Sandy Hook, Connecticut

Sandy Hook is a village in the town of Newtown, Connecticut. It was founded in 1711.

Sandy Hook, Connecticut
Village
Sandy Hook post office and dam, from a postcard sent in 1914
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
Area code(s)	203/475

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

Sandy Hook was founded when several proprietors with land in the area relocated together to reduce isolation. 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. Colonists found that the Pootatuck River at Sandy Hook allowed for saw and grist mills, leading to it becoming one of the first outlying areas to be settled. The neighborhood did not grow dramatically until the mid-19th century post-industrialization.[1]

2012 school shooting

On December 14, 2012, Adam Lanza shot and killed his mother at home, then went to Sandy Hook Elementary School[2] where he killed 26 people before taking his own life. It was the second-deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history at the time, after the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings.[3][4]

Sandy Hook in 2007

Landmarks

Sandy Hook has a few historic landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places.

• Nathan B. Lattin Farm
• New York Belting and Packing Co.
• Sanford-Curtis-Thurber House

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[5]
• William Hamilton Gibson, 19th-century illustrator, author, and naturalist[6]
• Arthur Twining Hadley, 13th president of Yale University
• John Howat, curator at the Metropolitan Museum of Art[7]
• 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
• 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
• Charles Goodyear gained renown in 1839 for the technique of the vulcanization of rubber.
• Ruth Gordon, actress
• Anthony Edwards, actor
• Steven Kellog, illustrator

References

1. Cruson, Daniel, "A Brief History of Newtown" Archived 2013-01-28 at the Wayback Machine, Web page at Newtown Historical Society Web site, accessed December 14, 2012.
2. Miguel Llanos (December 14, 2012). "Authorities ID gunman who killed 27 in elementary school massacre". NBC News. Associated Press. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
3. "28 dead in school shooting". BBC News. December 15, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2012.
4. Christoffersen, John. "Official: 27 dead in Conn. school shooting". ap.org. Archived from the original on December 17, 2012. Retrieved January 15, 2013.
5. Gendreau, LeAnne (March 15, 2012). "Anticipated Film Based on Local Author's Book". NBC. Retrieved December 28, 2012.
6. Adams, John Coleman, 'William Hamilton Gibson,' "New England Magazine". Retrieved June 28, 2010., Feb. 1897, p. 643
7. "Howat, John K. 1937- (John Keith Howat) | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2020-05-11.