'Guilford' is a
town in
New Haven County,
Connecticut,
United States, that borders Madison, Branford, North Branford and Durham, and is situated on
I-95 and the coast. The population was 21,398 at the 2000 census. It was named one of the top 100 places to live in the United States by
Money magazine in
2005.
First settled in
1639, Guilford has the third largest collection of historic homes in
New England, with important buildings from the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. There are five historic house museums, including
Dudley Farm, which hosts a farmers' market on Saturdays.
For recreation, the town offers two public beaches, three public
marinas, two private
yacht clubs (
Sachem's Head Yacht Club and
Guilford Yacht Club), both public and private
tennis courts, the
Guilford Lakes Golf Course, and many trails for hiking or riding. The town hosts free concerts on the
green in August, and a tree-lighting ceremony in the Christmas season as well as many other community holiday activities.
Geography
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 128.8
km² (49.7
mi²). 121.9 km² (47.0 mi²) of it is land and 6.9 km² (2.7 mi²) of it (5.39%) is water. The rocky shoreline has been compared to that of
Maine.
Principal communities in Guilford

The Comfort Starr House
★ Guilford Center
★
Leete's Island
★ North Guilford
★ Nut Plains
★ Sachem's Head (named after three
Pequot chiefs who were captured and decapitated there by
Mohegans)
★ Indian Cove
Demographics
As of the
census² of 2000, there were 21,398 people, 8,151 households, and 6,039 families residing in the town. The
population density was 175.6/km² (454.8/mi²). There were 8,724 housing units at an average density of 71.6/km² (185.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.04%
White, 0.93%
African American, 0.05%
Native American, 1.65%
Asian, 0.41% from
other races, and 0.93% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 2.13% of the population.
There were 8,151 households out of which 35.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.4% were
married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.9% were non-families. 21.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 8.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 4.4% from 18 to 24, 26.2% from 25 to 44, 31.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $76,843, and the median income for a family was $87,045. Males had a median income of $60,623 versus $40,307 for females. The
per capita income for the town was $37,161. About 2.3% of families and 3.1% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 3.4% of those under age 18 and 3.8% of those age 65 or over.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[2] |
|---|
| Party | Active Voters | Inactive Voters | Total Voters | Percentage | Democratic | 4,275 | 82 | 4,357 | 27.69% | Republican | 3,837 | 85 | 3,922 | 24.92% | Unaffiliated | 7,280 | 148 | 7,428 | 47.20% | Minor Parties | 29 | 0 | 29 | 0.18% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 15,421 | 315 | 15,736 | 100% |
|---|
List of National Historic Sites in Guilford
★
Acadian House, added September 5, 1975
★
Thomas Burgis II House, added December 28, 2000
★
Dudleytown Historic District, added August 9, 1991
★
Jared Eliot House, added November 14, 1985
★
Falkner's Island Lighthouse, added May 29, 1990
★
Griswold House, added October 10, 1975
★
Guilford Historic Town Center, added July 6, 1976
★
Hyland-Wildman House, added March 26, 1976
★
Pelatiah Leete House, added October 1, 1974
★
Meeting House Hill Historic District, added December 14, 1987
★
Elisha Pitkin House, added April 6, 1979
★
Route 146 Historic District, added April 5, 1990
★
Sabbathday House, added October 10, 1975
★
Henry Whitfield House, added November 27, 1972
References
1. U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates
2. Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005
http://www.nr.nps.gov/iwisapi/explorer.dll?IWS_SCHEMA=NRIS1&IWS_LOGIN=1&IWS_REPORT=100000039
External links
★
Town of Guilford
★
Guiford Free Library
★
Guilford Public Schools
★
Guilford, CT on Google Maps Satellite
★
Guilford Chamber of Commerce