Suffield, Massachusetts
| Suffield, Connecticut | ||
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| Town | ||
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| Motto: "Our Roots Run Deep" | ||
 Location within Hartford County, Connecticut |
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| Coordinates: 41°59′N 72°41′W / 41.983°N 72.683°WCoordinates: 41°59′N 72°41′W / 41.983°N 72.683°W | ||
| Country | United States | |
| State | Connecticut | |
| NECTA | Springfield MA | |
| Region | Capitol Region | |
| Incorporated (Massachusetts) | 1674 | |
| Annexed by Connecticut | 1749 | |
| Government | ||
| • Type | Selectman-town meeting | |
| • First selectman | Melissa Mack (D) | |
| • Selectmen | Krystal Holmes (D) Mel Chafetz (D) Tim Reynolds (R) Joanne Sullivan (R) |
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| Area | ||
| • Total | 42.9 sq mi (111.2 km2) | |
| • Land | 42.3 sq mi (109.5 km2) | |
| • Water | 0.7 sq mi (1.8 km2) | |
| Elevation | 197 ft (60 m) | |
| Population (2010) | ||
| • Total | 15,735 | |
| • Density | 370/sq mi (140/km2) | |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | |
| • Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | |
| ZIP code | 06078, 06093 | |
| Area code(s) | 860 | |
| FIPS code | 09-74540 | |
| GNIS feature ID | 0212351 | |
| Website | www |
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Suffield is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. It had once been within the boundaries of Massachusetts. The town is located in the Connecticut River Valley with the town of Enfield neighboring to the east. In 1900, 3,521 people lived in Suffield; as of the 2010 census, the population was 15,735. The town center is a census-designated place listed as Suffield Depot in U.S. Census records.
Bordering Massachusetts, Suffield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts NECTA. Suffield is only 8 miles (13 km) from Springfield, and is more oriented toward it than toward Connecticut's capital of Hartford, which lies 16 miles (26 km) to the south.
Originally known as Southfield—pronounced "Suffield", on May 20, 1674, the committee for the settling of the town petitioned:
"...that the name of the place may be Suffield, it being the southernmost town that either at present is, or like to be in that Countrey, and neere adjoining to the south border of our Patent in those parts." [sic]
The petition was granted by the Massachusetts Bay court on June 3, 1674. Suffield was incorporated as a town in March 1682.
Also on early 17th and 18th century maps, Suffield was also spelled as Suthfield.
Suffield and the surrounding area was part of the equivalent lands compromise with Massachusetts in 1716.
Suffield's native and adopted sons include Rev. Ebenezer Gay, a renowned Congregational minister; U.S. Postmaster General Gideon Granger; real estate speculator Oliver Phelps, once the largest landowner in America; composer Timothy Swan; architect Henry A. Sykes; sculptor Olin Levi Warner; Seth Pease, surveyor of the Western Reserve lands in Ohio, most of which were controlled by Suffield financiers and speculators; and Thaddeus Leavitt, inventor of an early cotton gin, merchant and patentee of the Western Reserve lands. Thanks to the town's early prominence and wealth, it boasts an astonishing collection of early New England architecture. The Kent family, for whom the town's library is named, originated in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and boasted relations to many prominent early New England families, including the Dwight family of Northampton, Massachusetts, the Hooker family of Hartford, the Dudleys of Guilford, Connecticut, and the Leavitts of Suffield. Descendants of Robert Olds, who arrived from Sherborne, Dorset, in 1667, include automotive pioneer Ransom Eli Olds, Copperhead Ohio politician Edson Baldwin Olds, his great-grandson USAAF General Robert Olds, and his son, iconic USAF fighter pilot Robin Olds.
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Wikipedia