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Stratford is a Town in Fairfield County, Connecticut , located on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 49,976. HISTORY Stratford was founded in 1639 by Puritan leader Reverend Adam Blakeman (pronounced Blackman) and either 16 families (according to legend) or approximately 35 families (as suggested by later research) who had recently arrived in Connecticut from England seeking religious freedom. Stratford is one of many towns in the northeastern US founded as part of the Great Migration in the 1630s as Puritan families fled an increasingly polarized England in the decade before the civil war between Charles I and Parliament , the latter led by Oliver Cromwell . Some of the Stratford settlers were from families who had first moved from England to the Netherlands to seek religious freedom, like their predecessors on the Mayflower , and decided to come to the New World when their children began to adopt the Dutch culture and language. Like other Puritan or Pilgrim towns founded during this time, early Stratford was a place where church leadership and town leadership were both united under the pastor of the church, in this case Rev. Blakeman. The goal of such communities was to create perfect outposts of religious idealism, where the wilderness would separate them from the interference of kings, parliaments or any other secular authority. Blakeman ruled Stratford until his death in 1665 , but as the second generation of Stratford grew up many of the children rejected what they perceived as the exceptional austerity of the town's founders. This and later generations sought to change the religious dictums of their elders, and the Utopian nature of Stratford and similar communities was gradually replaced with more standard colonial administration. By the late 1600s the Connecticut government had assumed political control over Stratford. Many descendents of the original founding Puritan families remain in Stratford today after over 350 years, and for centuries they often intermarried within the original small group of 17th century Pilgrim families. Stratford's original name was Cupheag, but was later changed to honor Stratford upon Avon in England. Settlers from Stratford went on to found other American cities and towns, including Newark, New Jersey , which was established in 1666 by members of the Stratford founding families who believed the town's religious purity had been compromised by the changes after Blakeman's death. Other towns such as Cambria, New York (now Lockport, New York ) were founded or expanded around new churches by Stratford descendants taking part in the Westward Migration . U.S. President Gerald Ford is a descendant of one of the Stratford founding families, that led by William Judson. Stratford, which once included all of what is now Fairfield County, is bordered on the west by Bridgeport, Connecticut , on the north by Trumbull, Connecticut and Shelton, Connecticut , and on the east by Milford, Connecticut (across the Housatonic). In 1939 one of the world's first successful commercial Helicopter s was developed in Stratford by Igor Sikorsky . His company, Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation is still the town's largest taxpayer. Also in 1939, Lycoming produced Wright Radial Engine s here. After WWII the plant was converted to produce Turbine s. GEOGRAPHY According to the United States Census Bureau , the CDP has a total area of 51.5 Km&2 (19.9 Mi&2 ). 45.6 km&2 (17.6 mi&2) of it is land and 5.9 km&2 (2.3 mi&2) of it is water. The total area is 11.52% water. DEMOGRAPHICS As of the Census 2 of 2000, there were 49,976 people, 19,898 households, and 13,630 families residing in the CDP. The Population Density was 1,097.0/km&2 (2,841.9/mi&2). There were 20,596 housing units at an average density of 452.1/km&2 (1,171.2/mi&2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 84.76% White , 9.79% Black or African American , 0.16% Native American , 1.40% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 2.14% from Other Races , and 1.71% from two or more races. 6.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 19,898 households out of which 28.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.5% were Married Couples living together, 12.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 27.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.04. In the CDP the population was spread out with 23.0% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 28.5% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 19.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 89.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.6 males. The median income for a household in the CDP was $53,494, and the median income for a family was $64,364. Males had a median income of $45,552 versus $34,575 for females. The Per Capita Income for the CDP was $26,501. 5.0% of the population and 3.5% of families were below the Poverty Line . 5.6% of those under the age of 18 and 5.8% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line. STRATFORD FIRST MAYOR The Town elected its first mayor, James R. Miron, on November 8, 2005. On December 12th, 2005 James R. Miron was inaugurated. STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL THEATER Stratford, Connecticut once had a thriving theater, the American Shakespeare Festival Theater. It opened in 1955. Some of the world's biggest stars performed on this stage including Katharine Hepburn , Jessica Tandy and Hal Holbrook . John Houseman served as its artistic director during the late 1950s. The theater still exists, though unused and boarded up. The Town of Stratford received the deed for the Stratford Festival Shakespeare Theater on February 8th 2005 from the State of Connecticut. The town is in the process of selecting a new developer to reopen the theater in 2006 as a worldwide tourist destination. More info can be found at source http://www.stratfordfestival.com. STRATFORD ARMY ENGINE PLANT The Stratford Army Engine Plant (SAEP) was a U.S. Army Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command installation. The SAEP is a manufacturing industrial facility strategically located in southwestern Connecticut within the Town of Stratford, Connecticut, sited on 117 acres (44 of which are riparian rights) to the Housatonic River where the river flows into Long Island Sound. The property consists of several parcels, and includes both land area (73 acres) and riparian rights (44 acres). The site contains 58 buildings with 1.7 million square feet of administrative, office, manufacturing, warehousing and support space. Under the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990, the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Commission recommended the closure of the Stratford Army Engine Plant (SAEP), a government-owned, contractor-operated facility. In July 1995, the BRAC Commission recommended closing the Stratford Army Engine Plant. The installation closed on September 30, 1998 The line of commercial and military engines manufactured at Stratford included the AGT1500 engine for the M-1A1 Abrams tank, along with other engines for fast ferries, helicopters and medium-size commuter airplanes. In late 1993, AlliedSignal and Textron Lycoming started negotiations on a possible alliance or co-production agreement covering Stratford. In May 1994 the two companies signed a memorandum of understanding on AlliedSignal's purchase of the Textron Lycoming business, and the sale was completed on 28 October 1994, for $375 million. At that time, there were suggestions that it was planning to close the Stratford Army Engine Plant and move the work to a non-union factory in Phoenix, Arizona. Profits in 1995 for the Stratford operation were $64 million on $439 million in commercial and military business. Decades later the property is still vacant and questions have arisin about team Stratford as dicrepenciece of one of the major board members arose. The plant originally started as Vought-Sikorsky and Chance Vought Aircraft and produced the famous Corsair airplane and many other aircraft from April 1, 1939 to December 31, 1948 - SB2U Vindicator (V-156) Scout Dive Bomber 1937 and 1938 - OS2U Kingfisher (VS-309, VS-310) Scout Observation Aircraft 1940 - F4U Corsair (V-166B) Navy Fighter 1940 - F4U-1 Corsair - XTBU-1 Sea Wolf & V-326 Flight Test Aircraft - V-173 Flying Flapjack and XF5U-1 (V-315) STOL Fighter - F6U-1 Pirate Turbojet Fighter - XF6U-1 Pirate - XF7U-1 Cutlass Twin Jet Fighter 1946 - XSSM-N-8 Regulus Cruise Missile - Source: Air and Space Museum http://ctairandspace.org/ SIKORSKY AIRCRAFT Stratford is also home to Sikorsky Aircraft a United Technologies Company founded by Igor I. Sikorsky the inventor of the helicopter. Based in Stratford, Connecticut, Sikorsky has major facilities in other Connecticut locations as well as in Florida, Alabama and Wisconsin. Revenues in 2003 were $2.1 billion. Sikorsky is leading an international team to produce the S-92 helicopter and its military variant, the H-92. U.S. Federal Aviation Administration certified the S-92 in 2002, with FAA executives calling the S-92 "the world's safest helicopter." Core U.S. military production programs are based on the H-60 aircraft, the U.S. Army BLACK HAWK and SEAHAWK series for the U.S. Navy. H-60 derivative aircraft are fielded for a multiplicity of missions with other branches of the U.S. military. Sikorsky's CH-53E and MH-53E heavy-lift aircraft are flown by the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps to transport personnel and equipment, and in anti-mine warfare missions. Sikorsky is the prime contractor in the U.S. Army's UH-60M program, which will eventually involve the recapitalization and modernization of 1,200 BLACK HAWK aircraft over the next 25 years. In 2002, the U.S. Navy inducted the first MH-60S, the first all-new rotary wing aircraft to enter the service in a decade. The U.S. Navy is expected to be all-Sikorsky by 2010, with the MH-60S and the MH-60R the only air platforms utilized. Sikorsky has developed four generations of maritime helicopters, including the proven SEAHAWK, Sea Stallion and the Sea King that support the maritime operations of navies across the globe. Sikorsky has designed and built nearly half of all such helicopters currently serving with armed forces throughout the world. Worldwide, BLACK HAWK variants are serving with 25 governments-Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahrain, Brazil, Brunei, Chile, Colombia, Egypt, Greece, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Jordan, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, People's Republic of China, the Philippines, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand and Turkey. source www.SikorskyAircraft.com EXTERNAL LINKS
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