| East Granby, Connecticut | |
| Official Name: | Town of East Granby |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Coordinates: | 41.9467°N -72.7411°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | U.S. state |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Hartford |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Capitol Region |
| Parts Type: | Hamlets |
| Parts: | East Granby Floydville Granbrook Park Granby Station |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | 1858 |
| Government Type: | Selectman-town meeting |
| Leader Title: | First selectman |
| Leader Name: | Eden Wimpfheimer (R) |
| Leader Title1: | Selectman |
| Leader Name1: | Joe Doering (D) |
| Leader Title2: | Selectman |
| Leader Name2: | Steven Hall (R) |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 45.8 |
| Area Land Km2: | 45.5 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.3 |
| Elevation Ft: | 348 |
| Population Total: | 5214 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | 114.6 |
| Timezone: | Eastern |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | Eastern |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP Code |
| Postal Code: | 06026 |
| Area Code: | 860/959 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 09-22070 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0213421 |
| Blank4 Name: | U.S. Routes |
East Granby is a town in the Capitol Planning Region, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,214 at the 2020 census.[1]
Original inhabitants of the current East Granby area were Native American peoples, including the Algonquin/Poquonock, the Massaco, and the Agawam.[2]
The East Granby area was first settled by Europeans in 1664, which was one of the four Congregational parishes in Simsbury.[3] The Turkey Hills Ecclesiastical Society in 1786 became a section of Granby, and in 1858 was incorporated as the Town of East Granby.
The first incorporated copper mine in America resided in what is now East Granby. The mine later became Old Newgate Prison, a Revolutionary War jail and the first state prison in the United States (1790).
Farming was the mainstay of the town for much of its history. The early twentieth century saw local farmers specializing in dairy product and tobacco.
East Granby experienced a housing boom that started in 1951 and resulted in a rise in population.[4]
The town celebrated its 150th anniversary with a three-day festival June 7–9, 2008.
East Granby is in the Farmington valley, with the Farmington River passing along the southern border of the town. The Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border, runs through the center of the town, cutting off Salisbury Plain to the east, which used to lie under the ancient, glacial Lake Hitchcock. High points on the Metacomet Ridge in East Granby include Hatchet Hill and Peak Mountain; the latter offers a bird's eye view of the historic Old Newgate Prison. The 51miles Metacomet Trail traverses the ridge.
See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income. As of the census[5] of 2014, there were 5,055 people (2012) and 2,129 households (2012). The population density was 289sp=usNaNsp=us (2012). There were 2,186 housing units. The racial makeup of the town was 86.7% White, 5.28% African American, 0% Native American, 5.66% Asian, 2.35% from other races or multi-race residents. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.9% of the population.
The town the population was spread out, with 22.5% under the age of 18, 4.85% from 18 to 24, 35.55% from 25 to 49, 22.5% from 50 to 64, and 6% who were 65 years of age or older. 47.85% of the population is female (52.15% male). Residents that were 18 years or older compromised 77.47% of the population. 49.46% of residents that were 18 years or older were female (50.52% male). For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.8 males. In 2000,[6] the median age was 39 years.
As of 2000, there were 1,848 households, out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.8% were married couples living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.7% were non-families.[6] 22.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.04.
As of 2000, the median income for a household in the town was $68,696, and the median income for a family was $77,621.[6] Males had a median income of $48,992 versus $37,450 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,805. About 0.9% of families and 1.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 0.6% of those under age 18 and 3.2% of those age 65 or over.
Unemployment rates in 2013 were at 5.8% for East Granby residents, which was less than the state's unemployment rate of 7.8%.[7] In 2014, 6 families were receiving temporary assistance and 154 individuals were receiving food stamps.
As of 2012,[8] residents' educational attainment was: 23% high school graduate, 12% associate degree, and 37% bachelor's degree or higher.
During the 2010–2011 School Year,[9] total town school enrollment was at 939. Most public school students in East Granby attend the East Granby School District, which had 889 students.
East Granby has six historical buildings. The East Granby Historical Society can be found on North Main Street.[10]
East Granby has seven cemeteries.[11] The oldest graves of East Granby can be found in the East Granby Center Cemetery, and dates back to 1737.
East Granby has six old schoolhouses that are no longer in use.[13]
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 30, 2012[14] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Active Voters | Inactive Voters | Total Voters | Percentage | ||||||
| Democratic | align = center | 1,086 | align = center | 114 | align = center | 1,200 | align = center | 28.80% | ||
| Republican | align = center | 936 | align = center | 115 | align = center | 1,051 | align = center | 25.22% | ||
| Unaffiliated | align = center | 1601 | align = center | 227 | align = center | 1,828 | align = center | 43.87% | ||
| Minor Parties | align = center | 80 | align = center | 8 | align = center | 88 | align = center | 2.11% | ||
| Total | align = center | 3,703 | align = center | 464 | align = center | 4,167 | align = center | 100% | ||
Once strongly Republican, East Granby has become friendlier to Democrats in recent elections, similar to other suburban areas.[15] In 2016, this was one of ten Connecticut towns to flip from Republican to Democrat, albeit giving Hillary Clinton a victory of only 18 votes.[16] [17] In 2020, Joe Biden won East Granby by a margin of more than 10 points.[18]
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third Parties | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 54.81% 1,789 | 43.05% 1,405 | 2.14% 70 | |
| 2016 | 47.08% 1,389 | 46.47% 1,371 | 6.44% 190 | |
| 2012 | 48.26% 1,389 | 50.31% 1,448 | 1.43% 41 | |
| 2008 | 54.53% 1,612 | 44.08% 1,303 | 1.39% 41 | |
| 2004 | 48.81% 1,353 | 49.71% 1,378 | 1.48% 41 | |
| 2000 | 49.49% 1,254 | 44.75% 1,134 | 5.76% 146 | |
| 1996 | 44.91% 1,093 | 39.11% 952 | 15.98% 389 | |
| 1992 | 36.87% 952 | 38.92% 1,005 | 24.21% 625 | |
| 1988 | 41.20% 950 | 58.24% 1,343 | 0.56% 13 | |
| 1984 | 31.62% 720 | 68.07% 1,550 | 0.31% 7 | |
| 1980 | 33.58% 739 | 47.84% 1,053 | 18.58% 409 | |
| 1976 | 39.20% 815 | 60.27% 1,253 | 0.53% 11 | |
| 1972 | 33.84% 619 | 64.74% 1,184 | 1.42% 26 | |
| 1968 | 43.19% 628 | 51.44% 748 | 5.37% 78 | |
| 1964 | 60.12% 814 | 39.88% 540 | 0.00% 0 | |
| 1960 | 45.09% 533 | 54.91% 649 | 0.00% 0 | |
| 1956 | 35.01% 257 | 64.99% 477 | 0.00% 0 |
Education in East Granby is through the East Granby Public School System, including East Granby High School, the smallest public high school in the state of Connecticut. The high school mascot is a crusader, and the middle school's is The Purple Wave. Both the high school's and the middle school's colors are purple and white.
Average class size for students in kindergarten in the East Granby school system was 13.8, second grade 23.7, fifth grade 23, seventh grade 20.5, and high school 17.1.[21] The students per computer ratios were: elementary 3.8, middle school 1.4, and secondary school 1.8. East Granby School students performed high on both the Connecticut Mastery Test (CMT) and SATs, where students' averages were higher than state averages in all grades (grade 4, 6, and 8 for CMT) and test subjects (Reading, Math, and Writing for both tests).
East Granby was noted in the book The Black Box, a record of airplane CVR recordings. East Granby was the site of the American Airlines Flight 1572 incident, which clipped the tops of trees in East Granby as it came in for a landing at Bradley International Airport.