Place Information
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Avon is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of 2005, the town has an estimated total population of 17,209. Avon was settled in 1645 and was originally a part of Farmington but sold to the Puritans in a land charter granted by the Duke of York in 1830. Avon was originally called Northington (the north parish) before it broke off from Farmington. According to the Avon Historical Society, Avon's independence was rooted in the need for a church that was more accessible to the growing town's population than the Congregational Church in Farmington. They eventually commissioned someone to come north from the Yale Divinity School to found the first church. It is generally considered a suburb of Hartford. Avon Old Farms School, a prestigious boarding school, is located there. In 2005, Avon was named the 3rd safest town in America by Money Magazine. It is home to the Pine Grove School House, built in 1865 and remains open today as a museum. Avon was listed as one of the "preppiest" places in the United States in the 1980s best-seller The Official Preppy Handbook. An episode of MTV's My Super Sweet 16 took place there. Avon is home to Avon High School (Connecticut), as well as 2 elementary schools, 1 intermediate (grades 5-6) school, and a middle school. One of the worst traffic accidents in Connecticut history occurred at the intersection of US 44 and Route 10 at the foot of Avon Mountain. This occurred on July 29, 2005 when a runaway dump truck plowed into many stopped vehicles, causing four deaths.[1] Governor M. Jodi Rell has since proposed safety improvements for this road[2] A second, nonfatal crash occurred at the same location on September 7, 2007 when a runaway truck crashed into Nassau's Furniture store [1].Since these accidents a run away truck ramp has been built to avoid future fatalities. Historical Populations
Sources: Interactive Connecticut State Register & Manual and U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division Research Tips
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