Sherman, Connecticut | |
|---|---|
 1886 Town Hall | |
 Seal | |
 Fairfield County and Connecticut Western Connecticut Planning Region and Connecticut | |
 Show Sherman Show Connecticut Show the United States | |
| Coordinates:41°35′N73°30′W / 41.583°N 73.500°W /41.583; -73.500 | |
| Country | United States |
| U.S. state | Connecticut |
| County | Fairfield |
| Region | Western CT |
| Incorporated | 1802 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Selectman-town meeting |
| • First selectman | Don Lowe (D) |
| • Selectman | Joel Bruzinski (D) |
| • Selectman | Bob Ostrosky (R) |
| Area | |
• Total | 23.4 sq mi (60.6 km2) |
| • Land | 21.8 sq mi (56.5 km2) |
| • Water | 1.6 sq mi (4.0 km2) |
| Elevation | 466 ft (142 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 3,527 |
| • Density | 150/sq mi (58/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Code | 06784 |
| Area code(s) | 860/959 |
| FIPS code | 09-68310 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0213505 |
| Website | www |
Sherman is the northernmost and least populoustown ofFairfield County,Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,527 at the2020 census.[1] The town is part of theWestern Connecticut Planning Region. The town was formed in 1802 from the northern part ofNew Fairfield. It is named forRoger Sherman, the only person who signed all four founding documents of the United States of America.[2] He also had a cobbler's shop in the north end of town which has been reconstructed behind the Northrup House in the center of town.
TheAppalachian Trail passes through the northern end of Sherman. Part ofSquantz Pond is in the town.
Sherman is a popular weekend retreat for New York City residents, with about a third of its residents weekenders. The town is located 62 miles (100 km) northeast ofNew York City, making it part of theNew York metropolitan area.[3]
Sherman has one area on theNational Register of Historic Places: theSherman Historic District, bounded roughly by the intersection of Old Greenswood Road andRoute 37, northeast past the intersection of Route 37 East andRoute 39 North and Sawmill Road. The district was added to the National Register on August 31, 1991.
Sherman is the only town inFairfield County in the860 area code; the remainder of the county is served by thearea code 203/area code 475 overlay.
The land which is now called Sherman was formerly occupied primarily by native people ofAlgonquian lineage.
In 1724, colonial settlers fromFairfield, Connecticut, received approval from the General Assembly of the Colony of Connecticut to establish a new township. According to one account, they negotiated with Chief Squantz of theSchaghticoke tribe. Alternatively, it is told that they did not negotiate with Chief Squantz because he moved to the north end of Squantz Pond land area and refused to "sell" the township of New Fairfield. They returned in the spring of 1725, but found that Chief Squantz had died during the winter. His four sons and heirs refused to sign the deeds. It was not until four years later that the white men called "The Proprietors" finally got the drawn marks of several other native people who may not have had authority to sell the land.[4] They "purchased" a 31,000-acre tract of land that is nowNew Fairfield and Sherman, for 65 pounds sterling, the equivalent of about 300 dollars, on April 24, 1729. The deed was recorded on May 9, 1729, and is now deposited in the archives of the State Capitol inHartford, Connecticut.
There is one public school in Sherman, theSherman School. Its enrollment is about 325 students from pre-school to grade 8. There is no high school in Sherman; students instead are given a choice of five high schools that Sherman will pay for them to attend (New Milford High School,New Fairfield High School,Henry Abbott Tech,Shepaug Valley High School, andNonnewaug High School).[5][6]
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.4 square miles (61 km2), of which 21.8 square miles (56 km2) is land and 1.6 square miles (4.1 km2), or 6.68%, is water. Sherman is bordered byNew Fairfield to the south,New Milford to the east,Kent to the north, and byPawling, New York to the west.
Sherman is the location of Naromiyocknowhusunkatankshunk Brook[7] (29 letters), in the north end of town near theNew Milford border. The name of indigenous origin means "water flowing from the hills". The Naromi Land Trust in Sherman derived its name from the brook.[8]
In some deeds it is called Deep Brook. For some time the brook was officially known at the state level as Morrissey Brook, but an official name change was put into Public Act 01-194, "An Act Concerning Certain Real Property Transactions," which was approved July 11, 2001.[9] The 29-letter name was noted in an 1882 book,History of the Towns ofNew Milford andBridgewater, 1703–1882, bySamuel Orcutt.[10] The state department of transportation has also created a customized road sign for the longer name.[11]
Candlewood Lake stretches fromDanbury in the south, north to Sherman at a park named Veterans' Field. The lake is the largest inConnecticut. It is artificial, created for the Rocky River hydro electric power plant in New Milford on theHousatonic River. The water is pumped through a large pipe into the lake.
Sherman bounds the north end of Squantz Pond, which was a natural pond that was expanded with the creation of Candlewood Lake.
Thetown center is listed as theSherman Historic District in theNational Register of Historic Places. It was designated in 1991 for its historic architecture including several houses, the town hall, school, and manufacturing facilities.
| Census | Pop. | Note | %± |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1810 | 949 | — | |
| 1820 | 957 | 0.8% | |
| 1830 | 947 | −1.0% | |
| 1840 | 938 | −1.0% | |
| 1850 | 984 | 4.9% | |
| 1860 | 911 | −7.4% | |
| 1870 | 846 | −7.1% | |
| 1880 | 828 | −2.1% | |
| 1890 | 668 | −19.3% | |
| 1900 | 658 | −1.5% | |
| 1910 | 569 | −13.5% | |
| 1920 | 533 | −6.3% | |
| 1930 | 391 | −26.6% | |
| 1940 | 477 | 22.0% | |
| 1950 | 549 | 15.1% | |
| 1960 | 825 | 50.3% | |
| 1970 | 1,459 | 76.8% | |
| 1980 | 2,281 | 56.3% | |
| 1990 | 2,809 | 23.1% | |
| 2000 | 3,827 | 36.2% | |
| 2010 | 3,581 | −6.4% | |
| 2020 | 3,527 | −1.5% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census[12] | |||
As of thecensus[13] of 2010, the population was 3,581 people, including 3,469 white, 35 Asian, 15 black, 1 Native American, 16 other, and 45 of two or more races. 76 of these people identified as Hispanic or Latino.
The income per capita is $55,920, which includes all adults and children. The median household income is $118,750.
There were 1,388 households, 460 of which contained children under 18.[14]
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third Parties |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 52.83%1,234 | 46.06%1,076 | 1.11%26 |
| 2016 | 45.67%976 | 49.84%1,065 | 4.49%96 |
| 2012 | 48.66%1,020 | 50.05%1,049 | 1.29%27 |
| 2008 | 51.29%1,110 | 47.41%1,026 | 1.29%28 |
| 2004 | 45.34%958 | 53.05%1,121 | 1.61%34 |
| 2000 | 43.52%809 | 50.35%936 | 6.13%114 |
| 1996 | 42.57%696 | 43.43%710 | 14.01%229 |
| 1992 | 34.37%610 | 39.77%706 | 25.86%459 |
| 1988 | 36.62%538 | 61.81%908 | 1.57%23 |
| 1984 | 31.47%421 | 68.01%910 | 0.52%7 |
| 1980 | 26.98%340 | 57.62%726 | 15.40%194 |
| 1976 | 38.67%401 | 60.56%628 | 0.77%8 |
| 1972 | 33.63%299 | 64.90%577 | 1.46%13 |
| 1968 | 33.08%221 | 62.43%417 | 4.49%30 |
| 1964 | 56.55%311 | 43.45%239 | 0.00%0 |
| 1960 | 29.37%136 | 70.63%327 | 0.00%0 |
| 1956 | 19.54%77 | 80.46%317 | 0.00%0 |
Sherman tends to lean Republican in presidential elections.Lyndon B. Johnson won the town by 13 points in his presidential victory in 1964. In 2008,Barack Obama managed to edgeJohn McCain by just under four points.
Sherman is the location where a presidential candidate becomes possessed by the Devil (and/or sells his soul) in the novel "The Hell Candidate" byGraham Masterton (writing under the name "Thomas Luke") (Pocket Books 1980; currently out-of-print).
Another Graham Masterton novel, "Spirit" (Dorchester Publishing Co. 2001, copyright 1995), is a ghost story set in Sherman in the 1940s and 1950s.
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