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East Haven is a town located in New Haven County, Connecticut. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 28,189.
History
The area now known as East Haven was obtained by Puritan settlers as part of the purchase of New Haven from the local Quinnipiack tribe. During colonial times, this area remained as part of the town of New Haven and went by several names; these include "East Farms" and "Iron Works Village". The latter name stems from the area being home to the first ironworks constructed in Connecticut, which was built on the shores of Lake Saltonstall in 1655.
During the American Revolution, the area saw troop movement and encampment by both revolutionary and British forces. In 1779, the British briefly invaded and occupied the district; Lafayette and revolutionary forces also visited town and encamped on the green. The town became an indepedent entity from New Haven in 1785.
In the 20th century, East Haven was transformed from an older suburb of the city to a more built-up urbanized area. Many of the town's residents are members or descendent's of New Haven's Italian-American community. This fact has led to many stereotypes of East Haven as a sort of New England version of Bensonhurst. A possibly ironic local shorthand for the town is St'aven, a slurring of the town's two-worded name into a one-worded, usually heavily accented, nickname.
Culture and notable features
As already stated, East Haven is known for its vibrant Italian-American ethnic heritage. It is also the location of the Shoreline Trolley Museum, which shows the history of trolley cars in the New Haven area.
East Haven shares with New Haven the land belonging to local Tweed-New Haven Airport.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 34.8 km² (13.4 mi²). 31.8 km² (12.3 mi²) of it is land and 3.0 km² (1.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 8.57% water.
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there are 28,189 people, 11,219 households, and 7,494 families residing in the town. The population density is 887.8/km² (2,298.4/mi²). There are 11,698 housing units at an average density of 368.4/km² (953.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 93.92% White, 1.40% African American, 0.14% Native American, 1.91% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.52% from other races, and 1.09% from two or more races. 4.36% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 11,219 households out of which 28.2% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.6% are married couples living together, 12.0% have a female householder with no husband present, and 33.2% are non-families. 27.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 11.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 3.08.
In the town the population is spread out with 22.2% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 31.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 39 years. For every 100 females there are 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $47,930, and the median income for a family is $56,803. Males have a median income of $41,464 versus $30,709 for females. The per capita income for the town is $22,396. 5.2% of the population and 3.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 4.7% of those under the age of 18 and 9.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
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