a brief presence in Nor walk during the 1920s, but quickly fell apart due to internal issues. In 2010, the city of South Nor walk and the remaining parts of Nor walk were combined to form the current city. The city is located in the New England region of New England, between New York City and Long Island. It is located on the New Jersey Turnpike, and the New Haven and Hartford Rail Road, which connects to the East River and the Long Island Rail Road. It was the site of the first train accident in the U.S. in 1853 when a train carrying passengers from New York to New Haven crashed into the Nor walk River.

Geography

Norwalk's topography is dominated by its coastline along Long Island Sound, the Norwalk River and its eastern and western banks. The highest elevation is 315 feet (96 m) above sea level on the fairway of the 16th hole of the Silvermine Golf Course, and the low elevation is sea level. The city has a total area of 36.3 square miles (94 km²), of which, 22.8 square mile (59 km²) is land and 13.5 squaremile (35 km 2) (37.24%) is water. The Norwalk Islands are a group of islands off the coast of Long Island that are uninhabited by the rest of the city. Norwalk is located on the East Coast of New York State, and has a population of about 2,000. It is one of the most densely populated cities in the U.S., with more people living in it than any other city except New York City, New York, New Jersey, Boston, Philadelphia, and Staten Island. It also has the highest per capita income of any city in the United States. It has a high homicide rate, with the highest rate of murder in the city, followed by New Jersey and New York state. In 2010, Norwalk had the highest crime rate in the state, with more than 30 murders per 100,000 residents. It had the second highest per-capita income in the country, after New Jersey. It was also the second-highest per-square-mile city in New Jersey after New York.

Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 85,603 people, 35,415 households, and 21,630 families residing in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 68.7% White, 14.2% African American, 0.4% Native American, 4.8% Asian,0.1% Pacific Islander, 9.0% from other races, and 2. 8% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 24.3% of the population. The city's population's spread gave 22% under the age of 18, with 7.3 percent from 18 to 24, 31.7 percent from 25 to 44, and 31.2 percent from 45 to 64. The median income for a household in theCity was $76,161, and the median income. for a family was $103,032. The per capita income for the City was $43,303. About 5.7 of families and 8.4 of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.2 of those under age 18 and 8% of those age 65 or over. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.16. For every 100 females, there are 96.2 males, with the average age of 40 being 40 years old. The City's median age was 40 years, with a average of 40.2 years of age and a median age of 45 years.

Economy

Pepperidge Farm, Xerox, Frontier Communications, and Booking Holdings have headquarters in Norwalk. The Norwalk area is home to the U.S. Postal Service, which serves the city of Norwalk and its surrounding areas. The city's population is 2.7 million, according to the latest census data. The area's economy is expected to grow by 0.3 percent this year, the government says. The economy grew 0.4 percent in the first three months of the year, and 0.7 percent in April. The U.N. says the world's economy will grow by 1.2 percent in 2014. The United States will grow at a rate of 0.8 percent in 2015, and 1.1 percent in 2016, the agency says. For more, go to CNN.com/soulmatestories, or go to http://www.cnn.com/.

Arts and culture

St. George Greek Orthodox Festival features Greek delicacies, Pontic Greek dance exhibitions and a large carnival. Round Hill Highland Games, a festival of Scottish culture and athletic events, was started in 1923 in Greenwich but was interrupted during World War II. 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. Food and Scottish items are available for sale in Norwalk's Cranbury Park on or around July 4 for a number of years. The event is the third-oldest Scottish games festival in the U.S. and has been held for more than 100 years. It is held in a park in the town of Norwalk, Connecticut, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. The festival is free and open to the public, but donations can be made at www.stgeorgegreece.org or by calling (203) 615-4157.

Government

Norwalk has voted Democratic for president since 1992, when the city voted for Bill Clinton. Between 1928 and 1992, the city only voted Democratic twice: 1936 and 1964. Norwalk's municipal government is a weak-mayor form of a mayor-council government with the mayor of Norwalk elected by its voters. The Common Council consists of fifteen council members, five elected at-large and ten elected by district, two from each district.Norwalk is represented in the Connecticut General Assembly by five House Representatives corresponding to five Connecticut legislative districts and one senator from one Connecticut Senate district. The city lies within Connecticut's 4th congressional district, which is represented by Democrat Jim Himes in the U.S. House of Representatives and, along with the rest of Connecticut, by two Senators (Democrats Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy) in the United States Senate. The City has six taxing districts. Each taxing district has its own property tax rate reflecting the mix of services each receives from the city. The First, Second, Third and Sixth taxing districts are political entities with their respective voters electing officers, holding annual business meetings, approving budgets and to consider other matters, as specified in each of their charters. Election of Taxing District Commissioners and Treasurers by voters from the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 6th districts take place in odd numbered years. The Fourth and Fifth districts are not counted as separate governments as they constitute the city proper. The city's charter gives certain administrative powers exclusively to the council and others jointly to the Council and Mayor.

Education

Norwalk was granted a town charter by the Connecticut General Court in 1651. On May 29, 1678, town records mention the establishment of community-supported teaching activities. The school that was established in the 1670s was located near the Ludlow Square area of East Norwalk (near the former Roger Ludlow Junior High School). Norwalk Public Schools operates public schools, while the community also has various private schools. The community is home to the Norwalk Museum, a public museum dedicated to the history of Norwalk. The museum is open to the public and has a collection of historical photographs of the town, as well as a museum of local history. The town is also home to Norwalk High School, which was founded in the late 19th century. It is located in the East Nor walk area of the community and was once known as "Norwalk High" It is now known as the "East Norwalk Memorial High School" and is located on the east side of the Connecticut River. It was founded by the town in the mid-19th century and was named after the town's first post-secondary school, Norwalk Academy. It closed in the early 20th century, and was replaced by Norwalk Community High School in the 1930s. The Norwalk School District was established by the city in the 1950s. It operates public and private schools in Norwalk, with some private schools as well. The district also has a private school that opened in the 1960s, called Norwalk Christian School.

Sports

There are four baseball fields and 16 Little League fields in the city. The Norwalk River and inner Norwalk Harbor host rowing events and organizations. Norwalk used to be the home of the Connecticut Wildcats, part of the American National Rugby League, from 2003 to 2015. The cross-town rivalry between the city's two largest high schools, Norwalk High School and Brien McMahon High School, is fierce, particularly for the football, basketball, soccer and field hockey teams in the fall; as well as lacrosse, baseball, and softball in the spring. There are three golf courses in Norwalk: the Shorehaven Golf Club is a private club in East Norwalk, the Silvermine Golf 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. In 2011, the Norwalk American Senior Legion baseball team won the Connecticut State Championship. This had not been accomplished by any other Norwalk Legion team in the storied 83-year history. The team defeated Branford, Connecticut in the championship game. In 2010, the 12-year-old Norwalk all-star team made it to the Cal Ripken league World Series and placed third in the country. The girls' Norwalk Pride fast pitch softball team won a state championship in 2005, 2006, and 2007. In 1986, the boys' Biddy Basketball All-Star team went on to the World Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana and placed 7th in the world.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut = 7.8. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 32. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 30. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Norwalk = 3.4 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 91,184 individuals with a median age of 39.8 age the population grows by 0.40% in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 3,983.574 residents per square mile of area (1,538.192/km²). There are average 2.51 people per household in the 32,868 households with an average household income of $73,068 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 7.40% of the available work force and has dropped -3.24% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 26.12%. The number of physicians in Norwalk per 100,000 population = 301.6.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Norwalk = 44.5 inches and the annual snowfall = 24.1 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 100. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 179. 83 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 17.5 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 45, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Norwalk, Fairfield County, Connecticut which are owned by the occupant = 59.35%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 48 years with median home cost = $435,700 and home appreciation of -12.78%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $13.56 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $9,817 per student. There are 14.6 students for each teacher in the school, 554 students for each Librarian and 377 students for each Counselor. 6.63% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 20.78% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 12.79% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).