Mansfield | |
|---|---|
| Town of Mansfield | |
 Kirby's Mill, in the Mansfield Hollow part of town | |
 Seal | |
 Tolland County and Connecticut Capitol Planning Region and Connecticut | |
 Show Mansfield Show Connecticut Show the United States | |
| Coordinates:41°47′18″N72°13′44″W / 41.78833°N 72.22889°W /41.78833; -72.22889 | |
| Country |  United States |
| U.S. state |  Connecticut |
| County | Tolland |
| Region | Capitol Region |
| Incorporated | 1702 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Council-Manager |
| • Town Manager | Ryan Aylesworth |
| • Mayor | Toni Moran (D) |
| • Town council | Ben Shaiken (D), Deputy Mayor David Litrico (D) Carlita Cotton (D) Ronald Schurin (D) Samuel Bruder (D) Brian Coleman (U) Chris Kueffner (R) Bill Tomecko (R) |
| Area | |
• Total | 45.5 sq mi (117.8 km2) |
| • Land | 44.5 sq mi (115.2 km2) |
| • Water | 1.0 sq mi (2.7 km2) |
| Elevation | 640 ft (195 m) |
| Population (2020)[1] | |
• Total | 25,892 |
| • Density | 582/sq mi (224.8/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Codes | 06235, 06250, 06268, 06269 |
| Area codes | 860/959 |
| FIPS code | 09-44910 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0213456 |
| Major highways |      |
| Website | www |
Mansfield (/ˈmænsfild/MANS-feeld) is atown inTolland County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of theCapitol Planning Region. The population was 25,892 at the2020 census.[2]
Pequot andMohegan people lived in this region for centuries before the arrival of English settler-immigrants in the late 17th century.[3] By 1692,English settlers put down roots in the area that is nowMansfield Center.[4]
Mansfield was incorporated in October 1702, separating from the Town ofWindham, in Hartford County. The community was named after Major Moses Mansfield, a part-owner of the town site.[5] When Windham County was formed on May 12, 1726, Mansfield then became part of that county. A century later, at a town meeting on April 3, 1826, selectmen voted to ask the General Assembly to annex Mansfield to Tolland County. That occurred the following year.
The town of Mansfield contains the community ofStorrs, which is home to the main campus of theUniversity of Connecticut and the associatedConnecticut Repertory Theatre. Villages within the town includeGurleyville andMansfield Center,Mansfield Hollow, and Atwoodville.[4]
English settler-immigrants arrived in the area that is now Mansfield in the late 17th century. The Town of Mansfield was legally incorporated in 1702, and the Storrs family history dates back to that time. Samuel Storrs migrated from Nottinghamshire, England to Massachusetts in 1663, then moving to the area in 1698.[3]
The first silk mill in the United States was constructed in Mansfield and financed by Pilgrim descendant William Fisk. The town, along with neighboringWillimantic, played an important role in the manufacture of thread and other textiles. Though nothing but the foundation remains of the mill, Mansfield has held onto several other historic landmarks. A fully intactgristmill, dating to 1835, theGurleyville Gristmill is the only one of its kind in Connecticut. Built on theFenton River, this stone grist mill remains intact with the original equipment. There are tours available May through October. The adjacent miller's house is the birthplace of former Connecticut governorWilbur L. Cross, (1931 to 1939).More recent yet rare nonetheless, the Mansfield Drive-in, a drive-in movie theater, and Lucky Strike Lanes,[6] aduckpin bowling alley, are among the last of their breed in the nation, with only 41 congress-certified alleys currently (2016), down from 450 in 1963.[7]
TheMansfield Training School and Hospital, situated on more than 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) and encompassing 85 buildings, was operated by theConnecticut Department of Developmental Services until its closure, after legal challenges, in 1993. Four years later, the former director and a once staunch advocate of the school declared, "The Mansfield Training School is closed: the swamp has finally been drained."[8] Since then, the site has been allowed to deteriorate, though the University of Connecticut has been slowly finding uses for and fixing up many of the buildings. The school, with its eerie overturned wheelchairs and neo-classical hospital, remains a magnet for adventurous locals, the police, and amateur photographers.
Located directly acrossU.S. Route 44 from the Mansfield Training School is theDonald T. Bergin Correctional Institution, which closed in August 2011. The Level 2 facility housed approximately 1,000 inmates. It served as a pre-release center for inmates who were approaching the end of their sentence or a period of supervised community placement.
On the Northeastern edge of town (Mount Hope Village), the playwright, actor and producerWillard Mack owned a large estate (originally built by William Fisk)[citation needed]. Mack permitted his other various friends and associates to board and breed their thoroughbreds on his property. One of these, boxing legendJack Dempsey, made continual use of these facilities until Mack's death in the mid-1930s.[9] During Mack's stewardship of this property, the famous Arabian Stallion "Broomstick", sire of numerous Kentucky Derby and Triple Crown winning thoroughbreds, was also a temporary resident.[citation needed] The property has since been purchased and maintained by private owners.
Development has increased in recent years, leading to the imposition of a temporary moratorium on new subdivisions, as well as additional land acquisition. Town-provided services, including free community wireless Internet access became available at the Mansfield Community Center, the Mansfield Town Hall, the Mansfield Senior Center, and the Mansfield Public Library in the late 2010s.
Media outlets have previously reported Mansfield to be a safe place. In 2005,Slate named Storrs "America's Best Place to Avoid Death Due to Natural Disaster."[10] and in 2025, rankings webpageNiche included Mansfield and the village of Mansfield Center in its list of the top 100 places to live in Connecticut.[11]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 45.5 square miles (117.8 km2), of which, 44.5 square miles (115.2 km2) of it is land and 1.0 square miles (2.7 km2) of it (2.26%) is water.Mansfield Hollow Lake rests on the border between Mansfield and Willimantic.
Mansfield is listed as a member town of theLast Green Valley National Heritage Corridor and is sometimes considered a part of Connecticut'sQuiet Corner, a colloquial designation for the more rural, northeastern part of the state.
Storrs, the largest of the town's settlements, is an unincorporatedvillage within Mansfield anchored economically and demographically by the main campus of the University of Connecticut. The community was named afterCharles and Augustus Storrs, two brothers who founded the university (originally called theStorrs Agricultural College) by giving the land (170 acres (0.69 km2)) and $6,000 to the State of Connecticut in trust in 1881.[12]
Due to its association with UConn and the Huskies' popularbasketball programs, it has also taken on the moniker of the "College Basketball Capitol of the World".[13][14]
The "downtown" area of the village is the economic and government center of Mansfield, acting as a mixed-used community development following its construction in the mid-2000s. At the time, the goal of the redevelopment wassmart growth through what the Town of Mansfield described as a "livable downtown".[15][16][17] Municipal services located there notably include the Avery P. Beck Building (town hall) and Mansfield Community Center on South Eagleville Road, and nearbyEO Smith High School on Storrs Road.[18] A number of businesses and apartment are also based in the development, including a number of special-interest stores and restaurants, in addition to some banks, offices and grocery stores.[19][20][21]
Betsy Paterson Square, an outdoor green space with sculpture installations, anchors the "downtown" area including and is flanked by aBarnes and Noble-operated UConn Bookstore, theBallard Institute and Museum of Puppetry, and health service locations operated byUConn Health. The Mansfield Downtown Partnership, a town-affiliated nonprofit organization, hosts community-based events at the square.[22][23]
Mansfield Center, the town's other major village, is situated southerly and borders Willimantic. Mostly abedroom community, Mansfield Center does include a business district which features theEast Brook Mall and shopping plazas. Original properties located in Mansfield Center, including a historic general store building, are listed as part of theMansfield Center Historic District.[24]
Both Storrs and Mansfield Center also each contain a relatedcensus-designated place.[25][26]
Mansfield enjoys a moderate amount of protected open space, notablyMansfield Hollow State Park, town parks and preserves, and numerousJoshua's Trust properties[27] in addition to UConn-owned and maintained properties including Spring Valley Student Farm. Three large private farms operate within Mansfield, including Mountain Dairy, which has been producing and processing milk under the stewardship of one family since 1871.
U.S. Route 6 passes through the southern end of Mansfield as an isolated stretch of divided highway, part of the planned but never realized interstate betweenHartford andProvidence, Rhode Island. Construction began midway between the two major cities, far removed from population centers. When opposition arose and complications developed, the project was shelved, with only stranded parts of the highway completed; the freeway portion extends from the nearby town border ofColumbia and Willimantic and ends in North Windham.
The community includes the intersection of state roadwaysU.S. Route 44 andConnecticut Route 32 inMansfield Depot. Route 6 has an interchange with Storrs Road (Connecticut Route 195) on the town border with Willimantic; Storrs Road runs north and intersects with Route 44 at the "four corners", a colloquial name for the intersection, continuing throughCoventry andTolland to meet withConnecticut Route 74.
Willington Hill Road (Connecticut Route 320) and South Eagleville Road (Connecticut Route 275) act as major roadways to access the village from the north and south, respectively. Willington Hill Road begins in nearbyWillington and merges into Storrs Road at the "four corners". South Eagleville Road offers a junction to Storrs Road from Route 32 in Coventry.
The Nash-Zimmer Transportation Center, located on Royce Circle in the "downtown" area, acts as a de-facto hub for intermodal services, with a parking garage and waiting room.[28]
Local bus service is provided by theWindham Region Transit District (WRTD), with two routes that connect to local points of interest. Route 674 travels toward Willimantic, including stops at the local Big Y plaza and the East Brook Mall, and route 675 offers stops along Hunting Lodge Road toward Mansfield Depot.[29][30] WRTD also operatesHuskyGo shuttle service in partnership with the UConn transportation services office, which provides access to on-campus locations and stops along Storrs Road (Connecticut Route 195) for students.[31]
Express bus service is provided byCT Transit as route 913, which travels between Storrs and Hartford. The express route makes limited stops atcommuter lots in Tolland,Vernon, andManchester connecting atThe Shoppes at Buckland Hills towardHartford Union Station. A number of runs begin and end at theSigourney Street CT Fastrak station in Hartford.[32]
Limited intercity bus service is provided byPeter Pan Bus Lines, who run extra routes to Hartford Union Station and to Providence, RI.[33]
Until 1955 inter-city train service was available nine miles to the south atWillimantic station on theNew Haven Railroad'sNutmeg line and on trains between Waterbury, Hartford and Boston.[34][35] From 1991 to 1995, Willimantic was served byAmtrak'sMontrealer service. Schedules would refer to the stop as "Willimantic, CT (Storrs) [sic]", owing to the stop's close proximity to the village and use by students.[36][37][38]
A plan for expanded passenger rail service in eastern Connecticut through to Vermont, theCentral Corridor Rail Line, includes reviving service to Willimantic and the construction of a new Storrs stop.[39] Other proposals for local andhigh-speed rail projects in Connecticut have included planned stops in Storrs and in nearby Tolland to service UConn.[40][41][42]
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1840 | 2,276 | — | |
| 1850 | 2,517 | 10.6% | |
| 1860 | 2,165 | −14.0% | |
| 1870 | 2,401 | 10.9% | |
| 1880 | 2,154 | −10.3% | |
| 1890 | 1,911 | −11.3% | |
| 1900 | 1,827 | −4.4% | |
| 1910 | 1,977 | 8.2% | |
| 1920 | 2,574 | 30.2% | |
| 1930 | 3,349 | 30.1% | |
| 1940 | 4,559 | 36.1% | |
| 1950 | 10,008 | 119.5% | |
| 1960 | 14,638 | 46.3% | |
| 1970 | 19,994 | 36.6% | |
| 1980 | 20,634 | 3.2% | |
| 1990 | 21,103 | 2.3% | |
| 2000 | 20,720 | −1.8% | |
| 2010 | 26,543 | 28.1% | |
| 2020 | 25,892 | −2.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[1] | |||
As of thecensus[43] of 2000, there were 20,720 people, 5,291 households, and 3,121 families residing in the town. Mansfield's population increased 27.5% between 2000 and 2010, making it the second fastest-growing municipality in Connecticut for that period afterOxford.[44] The population density was 466.0 inhabitants per square mile (179.9/km2). There were 5,481 housing units at an average density of 123.3 per square mile (47.6/km2). The ethnic makeup of the town was 83.91%White, 4.87%African American, 0.20%Native American, 7.15%Asian, 0.05%Pacific Islander, 1.88% fromother races, and 1.94% fromtwo or more races.Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 4.31% of the population.
There were 5,291 households, out of which 28.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.4% were married couples living together, 7.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 27.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 2.92.
The age distribution, heavily influenced by UConn, is 13.3% under 18, 44.8% from 18 to 24, 18.9% from 25 to 44, 14.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.9% who were 65 years or older. The median age was 22 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $48,888, and the median income for a family was $69,661. Males had a median income of $42,154 versus $32,292 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $18,094. About 4.7% of families and 14.2% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 6.7% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.
| Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[45] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Active Voters | Inactive Voters | Total Voters | Percentage | |
| Democratic | 3,683 | 251 | 3,934 | 36.93% | |
| Republican | 1,322 | 78 | 1,400 | 13.14% | |
| Unaffiliated | 4,709 | 606 | 5,315 | 49.90% | |
| Minor parties | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0.03% | |
| Total | 9,717 | 935 | 10,652 | 100% | |
Elementary and middle school-aged residents attend schools in the Mansfield School District.[46]
All of Mansfield's middle-schoolers attend toMansfield Middle School, the 2007–2008 Connecticut Association of Schools (CAS) School of the Year, and the recently built Mansfield Elementary School.
BothAnnie E. Vinton School andDorothy C. Goodwin school have been rebranded to be separate campuses of Mansfield Elementary School. As of now, they are being used for storage. Southeast Elementary School has been replaced with Mansfield Elementary School.
High school-aged residents attend EO Smith High School of the Regional School District 19.[47]
Top employers in Mansfield according to the town's 2024 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report[48]
| # | Employer | # of Employees |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Connecticut | 5,314 |
| 2 | Natchaug Hospital, Inc. | 250–499 |
| 3 | Town of Mansfield | 419 |
| 4 | United Services | 250–499 |
| 5 | Regional School District No. 19 Baukus Healthcare @ Home | 203 |
| 6 | Mansfield Nursing and Rehab Center | 100–249 |
| 7 | Big Y | 100–249 |
| 8 | Price Chopper | 100–249 |
| 9 | Baukus Healthcare @ Home | 100–249 |
Municipalities and communities ofTolland County, Connecticut,United States | ||
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