Sandy Hook, Connecticut Explained

Sandy Hook, Connecticut
Official Name:Village of Sandy Hook
Settlement Type:Village
Mapsize:250px
Subdivision Type:Country
Subdivision Name:United States
Subdivision Type1:U.S. state
Subdivision Name1:Connecticut
Subdivision Type2:County
Subdivision Name2:Fairfield
Subdivision Type3:Metropolitan area
Subdivision Name3:Danbury
Subdivision Type4:Town
Subdivision Name4:Newtown
Established Date:1711
Unit Pref:US
Population Density Sq Mi:auto
Timezone:EST
Utc Offset:-5
Timezone Dst:EDT
Utc Offset Dst:-4
Postal Code Type:ZIP code
Postal Code:06482
Area Code:203/475

Sandy Hook is a village in the town of Newtown, Connecticut, founded in 1711. It was listed as a census-designated place prior to the 2020 census. According to the United States Census Bureau in 2021, it has a population of 9,114.[1]

History

Sandy Hook was founded in 1711[2] when several proprietors with land in the area relocated together to reduce isolation. Within a year of the settlement of Newtown, some of its proprietors began moving away from the central village to some of their larger parcels. Colonists found that the Pootatuck River at Sandy Hook allowed for saw and gristmills, leading to it becoming one of the first outlying areas to be settled.[3]

In 1839, the chemist and engineer Charles Goodyear accidentally invented the process of vulcanization while living on Glen Road, to the north of Sandy Hook center. This led to the creation and prosperity of the Goodyear Rubber Packing factory in the following 15 years, and hugely impacted the manufacturing industry in the following decades.[4] [5]

The Sandy Hook neighborhood did not grow dramatically until the mid-19th century post-industrialization, due to innovation and economic growth caused by businesses such as the Goodyear Rubber Packing Factory.

2012 school shooting

See main article: article and Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting., Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother at home, and then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School[6] where he killed 20 children aged 6-7 along with six adults. He committed suicide when police arrived at the school. It was the mass shooting in U.S. history at the time, after the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings.[7] [8] Following the shooting, both the Lanza family home and Sandy Hook Elementary School were demolished, in 2013 and 2016 respectively; a new school being rebuilt in the same place.[9] [10]

Geography

Located within Newtown, Sandy Hook borders the Newtown borough and the village of Botsford to the south, as well as the towns of Monroe, Southbury, and Oxford along the Housatonic River, to the east. The immediate area surrounding Sandy Hook village contains multiple amenities and green spaces including Rocky Glen State Park and Paugussett State Forest, as well as Timothy B. Treadwell Memorial Park and the Sandy Hook Memorial Park.

Sandy Hook includes the communities of Berkshire, Riverside, Walnut Tree Hill, and Zoar. It also extends for a short distance into the town of Monroe along Old Zoar Road and Bagburn Hill/Jordan Hill Road.

Landmarks

Sandy Hook has a few historic landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places.

Religious sites

The Newtown United Methodist Church was created for the Newtown Methodist in the 1850s. In 1972 it was moved to its current location, in the centre of Sandy Hook.[11]

Notable residents

Notes and References

  1. Web site: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts: Sandy Hook CDP, Connecticut . April 21, 2024 . Census.gov.
  2. Web site: Newtown and Sandy Hook CT Things to Do . April 21, 2024 . Fairfield After Dark . en.
  3. Cruson, Daniel, "A Brief History of Newtown", Web page at Newtown Historical Society Web site, accessed December 14, 2012.
  4. Web site: Sandy Hook Organization for Prosperity Sandy Hook Village . April 21, 2024 . Sandy Hook Village . en-US.
  5. Web site: Crevier . Nancy . March 28, 2008 . Part 2: The People Behind The Names Of Newtown's Roads . April 21, 2024 . The Newton Bee . en-US.
  6. News: 20 Children Died in Newtown, Conn., School Massacre . Associated Press . Richard . Esposito . Candice . Smith . Christina . Ng . ABC News . December 14, 2012 . October 6, 2022 . December 15, 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121215031441/http://abcnews.go.com/US/twenty-children-died-newtown-connecticut-school-shooting/story?id=17973836 . live.
  7. News: 28 dead in school shooting. BBC News. December 14, 2012. December 15, 2012.
  8. News: Christoffersen . John . Official: 27 dead in Conn. school shooting . ap.org . January 15, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20121217025156/http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_CONNECTICUT_SCHOOL_SHOOTING?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2012-12-14-13-27-48 . December 17, 2012 .
  9. Web site: Castillo . Mariano . March 25, 2015 . Home of Sandy Hook shooter Adam Lanza demolished . April 21, 2024 . CNN . en.
  10. News: Steinberg . Avi . September 16, 2016 . Can You Erase the Trauma From a Place Like Sandy Hook? . April 20, 2024 . The New York Times . en-US . 0362-4331.
  11. Web site: Klein . E. Sue . Our History - Newtown United Methodist Church . April 22, 2024 . Newtown United Methodist Church.
  12. News: Gendreau . LeAnne . March 15, 2012 . Anticipated Film Based on Local Author's Book . December 28, 2012 . NBC Connecticut.
  13. Adams, John Coleman, 'William Hamilton Gibson,' Web site: New England Magazine. June 28, 2010., Feb. 1897, p. 643
  14. Web site: Howat, John K. 1937- (John Keith Howat) Encyclopedia.com. www.encyclopedia.com. May 11, 2020.

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