North Stonington, Connecticut | ||
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Town | ||
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Location within New London County, Connecticut |
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Coordinates: 41°28′N 71°52′W / 41.467°N 71.867°WCoordinates: 41°28′N 71°52′W / 41.467°N 71.867°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Connecticut | |
NECTA | Norwich-New London | |
Region | Southeastern Connecticut | |
Incorporated | 1807 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Selectman-town meeting | |
• First selectman | Nicholas H. Mullane II (R) | |
• Selectman | Bob Testa (R) | |
• Selectman | Mark Donahue (D) | |
Area | ||
• Total | 55.0 sq mi (142.4 km2) | |
• Land | 54.3 sq mi (140.7 km2) | |
• Water | 0.7 sq mi (1.7 km2) | |
Elevation | 384 ft (117 m) | |
Population (2010) | ||
• Total | 5,297 | |
• Density | 96/sq mi (37/km2) | |
Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
ZIP code | 06359 | |
Area code(s) | 860 | |
FIPS code | 09-55500 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0213480 | |
Website | www |
North Stonington is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 5,297 at the 2010 census. North Stonington was split off from Stonington in 1724.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 55.0 square miles (142 km2), of which 54.3 square miles (141 km2) is land and 0.7 square miles (1.8 km2), or 1.20%, is water.
The land of North Stonington is located at the southeast corner of the state of Connecticut. Until the 17th century, the Pequots, the Niantics, and the Narragansetts were the residents in this area of southeastern Connecticut and adjacent parts of Rhode Island. Little is known about Native American activities in North Stonington prior to English colonization in the area.
The Pequots' imprint remained in the town, however. The first white settlers kept a number of their names for the town's main geological features, including the town's main water course of Shunock Brook, as well as Assekonk Swamp and Wintechog and Cossaduck hills. Further, colonial authorities eventually allotted two reservations to the Pequot tribe, including a plot of land on the eastern bank of Long Pond adjacent to Lantern Hill in the southwestern corner of the town, established in 1683.
For much of the 17th century, North Stonington was thinly populated by the Pequots and European settlers. Starting in the 1630s and 1640s, the English established coastline settlements in Wequetequock, which is now Old Mystic) and Pawcatuck. However, the pressure of a growing population and continued immigration in succeeding decades caused homesteading to steadily push northward. The crushing of hostile Indian tribes throughout New England during King Philip's War of 1676 and the resolution of border disputes among Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts also encouraged enterprising pioneers to move inland to stake claims.