Bozrah, Connecticut | ||
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Town | ||
Town Hall
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Location within New London County, Connecticut |
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Coordinates: 41°33′N 72°11′W / 41.550°N 72.183°WCoordinates: 41°33′N 72°11′W / 41.550°N 72.183°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Connecticut | |
NECTA | Norwich-New London | |
Region | Southeastern Connecticut | |
Incorporated | 1786 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Selectman-town meeting | |
• First selectman | William Ballenger (D) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 20.2 sq mi (52.4 km2) | |
• Land | 20.0 sq mi (51.7 km2) | |
• Water | 0.3 sq mi (0.7 km2) | |
Elevation | 180 ft (55 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 2,627 | |
• Density | 130/sq mi (50/km2) | |
Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 06334, 06336 | |
Area code(s) | 860 | |
FIPS code | 09-06820 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0213394 | |
Website | www |
Bozrah is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 2,627 at the 2010 census. Bozrah contains three villages: Fitchville, the town center; Leffingwell, a crossroads on Route 82; and Gilman, a mill village along Fitchville Road.
The area that became Bozrah was first settled as part of the original "nine-miles-square" of Norwich as well as part of the Parish of West Farms. The area became its own parish, called "New Concord" or the "Fourth Society of Norwich", in 1737.
Bozrah is the name of a pastoral community mentioned several times in the Old Testament, sometimes with pleasing connotations, sometimes not. The town name may have resulted from the happy connotations connected with Micah chapter 2, verse 12: "I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put them together as the sheep of Bozrah, as the flock in the midst of their fold; they shall make a great noise by reason of the multitude of men."
According to a persistent legend, the name "Bozrah" was derived from another Biblical text, which came to someone's mind under the particular circumstances surrounding the community's petition to the Connecticut General Assembly for township status. Whether or not the story is true, the informal, early name "New Concord" was dropped when the town was incorporated.
The community, according to the legend, really wanted to call itself "Bath" after the famous spa in England. The local man chosen to carry the parish's request to Hartford had a somewhat eccentric manner of dress, however, and when he appeared before the Legislature he was dressed in loud, parti-colored homespun so odd as to bring to the mind of one amused legislator the query of Isaiah 63:1: "Who is this that cometh from Edom, with dyed garments from Bozrah?" Overcome by the humorous appropriateness of this verse, the Assembly decided to name the town "Bozrah" when it incorporated the place.