Morris, Connecticut facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Morris, Connecticut
Town
Town of Morris
Morris Community Hall
Seal
Litchfield County and Connecticut  Northwest Hills Planning Region and Connecticut
Country	United States
U.S. state	Connecticut
County	Litchfield
Region	Northwest Hills
Settled 1723	Incorporated 1859
Government
• Type	Selectman-town meeting
Area
• Total	18.7 sq mi (48.5 km2)
• Land	17.3 sq mi (44.9 km2)
• Water	1.4 sq mi (3.6 km2)
Elevation	994 ft (303 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	2,256
• Density	120.47/sq mi (46.52/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP code	06763
Area code(s)	860/959
FIPS code	09-49460
GNIS feature ID	0213465

Morris is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,256 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region.

Europeans first began to settle the area that became Morris circa 1723. Originally part of the town of Litchfield, it was called the South Farms because of its location 5 miles (8 km) south of the center. Designated a separate Congregational parish in 1767 and incorporated as a town in 1859, it was named after native son James Morris, a Yale graduate, Revolutionary War officer, and founder of one of the first co-educational secondary schools in the nation.

Morris lies in rolling hill country of woods, wetlands, fields and ponds. It also encompasses much of Bantam Lake, originally called the Great Pond, which covers approximately 947 acres (383 ha) and is the largest natural lake in the state. The traditional Town of Morris seal features the pine on Lone Tree Hill, which overlooks the lake. Morris is home to one of the oldest state parks in Connecticut, as well as to one of the newest.

The area's transition from 18th-century settlement to semi-rural community in the 2000s is the story of many Connecticut towns and much of New England. At first, farming barely made families self-sufficient, but in the 1800s, agriculture evolved into a business. Then, over the next 150 years, competition, rising costs and increasing regulation made it less sustainable, despite economies and innovation. In the early 1900s, local water mills, manufactories and other small businesses encountered similar challenges and gave way to industry in nearby Waterbury, Torrington and beyond.

By the 1970s and 1980s, the area was still largely rural, but residents' occupations had grown more diverse. Today, the farming tradition continues even as residents engage in a range of professions, businesses and arts locally and in the wider region. A number of second home owners come from the metro New York area. In addition to the two state parks and Bantam Lake, the 4,000-acre (1,600 ha) White Memorial Conservation Center offers a range of opportunities for outdoor sports and recreation. Camp Washington is a spiritual retreat operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.

Morris center looks like a typical small New England village, with a white Congregational church, a school, and town hall. Interspersed with fields and woods, a mix of Early American and newer homes strings out loosely along the town's roads. Children attend the local James Morris elementary school and regional Wamogo High School, a U.S. Department of Education school of excellence. Perhaps counter-intuitively, Morris also holds a Buddhist temple, as well as a Jewish cemetery from the early 1900s.

History

Morris was settled about 1723 and organized in 1767 as the South Farms parish of Litchfield. Morris was initially a farming community. It was incorporated as a separate town in 1859 and named for James Morris (1752–1820) a Revolutionary War soldier, who opened an academy in town in 1790. The ruins of the academy sit adjacent to the current James Morris Elementary school. Morris played a role in the Revolutionary War with many homes serving as quarters for revolutionaries from Maine and Vermont during their journey south to battles in New York.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 18.7 square miles (48 km²), of which, 17.2 square miles (45 km²) of it is land and 1.5 square miles (3.9 km²) of it (8.17%) is water.

Principal communities

• Lakeside
• Morris center
• West Morris
• East Morris

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 2,301 people, 912 households, and 640 families residing in the town. The population density was 133.9 inhabitants per square mile (51.7/km²). There were 1,181 housing units at an average density of 68.7 per square mile (26.5/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 97.48% White, 0.70% African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.83% Asian, 0.17% from other races, and 0.70% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino people of any race were 0.87% of the population.

There were 912 households, out of which 31.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.2% were married couples living together, 5.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.8% were non-families. 24.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.6% under the age of 18, 4.9% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 27.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.8 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $58,050, and the median income for a family was $63,293. Males had a median income of $49,063 versus $37,279 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,233. About 3.4% of families and 6.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.8% of those under age 18 and none of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Morris contains three main north–south roads and two main east–west roads:

• On the east end, Route 63 heads north from East Morris to Litchfield (a section also known as Litchfield Road) and goes south to Watertown (a section also known as Watertown Road.)
• From Morris center, in the middle of town, Route 61 heads north briefly before angling east on County Road and connecting with Route 63, headed to Litchfield. It goes south from the center, on South Street, to Bethlehem.
• Route 109 goes east from the center on East Street and passes through East Morris, where it intersects with Route 63 before continuing as Thomaston Road and ending in Thomaston. Heading west from Morris center on West Street, it goes through Lakeside and West Morris to Washington Depot.
• Running through the northwest corner of Morris, U.S. Route 202 goes northeast–southwest between Litchfield and New Milford.
• West of the center, in Lakeside, Bantam Lake Road/ Route 209 runs north–south between routes 109 and 202, along the western shore of Bantam Lake.

Notable locations

• Bantam Lake, largest natural lake in Connecticut, recreation site, home of oldest water ski club in America
• Camp Columbia State Park/State Forest, one of Connecticut's newest state parks
• Camp Washington, coeducational summer camp, retreat center for the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
• Mattatuck Trail, medium difficulty hiking trail extending from Warren to Waterbury
• Mount Tom State Park, located in Morris, Litchfield and Washington. Mt. Tom summit (981 ft./ 299 m.) and tower are in Morris.
• South Farms, registered historic farm venue
• White Memorial Foundation, a 4,000-acre (1,600 ha) nature sanctuary, located in Morris and Litchfield
• Winvian, a luxury hotel and resort

Notable people

• Chuck Aleksinas (born 1959), drafted by the Chicago Bulls of the NBA, played for the Golden State Warriors; graduated from Wamogo High School, where he scored over 1000 points; played at Kentucky and finished college as a player at UConn
• P.T. Barnum (1810–1891), born in Bethel; showman, politician, and businessman; owned an unsuccessful copper mine in the Pitch area of East Morris
• John Brown (1800–1859), abolitionist who advocated armed insurrection to overthrow slavery; executed after forcibly occupying the armory at Harper's Ferry, VA; born in Torrington, student at Morris Academy
• Alexander Hamilton Holley (1804–1887), born in Salisbury, student at Morris Academy, President of Holley Manufacturing Company, 40th Governor of Connecticut
• Sally May Johnson (1880–1957), teacher; forerunner of women in the armed services; established and was Chief Nurse at the Army School of Nursing, Walter Reed Hospital, World War I; progressive Administrator of the Massachusetts General Hospital School of Nursing and Nursing Service
• Charles B. McVay III (1898–1968), Captain, U.S. Navy; Commander of the heavy cruiser USS Indianapolis; court-martialed and posthumously exonerated after the vessel was torpedoed and sunk, having delivered atomic weapons to Tinian Island in the Pacific
• Samuel John Mills (1783–1818), congregational minister, missionary; as a Williams College undergraduate, a founder of the American Foreign Mission movement; Torrington native; student at Morris Academy
• James Morris (1752–1820), Yale graduate, officer in the Revolutionary War and War of 1812; educator and founder of one of the first coeducational schools in the nation; lived and died in South Farms, the part of Litchfield incorporated as a town in 1859 and named after him
• John Mason Peck (1789–1858), born in Litchfield, educated at Morris Academy; Baptist minister, Western frontier missionary, abolitionist; founder of first Baptist church in St. Louis, Shurtleff College (now part of Southern Illinois University)
• John Pierpont (1788–1866), Yale graduate, Litchfield Law School, Unitarian minister at Boston's Hollis St. Church, abolitionist, teacher, lawyer, legislator, poet; grandfather of John Pierpont Morgan
• Winthrop H. Smith (1893–1961), businessman, investment banker and name partner of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith
• Frederick Whittlesey (1799–1851), New Preston native, educated at Morris Academy and Yale; professor at Genesee College (now Syracuse University); New York State Supreme Court judge and member of Congress
• George Catlin Woodruff (1805–1885), Litchfield native, educated at Morris Academy and Yale, Militia Colonel, General Assembly member, Congressman

See also

In Spanish: Morris (Connecticut) para niños