| Colebrook, Connecticut | |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Coordinates: | 42.0014°N -73.0844°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | U.S. state |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Litchfield |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Northwest Hills |
| Established Title: | Incorporated |
| Established Date: | 1779 |
| Government Type: | Selectman-town meeting |
| Leader Title: | First selectman |
| Leader Name: | Christopher L. Johnstone (R) |
| Leader Title1: | Selectman |
| Leader Name1: | Kate Kennedy (R) |
| Leader Title2: | Selectman |
| Leader Name2: | Ernie Marmer (D) |
| Unit Pref: | Imperial |
| Area Total Km2: | 85.3 |
| Area Land Km2: | 81.7 |
| Area Water Km2: | 3.6 |
| Elevation M: | 293 |
| Elevation Ft: | 961 |
| Population Footnotes: | [1] |
| Population Total: | 1361 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone: | Eastern |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | Eastern |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 06021 |
| Area Code: | 860/959 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 09-16050 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0213410 |
Colebrook is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 1,361 at the 2020 census.[2] The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region. Colebrook was named after Colebrooke in the English county of Devon; the reason is now unknown.[3]
Colebrook is in northeastern Litchfield County and is bounded to the east by Hartford County, Connecticut, and to the north by Berkshire and Hampden County in Massachusetts. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 85.3km2, of which 81.7km2 are land and 3.6km2, or 4.23%, are water. Colebrook River Lake and West Branch Reservoir, both on the West Branch of the Farmington River, are in the northeastern part of the town. The Algonquin State Forest is in the central part of the town.
Colebrook is north of Torrington and northwest of Hartford, the state capitol.
See also: List of Connecticut locations by per capita income. As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 1,471 people, 566 households, and 419 families residing in the town. The population density was 46.7sp=usNaNsp=us. There were 656 housing units at an average density of 20.8sp=usNaNsp=us. The racial makeup of the town was 97.01% White, 0.68% African American, 0.61% Asian, 0.88% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.45% of the population.
There were 566 households, out of which 32.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 65.2% were married couples living together, 5.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.8% were non-families. 19.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 24.5% under the age of 18, 4.2% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 102.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $58,684, and the median income for a family was $64,286. Males had a median income of $42,647 versus $35,987 for females. The per capita income for the town was $29,789. About 1.4% of families and 2.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 9.0% of those age 65 or over.
| Voter registration and party enrollment as of October 31, 2023[5] | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Active voters | Inactive voters | Total voters | Percentage | ||||||
| Democratic | align = center | 285 | align = center | 12 | align = center | 297 | align = center | 25.87% | ||
| Republican | align = center | 329 | align = center | 21 | align = center | 350 | align = center | 30.49% | ||
| Unaffiliated | align = center | 453 | align = center | 30 | align = center | 483 | align = center | 42.07% | ||
| Minor Parties | align = center | 17 | align = center | 2 | align = center | 19 | align = center | 1.66% | ||
| Total | align = center | 1,084 | align = center | 64 | align = center | 1,148 | align = center | 100% | ||
| Presidential Election Results[6] [7] | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third Parties | |
| 2020 | 40.8% 403 | 57.0% 563 | 2.2% 22 | |
| 2016 | 36.1% 324 | 58.8% 528 | 5.1% 46 | |
| 2012 | 44.4% 380 | 53.9% 462 | 1.7% 14 | |
| 2008 | 50.8% 460 | 46.5% 421 | 2.7% 24 | |
| 2004 | 49.9% 458 | 46.8% 429 | 3.3% 30 | |
| 2000 | 45.6% 374 | 45.5% 373 | 8.9% 73 | |
| 1996 | 46.7% 345 | 37.2% 275 | 16.1% 119 | |
| 1992 | 44.4% 379 | 30.4% 259 | 25.2% 215 | |
| 1988 | 50.9% 376 | 47.9% 354 | 1.2% 9 | |
| 1984 | 33.3% 241 | 66.4% 480 | 0.3% 2 | |
| 1980 | 33.6% 243 | 49.1% 355 | 17.3%125 | |
| 1976 | 42.4% 274 | 57.1% 369 | 0.5% 3 | |
| 1972 | 35.8% 211 | 62.1% 366 | 2.1% 12 | |
| 1968 | 37.8% 195 | 56.4% 291 | 5.8% 30 | |
| 1964 | 63.7% 295 | 36.3% 198 | 0.00% 0 | |
| 1960 | 32.1% 151 | 67.9% 319 | 0.00% 0 | |
| 1956 | 20.6% 90 | 79.4% 346 | 0.00% 0 | |
The town is served by Connecticut Routes 8, 182, and 183. Route 8 leads south 5miles to Winsted and north 7miles to Sandisfield, Massachusetts. Route 182 leads west 4miles to U.S. Route 44 in Norfolk, while Route 183 leads south 6miles to Winsted and northwest to New Marlborough, Massachusetts.
It is in the zone for Northwestern Regional School District No. 7: Northwestern Regional Middle School and Northwestern Regional High School.[8]
Wind Colebrook was a proposal to build the state's first utility scale wind turbine project, for which permitting was ultimately denied.
BNE Energy was cleared to build three wind turbines in Colebrook and two 2.85MW, 100m-diameter turbines were installed in 2015. A third (3.8MW, 130m rotor diameter) turbine is planned for installation by 2021. According to BNE Energy's quarterly generation reports to PURA, the Colebrook wind farm has slightly exceeded the planned level of energy generation, with 12,742MWh generated in 2016 and 12,706MWh generated in 2017. The wind farm, according to these figures, is operating at about 30 percent of its rated capacity.[9]