Salisbury () is a town situated in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. The town is the northwesternmost in the state of Connecticut; the Massachusetts-New York-Connecticut tri-state marker is located at the northwest corner of the town. The population was 4,194 at the 2020 census. The town is part of the Northwest Hills Planning Region.
History
Salisbury was established and incorporated in 1741, and contains several historic homes, though some were replaced by larger modern structures in the late 20th century. Salisbury was named for Salisbury, a city in England. Historian Ed Kirby tells that traces of iron were discovered in what was to become Salisbury in 1728, with the discovery of the large deposit at Old Hill (later Ore Hill) in 1731 by John Pell and Ezekiel Ashley. From before the American Revolution, through the Federal Period of the nation, and until around 1920, Salisbury was the seat of an important iron industry.
Additional iron mines were opened, mostly in the western end of the town, although historian Diana Muir dismisses them as "scarcely big enough to notice," with the further disadvantage of not being near a river large enough to ship iron to market at a reasonable cost. The solution, according to Muir, was to pour labor into the iron, working it into a quality of wrought iron so high that it could be used even for gun barrels. This fetched a high price and made Salisbury iron the celebrated choice of Connecticut's early nineteenth-century arms industry as well as the preeminent source of cast-iron railroad car wheels until they were superseded by steel wheels. Peter P. Everts, an agent of the mid-19th-century mines, however, stated the quality of Salisbury iron varied. The iron industry in Salisbury became inactive following World War I, a plan to revive it during World War II was never implemented, and the mines remain under water.
Scoville Library in Salisbury was the first in the United States open to the public free of charge. Salisbury is also home to the oldest Methodist church in New England, the Lakeville Methodist Church, constructed in 1789.
Geography
Salisbury occupies the northwest corner of Litchfield County and the state of Connecticut. It is bordered to the north by Berkshire County, Massachusetts, and to the west by Dutchess County, New York. Salisbury is northwest of Hartford, Connecticut's capital; south of Pittsfield, Massachusetts; and northeast of Poughkeepsie, New York.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which are land and , or 4.72%, are water. Within Salisbury there are several ponds and six lakes: Wononscopomuc, Washinee, Washining, Wononpakook, Riga Lake and South Pond. The Housatonic River forms the eastern boundary of the town. Although the summit of Mount Frissell lies in Massachusetts at an elevation of , the south slope of the mountain in Salisbury, is the highest point in Connecticut at .
Principal communities
The town of Salisbury includes the CDP of Lakeville, and the hamlets of Amesville, Lime Rock, Salisbury, and Taconic (formerly Chapinville). Taconic is located in the northern section of Salisbury and is a seasonal and affluent community of approximately 200 in population, with a town green and US post office. Historically the areas of Joyceville, Ore Hill, Hammertown, Weatogue and Twin Lakes were recognized as separate communities but are no longer.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 3,977 people, 1,737 households, and 1,042 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 2,410 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.75% White, 1.66% African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.96% Asian, 0.45% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.53% of the population.
There were 1,737 households, out of which 25.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 7.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 15.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.4% under the age of 18, 3.7% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 31.9% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 47 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.4 males.