Meriden

Meriden is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities of New Haven and Hartford. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850. It was named for the village of Meriden, West Midlands, England, near Birmingham. Meriden earned the nickname "Silver City", due to the large number of silver manufacturers, and the International Silver Co. The oldest house in town still standing, built by Solomon Goffe in 1711, became a museum in 1986. The grave of Winston Churchill's great-great-great maternal grandfather, Timothy Jerome, can be seen today at what is now called "Burying Ground 1720" (Google Maps: 41.522877°N 72.787707°W / 41. 522877; -72.787703) at the juncture of Dexter Avenue and Lydale Place. Timothy Jerome's son, Samuel, is the great- great grandfather of Jennie Jerome, Winston Churchill’s mother. In 1888, the Meriden printing company was founded by Charles Parker and James Furein. The Meriden Company was founded in 1888 by James Parker and a previous owner, James Allen. In 1989, Meriden was also an important site for graphic arts innovation. In the second half of the 1800s, several companies forming, or relocating to the city, involved in the production of mainly silver, lamps and metalware, glassware, guns, and musical instruments.

History

Meriden was originally a part of the neighboring town of Wallingford. It was granted a separate meetinghouse in 1727, became a town in 1806 with over 1,000 residents. Meriden earned the nickname "Silver City", due to the large number of silver manufacturers, and the International Silver Co. The oldest house in town still standing, built by Solomon Goffe in 1711, become a museum in 1986. The grave of Winston Churchill's great-great-great maternal grandfather, Timothy Jerome, can be seen today at what is now called "Burying Ground 1720" Meriden was also the site of the production of Parker Brothers (guns), widely-known and traded by firearms enthusiasts. In 1888, the Meriden Gravure Company (in Meriden1989) was founded by Charles Parker and James F. Allen. The company developed an expertise in high quality image reproduction, which was driven by the wealth of several mansions and mansions in the area. The original Buffalo Hunt sculpture went missing, and in a shocking report by Bailey Wright in 2018, it was learned that it was recently'missing' actually in Meriden. The town's international name was the Buffalo Hunt with a smaller edition in the White House collection, Washington, DC. It is named for the village of Meriden, West Midlands, England, near Birmingham. The city was incorporated as a city in 1867, and was once proposed as the Connecticut state capital. In the second half of the 1800s, Meriden became a manufacturing center of note.

Geography

Meriden is a showcase for a number of prominent peaks of the Metacomet Ridge, a mountainous trap rock ridgeline that stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Notable peaks in Meriden include the Hanging Hills (West Peak, East Peak, South Mountain, and Cathole Mountain); Lamentation Mountain, Chauncey Peak, and Besek Mountain. The Quinnipiac River courses through the southwest quadrant of the city, known to area residents as "South Meriden", where it meanders through a gorge lined with several exposed sandstone and brownstone cliffs. Harbor Brook (originally named Pilgrim Harbor Brook) cuts through the town from the northeast to the southwest before emptying into Hanover Pond, an impoundment on the Quinnipiak River in South Meriden. The city has a total area of 24.1 square miles (62.5 km²), of which 23.8 square miles of it is land and 0.4 sq miles (1.0 km²) is water. Meriden is home to the U.S. Army's Meriden Army Ammunition Plant. The town's population is about 2,000, according to the United States Census Bureau. It is located on the Connecticut River, a tributary of the Hudson River, which runs through the center of the town. It has a population of about 1,200. It was the site of the first recorded European settlement of Meriden in the 17th century.

Demographics

As of the 2010 census, there were 60,868 people in Meriden, with a population density of 2558 persons per square mile. There were 23,922 households (2009-2013). The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.10. Husband-wife households account for 41% of all households. For 2009-2013, the median household income was $52,590. The home ownership rate was 61.8%. The high school graduation or higher rate was 83.6% (age 25+) and the bachelor's degree or higher rates was 19.1% (age 25+). 14.4% of people were below the poverty line. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $188,400. The city's population under 5 years (2010) was 6.7%, under 18 years (2010) was 23.9%, and 65 years and over was 12.9%. The racial makeup of the city in 2010 was 73.5% White, 9.7% Black or African American, 0.5%. Native American, 2.1%. Asian, 10.7%. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 28.9% of the population. The female population was 51.6%. compared to the male population at 48.4%. The city has a population of 60,000 people (2010). The population of Meriden is 73,000 (2010), and the population density is 2558.

Government

Until 1980, the city had a Mayor-Council ("strong mayor") structure. The last full-time strong mayor was Walter Evilia, a Republican and a former State Representative. The City Charter was last amended in 1994, giving the then largely ceremonial position of mayor more influence over city governance. The current mayor, Kevin Scarpati, became the youngest popularly-elected mayor in the city's history, winning the 2015 election race by 78 votes against mayor Manny Santos. In 2018, Manny Santos ran an unsuccessful election for U.S. Congress in the 5th Congressional House District. In 2014, plaintiffs sued to remove appointees of boards and commissions and corporation counsel. Ultimately, the state Supreme Court to vacate the appointments followed that of a lower court order. The appointments had been made by former mayor, Michael Rohde. In its ruling, the court noted, per the city charter, that the city council can appoint a corporation counsel, but only on the recommendation of the mayor, who at the time was Manny Santos, and that the appointments were made by the former mayor. The court noted that the council can appointed a corporation lawyer, but that the mayor can only do so on his or her recommendation. The city's first city manager, Dana Miller, was appointed by the mayor in 1980. Dana Miller was appointed the first city Manager. In 1994, the City Council was given the power to line-item veto over city budgets. The council can also appoint a city manager for a maximum of three years.

Arts and culture

Meriden is home to the Augusta Curtis Cultural Center. The city is known for its steamed cheeseburger, invented in the early 1900s. Meriden is also home to a number of historical cemeteries, including Meetinghouse Hill Burying Ground (end of Ann Street), Meriden's first burial ground used 1727-1771; and Broad Street Cemetery (402 Broad Street), the second burial ground first used in 1771, includes a Revolutionary War commemoration plaque. The town's main post office is an example of Neo-Classical architecture and on the National Register of Historic Places. Its main mall is the Gallery 53, home of the Arts & Crafts Association of Meriden. It is also the site of the former Jedediah Wilcox mansion (built 1870), which is exhibited in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. It has a variety of hiking trails, including the Meriden Linear Trail, Mattabesett Trail, and the Metacomet Trail, which starts 4 miles north of the city. It also has a golf course, including Castle Craig, on the national Register of historic Places, and Hunter Golf Course, which is on the U.S. Golf Association's National Golf Course of America list. It's home to many historical landmarks, such as the Old Traffic Tower and the Red Bridge, which was built in 1890. It was designed by the prominent, historical American architecture firm McKim, Mead & White and is located on Colony Street.

Education

The Meriden Board of Education operates several public schools. Xavier High School and Mercy High School are in neighboring Middletown. The private schools Cheshire Academy and Choate Rosemary Hall are in adjacent Cheshire and Wallingford respectively. The former St. Stanislaus Catholic K8 School, established in 1897 by people who immigrated from Poland, closed in 2015. There are also private schools Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Wegman's School in Meriden. There is also a technical high school system in the area calledCT Technical High School System (CT THS). There are no public schools in the town of Meriden, Connecticut. There were no public elementary or middle schools in Meridan, Connecticut, in the 1970s. There was a public elementary and middle school in the 1990s, but it has since been closed. The town has no public high schools, but there are several private high schools. There have been no public middle schools or high schools since the 1980s, and there are no high schools until the 2010s, when there were three. There has been a public high school since the 1950s, which was closed in 2010. The city has a public middle school and a high school, which were closed in 2007. The public elementary schools are in the 2009-10 school year, and the high schools were in the 2010-11 school year. The high schools are: Lincoln, Washington, Edison, Hanover, and Hanover Heights.

Infrastructure

Meriden is located on Interstate 91, which provides access to Hartford, Springfield, and New Haven. The Wilbur Cross Parkway (Connecticut Route 15) travels in a southwestern direction connecting to towns and cities like Wallingford, New Haven, and towards New York City. U.S. Route 5 passes through the city as North and South Broad Street. Meriden Markham Municipal Airport is the city-owned airport, located 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the city center on the border of South Meriden and Yalesville. Bradley International Airport (BDL) in Windsor Locks and Tweed New Haven Airport (HVN) in East Haven are the closest commercial airports to Meriden. In the Quinnipiac River Gorge, 1.3 miles (2.1 km) of the original MW&CR Railroad right of way has been converted into a recreational rail trail as the Meriden Linear Trail. In May 2018, the Connecticut Department of Transportation added a commuter service called the Hartford Line in collaboration with Amtrak and the federal government that runs between New Haven and Springfield, Massachusetts. The city is linked to the Connecticut Transit System, Connecticut's extensive public transit bus network. Three bus lines loop throughout the city of Meriden once per hour; the "B" bus route departs for the southern terminus of Kohls Plaza, connecting for New Haven; "A" bus routes departs the rail station for Meriden Square with connections to New Britain and Hartford; and the east/west "C" bus travels along East Main and West Main Streets.

Air Quality, Water Quality, Superfund Sites & UV Index

The Air Quality index is in Meriden, New Haven County, Connecticut = 5.5. These Air Quality index is based on annual reports from the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The number of ozone alert days is used as an indicator of air quality, as are the amounts of seven pollutants including particulates, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, lead, and volatile organic chemicals. The Water Quality Index is 44. A measure of the quality of an area’s water supply as rated by the EPA. Higher values are better (100=best). The EPA has a complex method of measuring the watershed quality, using 15 indicators such as pollutants, turbidity, sediments, and toxic discharges. The Superfund Sites Index is 20. Higher is better (100=best). Based upon the number and impact of EPA Superfund pollution sites in the county, including spending on the cleanup efforts. The UV Index in Meriden = 3.5 and is a measure of an area's exposure to the sun's ultraviolet rays. This is most often a combination of sunny weather, altitude, and latitude. The UV Index has been defined by the WHO (www.who.int/news-room/questions-and-answers/item/radiation-the-ultraviolet-(uv)-index) and is uniform worldwide.

Employed

The most recent city population of 60,850 individuals with a median age of 37.8 age the population grows by 1.89% in Meriden, New Haven County, Connecticut population since 2000 and are distributed over a density of 2,557 residents per square mile of area (987.2/km²). There are average 2.5 people per household in the 23,286 households with an average household income of $51,434 a year. The unemployment rate in Alabama is 10.30% of the available work force and has dropped -2.31% over the most recent 12-month period and the projected change in job supply over the next decade based on migration patterns, economic growth, and other factors will increase by 25.08%. The number of physicians in Meriden per 100,000 population = 328.4.

Weather

The annual rainfall in Meriden = 50 inches and the annual snowfall = 38 inches. The annual number of days with measurable precipitation (over .01 inch) = 120. The average number of days per year that are predominantly sunny = 202. 83 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily high temperature for the month of July and 20.2 degrees Fahrenheit is the average daily low temperature for the month of January. The Comfort Index (higher=better) is 47, where higher values mean a more pleasant climate. The Comfort Index measure recognizes that humidity by itself isn't the problem. (Have you noticed nobody ever complains about the weather being 'cold and humid?) It's in the summertime that we notice the humidity the most, when it's hot and muggy. Our Comfort Index uses a combination of afternoon summer temperature and humidity to closely predict the effect that the humidity will have on people.

Median Home Cost

The percentage of housing units in Meriden, New Haven County, Connecticut which are owned by the occupant = 56.02%. A housing unit is a house, apartment, mobile home, or room occupied as separate living quarters. The average age of homes = 48 years with median home cost = $150,680 and home appreciation of -8.44%. This is the value of the years most recent home sales data. Its important to note that this is not the average (or arithmetic mean). The median home price is the middle value when you arrange all the sales prices of homes from lowest to highest. This is a better indicator than the average, because the median is not changed as much by a few unusually high or low values. The property tax rate of $18.96 shown here is the rate per $1,000 of home value. If for simplification for example the tax rate is $14.00 and the home value is $250,000, the property tax would be $14.00 x ($250,000/1000), or $3500. This is the 'effective' tax rate.

Study

The local school district spends $7,811 per student. There are 16.2 students for each teacher in the school, 721 students for each Librarian and 477 students for each Counselor. 6.92% of the area’s population over the age of 25 with an Associate Degree or other 2-year college degree, 10.69% with a master’s degree, Ph.D. or other advanced college degree and 5.55% with high school diplomas or high school equivalency degrees (GEDs).