Sandy Hook, Connecticut facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Sandy Hook, Connecticut
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Sandy Hook post office and dam, from a postcard sent in 1914
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| Country |  United States |
| U.S. state |  Connecticut |
| County | Fairfield |
| Metropolitan area | Danbury |
| Town | Newtown |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (EST) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (EDT) |
| ZIP code |
06482
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| Area code(s) | 203/475 |
Sandy Hook is a village in the town of Newtown, Connecticut. It was founded in 1711. It was listed as a census-designated place prior to the 2020 census.
Sandy Hook borders the village of Botsford, the Newtown borough, and the towns of Monroe, Southbury, and Oxford along the Housatonic River. The village of Sandy Hook includes the communities of Berkshire, Riverside, Walnut Tree Hill, and Zoar. It also extends for a short distance into the town of Monroe along Old Zoar Road and Bagburn Hill/Jordan Hill Road.
History
Within a year of the settlement of Newtown, some of its proprietors began moving away from the central village to some of their larger parcels. Several proprietors with land in the same area relocated to these areas together to reduce isolation. Sandy Hook was one of the first of the outlying areas settled. Colonists found the Pootatuck River at Sandy Hook allowed for the setting up of saw and grist mills. The neighborhood would not grow dramatically until the industrialization of the mid 19th century.
2012 school shooting
On December 14, 2012[update], Adam Lanza shot his mother at home, then killed 26 people and himself at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It was the second-deadliest[update] mass shooting in U.S. history at the time, after the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings.
Points of interest
- Eichler's Cove Marina is located off Route 34 at the end of Old Bridge Road. It offers a small beach on Lake Zoar with a marina, town boat launch, and picnic area for residents of Newtown. Eichler's Cove is the only public access to Lake Zoar for Newtown residents.
- Fire Department Sandy Hook is home to Sandy Hook Volunteer Fire & Rescue Company, Inc. It is the only fire station in Newtown with two locations: the main one at 18–20 Riverside Road and a substation at 249 Berkshire Road. This fire department is led by Chief William Halstead, who is also the Fire Marshal for the Town of Newtown. It has over 60 members, and 10 pieces of apparatus. The company has won numerous awards for its service to the community. Every June they host their annual LobsterFest, a major fundraiser for the company that runs on Friday and Saturday following the first Monday of the month.
- McLaughlin Vineyards is a family-owned vineyard and winery located at 14 Albert's Hill Road, 160 acres (0.65 km2) bordering the Housatonic River, with a tasting room in a converted 19th Century bar and access to hiking trails and picnic spots. McLaughlin Vineyards is committed to producing wines that reflect the terroir of the Northeast, and thus use only grapes from this region.
- Timothy B. Treadwell Memorial Park, located on Philo Curtis Road, is an outdoor recreational area that features a baseball/softball field, basketball courts, four tennis courts, multi-purpose sports fields (including two artificial surface fields), Newtown's community swimming pool (an eight-lane 25-yard (23 m) pool with a diving L and wading pool), a pavilion, and two playground areas. In season, the park is open from 8 am until 8 pm, The park was named for the late Timothy Treadwell, who served as First Selectman of Newtown before his death in February 1972. Mr Treadwell also served, from 1959 until 1962, on the town’s Parks & Recreation Commission.
- Paugussett State Forest, is a Connecticut state forest with two separate sections located on impoundments of the Housatonic River in the town of Newtown. The forest's Upper Block encompasses approximately 800 acres on the western shore of Lake Lillinonah. It offers boating access to the river and hiking on the blue-blazed Lillinonah Trail. The forest's Lower Block encompasses approximately 1,200 acres on the western shore of Lake Zoar and offers hiking on the blue-blazed Zoar Trail.
Landmarks
- Nathan B. Lattin Farm — 22 Walker Hill Road, National Register of Historic Places
- New York Belting and Packing Co. — 45–71 and 79–89 Glen Road, National Register of Historic Places
Notable residents
- John Angel, sculptor
- Luther Meade Blackman, major during the American Civil War accused of forging the Bat Creek inscription
- Suzanne Collins, American television writer and author of The Underland Chronicles and The Hunger Games trilogy
- Anthony Edwards, actor
- William Hamilton Gibson, 19th-century illustrator, author, and naturalist
- Charles Goodyear, gained renown in 1839 for the technique of the vulcanization of rubber
- Ruth Gordon, actress
- Arthur Twining Hadley, 13th president of Yale University
- John Howat, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Charles R. Jackson, 1950s writer and novelist, author of The Lost Weekend
- Caitlyn Jenner, 1976 Summer Olympics decathlon gold medalist
- Elia Kazan, stage/motion picture director and author
- Steven Kellogg, illustrator
- Grace Moore, operatic soprano and actress in musical theater and film
- Valentin Panera, Spanish actor, husband of Grace Moore
- Molly Pearson, 20th-century stage actress
- Albert Berger Rossdale, U.S. Representative from New York
- James Thurber, writer, satirist, cartoonist, author of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
- Marcus Tracy, professional soccer player
- Mead Treadwell, 13th Lieutenant Governor of Alaska and former chair of the U.S. Arctic Research Commission
- Jenna von Oÿ, actress and singer
- Thelma Wood, sculptor
- Wally Cox, Actor
- Antonio Fargas, Actor
- Max Nacewicz, Professional Football Player
See also
In Spanish: Sandy Hook (Connecticut) para niños
