See main article: Local government in Connecticut. In the U.S. state of Connecticut, a borough is an incorporated section of a town. Borough governments are not autonomous and are subordinate to the government of the town to which they belong. For example, Fenwick is a borough in Old Saybrook. A borough is a clearly defined municipality and provides some municipal services, such as police and fire services, garbage collection, street lighting and maintenance, management of cemeteries, and building code enforcement. Other municipal services not provided by the borough are provided by the parent town. Connecticut boroughs are administratively similar to villages in New York. Borough elections are held biennially in odd years on the first Monday in May.[1]
Bridgeport (now a separate city) was the state's first borough, formed in 1800 or 1801 as a subdivision of the town of Stratford. Numerous additional boroughs were established thereafter, mostly during the 19th century, to serve a variety of local governmental purposes. There were 18 boroughs in the state as of 1850 and a total of 26 as of 1910. Most Connecticut boroughs have subsequently disincorporated or have become cities.[2] [3] An example of a former borough is Willimantic located in the Town of Windham. It was originally incorporated as a borough in 1833, re-incorporated as a city in 1893 and in 1983 was dis-incorporated becoming a special service district within the town of Windham under the town's governmental control.[4]
As of 2016, there are nine boroughs in Connecticut, four of which share the name of the town in which they are located. Of the current boroughs, one (Naugatuck) is consolidated with its town. Litchfield is the only town to have two incorporated boroughs located within its limits. Below is a list of boroughs that have existed ordered by date of incorporation. Currently existing boroughs are indicated in boldface.[5]
| Borough | Parent town | Date incorporated | Current status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bridgeport | Stratford | 1800 | Consolidated city-town separate from original parent town since 1889 |
| Stonington | Stonington | 1801 | Borough |
| Guilford | Guilford | 1815 | Disincorporated 1941 |
| Essex | Deep River (Saybrook) | 1820 | Disincorporated 1854 when Town of Essex was incorporated |
| Killingworth (Clinton) | Killingworth | 1820 | Disincorporated 1838 when Town of Clinton was incorporated |
| Danbury | Danbury | 1822 | Consolidated city-town since 1965 |
| Newtown | Newtown | 1824 | Borough |
| Colchester | Colchester | 1824/1846 | Disincorporated 1990 |
| Waterbury | Waterbury | 1825 | Consolidated city-town since 1902 |
| Stamford | Stamford | 1830 | Consolidated city-town since 1949 |
| Southport | Fairfield | 1831 | Disincorporated 1854 |
| Willimantic | Windham | 1833 | Disincorporated 1893 when City of Willimantic was incorporated |
| Clifton | Winchester | 1833 | Disincorporated 1858 (Became part of new Borough of Winsted) |
| Worthington | Berlin | 1834 | Disincorporated ? |
| Norwalk | Norwalk | 1836 | Consolidated city-town since 1913 |
| Humphreysville | Derby | 1836 | Disincorporated 1850 when Town of Seymour was incorporated |
| Bethel | Danbury | 1847 | Town of Bethel separated from Danbury in 1855; Borough disincorporated (?) |
| New Britain | New Britain | 1850 | Consolidated city-town since 1906 |
| Birmingham | Derby | 1851 | Consolidated city-town since 1893 (as Derby) |
| Wallingford | Wallingford | 1853 | Disincorporated 1958 |
| Sharon | Sharon | 1853 | Disincorporated ? |
| Danielson | Killingly | 1854 | Borough |
| Greenwich | Greenwich | 1854 | Disincorporated 1932 |
| Winsted | Winchester | 1858 | Consolidated with Winchester 1915; chartered as city in 1917, although the US Census Bureau rescinded recognition sometime between 1970 and 1980. |
| Ansonia | Derby | 1864 | Consolidated city-town in 1893, separated from original parent town in 1889 when town of Ansonia was incorporated |
| Branford | Branford | 1867 | Disincorporated 1970s |
| Fair Haven East | East Haven (annexed to New Haven in 1881) | 1872 | Disincorporated 1897 |
| West Stratford | Stratford | 1873 | Disincorporated 1889 (now part of the city of Bridgeport) |
| West Haven | Orange | 1873 | Consolidated city-town separate from original parent town since 1961 |
| Stafford Springs | Stafford | 1873 | Disincorporated 1991 |
| Litchfield | Litchfield | 1879 | Borough |
| Shelton | Shelton (Huntington) | 1882 | Consolidated city-town since 1915 |
| Torrington | Torrington | 1887 | Consolidated city-town since 1923 |
| New Canaan | New Canaan | 1889 | Disincorporated 1935 |
| Southington | Southington | 1889 | Disincorporated 1948 |
| Naugatuck | Naugatuck | 1893 | Consolidated borough-town since 1895 |
| Bristol | Bristol | 1893 | Consolidated city-town since 1911 |
| Jewett City | Griswold | 1895 | Borough |
| Fenwick | Old Saybrook | 1899 | Borough |
| Farmington | Farmington | 1901 | Disincorporated 1947 |
| Ridgefield | Ridgefield | 1901 | Disincorporated 1921 |
| Groton | Groton | 1903 | Chartered as non-coextensive city in 1964 |
| Woodmont | Milford | 1903 | Borough |
| Bantam | Litchfield | 1915 | Borough |
| Unionville | Farmington | 1921 | Disincorporated 1947 |