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{{Infobox settlement
| official_name = Suffield, Connecticut
| settlement_type = [[New England town|Town]]
| image_skyline =
| image_caption =
| image_flag =
| image_seal = Suffield CT seal.png
| motto = "Our Roots Run Deep"<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.suffieldtownhall.com/ |title= Town of Suffield Connecticut|publisher= Town of Suffield Connecticut |accessdate= September 22, 2012}}</ref>
| image_map = Suffield CT lg.PNG
| mapsize = 250px
| map_caption = Location within [[Hartford County, Connecticut|Hartford County]], [[Connecticut]]
| latd = 41 | latm = 59| latNS = N
| longd = 72 | longm = 41| longEW = W
| coordinates_display = inline,title
| coordinates_region = US-CT
| subdivision_type = Country
| subdivision_name = [[United States]]
| subdivision_type1 = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1 = [[Connecticut]]
| subdivision_type2 = [[NECTA]]
| subdivision_name2 = Springfield MA
| subdivision_type3 = Region
| subdivision_name3 = Capitol Region
| established_title = Incorporated (Massachusetts)
| established_date = 1674
| established_title2 = Annexed by Connecticut
| established_date2 = 1749
| government_type = [[Board of selectmen|Selectman-town meeting]]
| leader_title = First selectman
| leader_name = Melissa Mack (D)
| leader_title1 = Selectmen
| leader_name1 = Krystal Holmes (D)<br/> Mel Chafetz (D)<br/>Tim Reynolds (R)<br/>Joanne Sullivan (R)
| unit_pref = Imperial
| area_total_km2 = 111.2
| area_land_km2 = 109.5
| area_water_km2 = 1.8
| elevation_m = 60
| elevation_ft = 197
| population_total = 15735
| population_as_of = 2010
| population_density_km2 = auto
| timezone = [[Eastern Standard Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset = -5
| timezone_DST = [[Eastern Daylight Time Zone|Eastern]]
| utc_offset_DST = -4
| postal_code_type = ZIP code
| postal_code = 06078, 06093
| area_code = [[Area code 860|860]]
| blank_name = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info = 09-74540
| blank1_name = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info = 0212351
| website = {{URL|www.suffieldtownhall.com}}
| footnotes =
}}
'''Suffield''' is a town in [[Hartford County, Connecticut|Hartford County]], [[Connecticut]], United States. It had once been within the boundaries of [[Massachusetts]]. The town is located in the [[Connecticut River Valley]] with the town of [[Enfield, Connecticut|Enfield]] neighboring to the east. In 1900, 3,521 people lived in Suffield; as of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]], the population was 15,735.<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web| url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/0600000US0900374540| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Suffield town, Hartford County, Connecticut| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| accessdate=November 28, 2012}}</ref> The town center is a [[census-designated place]] listed as [[Suffield Depot, Connecticut|Suffield Depot]] in [[U.S. Census]] records.
Bordering [[Massachusetts]], Suffield is part of the [[Springfield, Massachusetts]] [[NECTA]]. Suffield is only {{convert|8|mi|0}} from Springfield, and is more oriented toward it than toward Connecticut's capital of [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]], which lies {{convert|16|mi|km}} to the south.
==History==
[[File:Dr Asaph Leavitt Bissell.jpg|thumb|right|150px|Dr. Asaph Leavitt Bissell, graduate of the [[Yale Medical School]], and early Suffield physician]]
Originally known as Southfield—pronounced "Suffield", on May 20, 1674, the committee for the settling of the town petitioned:
{{quote| "...that the name of the place may be Suffield, it being the southernmost town that either at present is, or like to be in that Countrey, and neere adjoining to the south border of our Patent in those parts." {{sic}} }}
The petition was granted by the Massachusetts Bay court on June 3, 1674. Suffield was incorporated as a town in March 1682.<ref>Sellers, Helen Earle (no date, c. 1965; reprint from The Connecticut Register and Manual, 1942 Edition). ''Connecticut Town Origins: Their Names, Boundaries, Early Histories and First Families''. Page 81. Stonington, Connecticut: The Pequot Press, Inc.</ref>
Also on early 17th and 18th century maps, Suffield was also spelled as Suthfield.
Suffield and the surrounding area was part of the [[equivalent lands]] compromise with Massachusetts in 1716.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=Nw4wi4igtLAC&pg=PA137&lpg=PA137&dq=equivalent+lands&source=bl&ots=Bywb_IZJb8&sig=Xo_zvp-YCZr2aHBM0NSNWZlhAkI&hl=en&ei=c799TJHrCpWyngfF5s33AQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CB4Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=equivalent%20lands&f=false Vermont: The Green Mountain State]</ref>
Suffield's native and adopted sons include Rev. Ebenezer Gay, a renowned [[Congregational]] minister; U.S. Postmaster General [[Gideon Granger]]; real estate speculator [[Oliver Phelps]], once the largest landowner in America; composer [[Timothy Swan]]; architect Henry A. Sykes; sculptor [[Olin Levi Warner]]; Seth Pease, surveyor of the [[Western Reserve]] lands in Ohio, most of which were controlled by Suffield financiers and speculators; and [[Thaddeus Leavitt]],<ref>Leavitt's daughter Jane Maria Leavitt, wife of Vermont Congressman [[Jonathan Hunt (Vermont Representative)|Jonathan Hunt]] was the mother of architect [[Richard Morris Hunt]], painter [[William Morris Hunt]] and photographer [[Leavitt Hunt]]</ref> inventor of an early [[cotton gin]], merchant and patentee of the [[Western Reserve]] lands.<ref>[http://www.suffield-library.org/localhistory/index.htm Famous Sons of Suffield, Historic Suffield, suffield-library.org]</ref> Thanks to the town's early prominence and wealth, it boasts an astonishing collection of early New England architecture.<ref>[http://www.suffieldhistoricalsociety.org/ Suffield Historical Society]</ref> The Kent family, for whom the town's library is named, originated in [[Gloucester, Massachusetts]], and boasted relations to many prominent early New England families, including the [[Dwight family]] of [[Northampton, Massachusetts]], the [[Thomas Hooker|Hooker]] family of Hartford, the Dudleys of [[Guilford, Connecticut]], and the Leavitts of Suffield.<ref>[http://www.suffieldhistoricalsociety.org/families/kent.htm Family History of Samuel Kent, Suffield Historical Society]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=aVcBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA147&lpg=PA147&dq=%22john+leavitt%22+abiah+kent&source=web&ots=7dT7VrHHbi&sig=mIX0_jPx2ToRDB5ZSx4Y4QGVdXQ&hl=en#PPA147,M1 Genealogical Notes, or Contributions to the Family History of Some of the First Settlers of Connecticut and Massachusetts, Nathaniel Goodwin, Hartford, 1856]</ref> Descendants of Robert Olds, who arrived from [[Sherborne]], [[Dorset]], in 1667, include automotive pioneer [[Ransom Eli Olds]], [[Copperhead (politics)|Copperhead]] Ohio politician [[Edson Baldwin Olds]], his great-grandson [[United States Army Air Forces|USAAF]] General [[Robert Olds]], and his son, iconic [[United States Air Force|USAF]] fighter pilot [[Robin Olds]].
[[Slavery]] was common throughout the [[Connecticut River Valley]] during the eighteenth century, and the 1774 Census for the [[Colony of Connecticut]] listed 37 slaves in Suffield. Throughout the Connecticut valley, wealthy merchants, tavern owners and town ministers owned slaves. When Major John Pynchon originally purchased from the Pequonnocks and [[Agawam tribes]] a six-mile tract of land, which he called Stoney Brooke Plantation, he first ordered the construction of a sawmill, and used two of his slaves, Harry and Roco, for the construction.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=0iiUQQAACAAJ&dq=robert+romer+google+books&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pY4BUeXOHY6u0AGZlIGwAg&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBQ Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts] 2009, Robert H. Romer</ref> Suffield's third minister, Reverend Ebenezer Devotion, became minister in 1710, and “sixteen years later the town voted to give him £20 to purchase a slave.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=0iiUQQAACAAJ&dq=robert+romer+google+books&hl=en&sa=X&ei=pY4BUeXOHY6u0AGZlIGwAg&ved=0CEkQ6AEwBQ Slavery in the Connecticut Valley of Massachusetts] 2009, Robert H. Romer</ref> Reverend Ebenezer Gay, Devotion’s successor, owned six slaves throughout his long term, 1742-1796. Reverend Ebenezer Gay Jr. manumitted the family three remaining slaves in 1812. They were Titus, Ginny and Dinah.<ref>[http://www.suffield-library.org/manuscripts/colonial%20slavery/slavery1.htm] Retrieved January 22, 2013</ref> "Princess", a slave belonging to early Suffield settler, Lieut. Joshua Leavitt, died November 5, 1732.<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=_QcWAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA209&lpg=PA209&dq=%22john+devotion%22+suffield&source=bl&ots=q0FFgrD0se&sig=tISGQjRdWljnySO9KpSFzbp7OB4&hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=1&ct=result#PPA83,M1 Documentary History of Suffield in the Colony and Province of the Massachusetts Bay in New England, 1660-1749, Hezekiah Spencer Sheldon, Clark W. Bryan Company, Springfield, Mass., 1879]</ref> Some of Leavitt's descendants became ardent [[Abolitionism in the United States|abolitionists]], including [[Joshua Leavitt]] and his cousin [[Roger Hooker Leavitt]], who operated an [[Underground Railroad]] station in [[Charlemont, Massachusetts]].
[[File:Census.Colony.Ct.1774.png|framed|right|Census for the Colony of Connecticut in 1774]]
One of the earliest graduates of the [[Yale Medical School]] was one of Suffield's earliest physicians. Dr. Asaph Leavitt Bissell, born in 1791 at [[Hanover, New Hampshire]], to parents originally from Suffield,<ref name="dwight1">{{cite book |author=[[Benjamin Woodbridge Dwight]] |title= The history of the descendants of John Dwight, of Dedham, Mass |volume= 1 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=WLfMU4yd1FYC&pg=PA416 |year=1874 |publisher=J. F. Trow & son, printers and bookbinders }}</ref> attended [[Dartmouth College]], and later graduated in the second class of the Yale Medical School. Bissell moved to Suffield, where he rode horseback to make house calls on patients. Bissell's saddlebags are today in the collection of the Yale Medical School's Historical Society.<ref>[http://yalemedicine.yale.edu/ym_ws98/gallery/gallery_01.html When house calls were horse calls, Yale Medicine, Winter/Spring 1998]</ref>
[[File:Burbank Hatheway House1.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Burbank-Hatheway House, Main Street, Suffield, c. 1735]]
==Geography==
[[File:West Suffield Mountain2.jpg|left|100px|thumb|West Suffield Mountain]]
According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the town has a total area of {{convert|111.2|km2|disp=flip}}, of which {{convert|109.5|km2|disp=flip}} is land and {{convert|1.8|sqkm|disp=flip}}, or 1.58%, is water.<ref name="Census 2010"/> The town center ([[Suffield Depot, Connecticut|Suffield Depot CDP]]) has a total area of {{convert|5.1|km2|disp=flip}}, all of it land.
Suffield is on the west bank of the [[Connecticut River]], {{convert|8|mi|0}} south of the river's largest city, [[Springfield, Massachusetts]], and {{convert|16|mi}} north of Connecticut's capital, [[Hartford, Connecticut|Hartford]]. Two bridges span the river to the town of [[Enfield, Connecticut|Enfield]]: the [[Amtrak/Springfield Terminal Railroad Bridge]] and the [[Enfield–Suffield Veterans Bridge]].
The [[Metacomet Ridge]], a mountainous [[trap rock]] ridgeline that stretches from [[Long Island Sound]] to nearly the [[Vermont]] border, runs through the center of Suffield from south to north as [[West Suffield Mountain]]. The {{convert|51|mi|adj=on}} [[Metacomet Trail]] traverses the ridge.
[[File:Sycamore tree in front of Hatheway House, Suffield, CT - December 31, 2010.jpg|100px|thumb|right|Sycamore tree at Hatheway House]]
==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|1850= 2962
|1860= 3260
|1870= 3277
|1880= 3225
|1890= 3169
|1900= 3521
|1910= 3841
|1920= 4070
|1930= 4346
|1940= 4475
|1950= 4895
|1960= 6779
|1970= 8634
|1980= 9294
|1990= 11427
|2000= 13552
|2010= 15735
|estyear=2014
|estimate=15814
|estref=<ref name="USCensusEst2014">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/popest/data/cities/totals/2014/SUB-EST2014.html|title=Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref>
|footnote=<center>U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2015}}</ref></center>
}}
{{See also|List of Connecticut locations by per capita income}}
As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=American FactFinder}}</ref> of 2000, there were 13,552 people, 4,660 households, and 3,350 families residing in the town. The [[population density]] was 321.0 people per square mile (124.0/km²). There were 4,853 housing units at an average density of 115.0 per square mile (44.4/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 88.67% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 6.95% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.24% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.94% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.04% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 2.03% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.13% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 4.25% of the population.
There were 4,660 households out of which 32.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.1% were non-families. 23.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 3.04.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.1% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 31.7% from 25 to 44, 24.1% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 116.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 121.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $66,698, and the median income for a family was $79,189. Males had a median income of $52,096 versus $35,188 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the town was $28,171. About 1.8% of families and 3.6% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 2.5% of those under age 18 and 6.2% of those age 65 or over.
{| class=wikitable
! colspan = 6 | Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005<ref>{{cite web|title = Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005 | publisher = Connecticut Secretary of State | format = PDF | accessdate = 2007-10-16 | url = http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/lists/2005OctRegEnrollStats.pdf |archiveurl = http://web.archive.org/web/20070926010005/http://www.sots.ct.gov/ElectionsServices/lists/2005OctRegEnrollStats.pdf <!-- Bot retrieved archive --> |archivedate = 2007-09-26}}</ref>
|-
! colspan = 2 | Party
! Active Voters
! Inactive Voters
! Total Voters
! Percentage
{{American politics/party colors/Democratic/row}}
| [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| align = center | 1,904
| align = center | 119
| align = center | 2,023
| align = center | 24.3%
{{American politics/party colors/Republican/row}}
| [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]
| align = center | 2,323
| align = center | 107
| align = center | 2,430
| align = center | 29.2%
{{American politics/party colors/Independent/row}}
| Unaffiliated
| align = center | 3,598
| align = center | 267
| align = center | 3,865
| align = center | 46.44%
{{American politics/party colors/Libertarian/row}}
| Minor Parties
| align = center | 4
| align = center | 1
| align = center | 5
| align = center | 0%
|-
! colspan = 2 | Total
! align = center | 7,829
! align = center | 494
! align = center | 8,323
! align = center | 100%
|}
==Education==
The town's public school system, [[Suffield Public Schools]], includes Spaulding Elementary School, McAlister Intermediate School, Suffield Middle School, and [[Suffield High School]].
Suffield is also the home of [[Suffield Academy]], a private coeducational preparatory school.
==Government and politics==
===List of First Selectmen===
{| class=wikitable
|- valign=bottom
! Representative
! Party
! Years
! Note
|-
| Roland Dowd || {{party shading/Independent}} | Suffield Community Party || 1995–1997 || Defeated for reelection
|-
| Robert Skinner || {{party shading/Republican}} | [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || 1997–2001 || Did not seek reelection
|-
| Elaine Sarsynski || {{party shading/Republican}} | [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || 2001–2005 || Did not seek reelection
|-
| Scott Lingenfelter || {{party shading/Republican}} | [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || 2005–2009 || Defeated for reelection
|-
| Thomas Frenaye || {{party shading/Democratic}} | [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] || 2009 – 2011 || Defeated for reelection
|-
| Edward G. McAnaney || {{party shading/Republican}} | [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] || 2011–2015 || Defeated for reelection
|-
| Melissa Mack || {{party shading/Democratic}} | [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] || 2015 – present || Defeated incumbent by a 637 vote margin
|}
==Historic homes and sites==
Main Street, a designated historic district with the Green, three churches, Suffield Academy and vintage colonial and Victorian homes, typifies a New England town. Named for the Kent family of Suffield, the Kent Memorial Library is an important research center for source materials, records, and documents from north-central Connecticut. A walk along Main Street reveals many examples of 18th and 19th century architecture. The Dr. Alexander King House, on the corner of Kent Avenue, and the Phelps-Hatheway House, a little farther north on Main Street, are museums open to the public from May to October.
===Historic sites===
The town includes 11 historic sites that are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]]:<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
* [[Alexander King House]] — 232 S. Main St. (added 1976)
* [[Babb's Beach]] — 435 Babb's Rd. (added 2006)
* [[Farmington Canal-New Haven and Northampton Canal]] — Roughly from Suffield to New Haven (added 1985)
* [[Gothic Cottage (Suffield, Connecticut)|Gothic Cottage]] — 1425 Mapleton Ave. (added 1982)
* [[Hastings Hill Historic District]] — 987-1308 Hill St., 1242 Spruce St. and 1085-1162 Russell Ave. (added 1979)
* [[Hatheway House]] (also known as "Phelps-Hatheway House & Garden") — 55 S. Main St., reflects two architectural styles: the original 1761 building is a typical colonial house, the 1794 north wing is one of the first examples of the Neoclassical style in the Connecticut River Valley<ref>''Connecticut, Massachusetts & Rhode Island Tourbook, 2007 edition'' (2007). p. 60. AAA Publishing, Heathrow, Florida</ref> (added September 6, 1975)
* [[Hilltop Farm]]<ref>http://www.fofah.com</ref> — 1550-1760 Mapleton Ave. (added 2005)
* [[John Fuller House]] — 463 Halladay Ave. (added 1982)
* [[King's Field House]] — 827 North St. (added 1982)
* [[Lewis-Zukowski House]] — 1095 S. Grand St. (added 1990)
* [[Suffield Historic District]] — Runs along North and South Main Streets (added 1979)
==Notable people==<!--consensus reached to standardize this heading per WP:WikiProject Cities/US Guideline -->
*[[Willis Seaver Adams]] (1842–1921), landscape painter and part of the [[Tonalism]] movement which took place in the late 19th century;born in Suffield<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.suffield-library.org/localhistory/adams.htm|title=Willis Seaver Adams (1844-1921)|publisher=Kent Memorial Library|accessdate= October 22, 2012}}</ref>
*[[Howard Wells Alcorn]] (1901 – 1992), lawyer, politician and jurist, served as Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives, state Senator and Chief Justice of the Connecticut Supreme Court; born in Suffield<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.suffield-library.org/localhistory/alcorn.htm|title=Howard Alcorn (1901-1992)|publisher=Suffield Library|accessdate= October 22, 2012}}</ref>
*[[Ran Blake]], pianist
*[[Selden M. Bronson]], former Wisconsin State Assemblyman
*[[Sylvester Graham]] (1794 – 1851), American [[diet (nutrition)|diet]]ary reformer; born in Suffield<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.suffield-library.org/localhistory/graham.htm|title=Sylvester Graham (1794-1851)|publisher=Suffield Library|accessdate= October 22, 2012}}</ref>
*[[Amos P. Granger]], former US Congressman
*[[Gideon Granger]], former US Postmaster General
*[[Francis Granger]], former US Congressman and Postmaster General
*[[W. Bruce Lincoln]], scholar of Russian history
*[[Thaddeus J. Martin]]. Major General in the [[United States Air Force]] and [[Connecticut Adjutant General]]
*[[David Newton Sheldon]], 5th President of [[Colby College]]
*[[Israel Smith]] (1759 - 1810), served as a member of the [[United States House of Representatives]], a member of the [[United States Senate]] and [[Governor of Vermont]]; born in Suffield<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.nga.org/cms/home/governors/past-governors-bios/page_vermont/col2-content/main-content-list/title_smith_israel.html|title=Vermont Governor Israel Smith|publisher= National Governors Association|accessdate= October 22, 2012}}</ref>
*[[Timothy Swan]] (1758 - 1842), composer and hatmaker; resident of Suffield<ref>{{cite web|url= http://www.suffield-library.org/localhistory/swan.htm|title= Timothy Swan (1758-1843)|publisher= Suffield Library |accessdate= October 22, 2012}}</ref>
*[[Henry A. Sykes]] (1810-1860), Western New England Architect; resident of Suffield <ref>{{cite magazine|title=Nineteenth Century, Vol. 32 Number 2, Fall 2012}}</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Portal|Connecticut}}
*{{official website|http://www.suffieldtownhall.com/|Town of Suffield official website}}
*[http://suffieldhistoricalsociety.org/ Suffield Historical Society]
*[http://www.suffield.org/ Suffield Public Schools]
{{Connecticut}}
{{Hartford County, Connecticut}}
[[Category:Suffield, Connecticut| ]]
[[Category:Towns in Hartford County, Connecticut]]
[[Category:Settlements on the Connecticut River]]
[[Category:Towns in Connecticut]]
{{usedwp|Suffield, Connecticut}}