Unionville, Connecticut, United States

🇺🇸 Unionville is located in Central Connecticut. It is situated West of the Connecticut River and just 20 minutes West of the state capital, Hartford. Unionville is just 26 minutes from the state's major airport, Bradley Field.

Farmington is a town in Hartford County in the Farmington Valley area of central Connecticut in the United States. The town is part of the Capitol Planning Region. It sits 10 miles west of Hartford at the hub of major I-84 interchanges, 20 miles south of Bradley International Airport and two hours by car from New York City and Boston. It is home to the world headquarters of several large corporations including Otis Elevator Company and Carvel. The north-western section of Farmington is a suburban neighborhood called Unionville.

History Farmington was originally inhabited by the Tunxis Indian tribe. In 1640, a community of English immigrants was established by residents of Hartford, making Farmington the oldest inland settlement west of the Connecticut River and the twelfth oldest community in the state. Settlers found the area ideal because of its rich soil, location along the floodplain of the Farmington River, and valley geography.

The town and river were given their present names in 1645, which is considered the incorporation year of the town. The town's boundaries were later enlarged several times, making it the largest in the Connecticut Colony. The town was named "Farmington" on account of its location within a farming district.

Farmington has been called the "mother of towns" because its vast area was divided to produce nine other central Connecticut communities. The borough of Unionville, in Farmington's north-west corner, was once home to many factories harnessing the water power of the Farmington River.

Farmington is steeped in New England history. Main Street, in the historic village section, is lined with colonial estates, some of which date back to the 17th century. On May 19, 1774, in response to the adoption of the Boston Port Act, the people of Farmington assembled, held a mock trial for the bill, found the bill guilty of "being instigated by the devil", and subsequently had a copy of the bill hung and then set on fire. During the Revolutionary War, George Washington passed through Farmington on several occasions and referred to the town as "the village of pretty houses". In addition, French troops under General Rochambeau encamped in Farmington en route to Westchester County to offer crucial support to General Washington's army.

Nineteenth century The majority of Farmington residents were abolitionists and were active in aiding escaped slaves. Several homes in the town were "safe houses" on the Underground Railroad. The town became known as "Grand Central Station" among escaped slaves and their "guides".

Farmington played an important role in the famous Amistad trial. In 1841, 38 Mende Africans and Cinqué, the leader of the revolt on the Amistad slave ship, were housed and educated in Farmington after the U.S. government refused to provide for their return to Africa following the trial. The Mende were educated in English and Christianity while funds were raised by residents for their return to Africa.

The Farmington Canal, connecting New Haven with Northampton, Massachusetts, passed through the Farmington River on its eastern bank and was in operation between 1828 and 1848. The canal's right of way and towpath were eventually used for a railroad, portions of which were active up to the 1990s. Part of the canal and railroad line has now been converted to multi-use paved trails, called the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail and the Farmington River Trail, respectively.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 28.8 square miles (74.5 km²), of which 28.0 square miles (72.6 km²) is land and 0.77 square miles (2.0 km²), or 2.65%, is water.

After its founding, Farmington gave up territory to form Southington (1779), Bristol (1785), Avon (1830), Plainville (1869), and parts of Berlin (1785) and Bloomfield (1835). Farmington presently borders the towns of Avon, Burlington, Newington, West Hartford, and Plainville, and the cities of New Britain and Bristol.

Farmington is mostly wooded, but there are also meadows and hills in the east and southeast. There are also numerous ponds and lakes. The Farmington River runs through the town from the north-west from Burlington, enters Unionville, then takes a sharp turn near Farmington Center and flows north towards Avon. The Metacomet Ridge, a 100-mile (160 km) range of low traprock mountain ridges, occupies the east side of Farmington as Pinnacle Rock, Rattlesnake Mountain, Farmington Mountain, and Talcott Mountain.

Economy Top employers in Farmington according to the town's 2021 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report

The Jackson Laboratory

1 University of Connecticut Health Center; 2 Connecticut Children's Medical Center; 3 Town of Farmington; 4 Otis Worldwide; 5 ConnectiCare; 6 Macy's; 7 Trumpf; 8 Tunxis Community College; 9 American Red Cross; 10 Allied World Assurance Company.

Farmington is home to a significant and growing number of corporations. Fortune 500 industrial conglomerate United Technologies is headquartered on Farm Springs Road along with its subsidiary Otis Elevator. Carvel, ConnectiCare, Farmington Displays, and Horizon Technology Finance, all maintain corporate headquarters in Farmington. Other prominent employers include the American Red Cross, Bank of America, Farmington Sports Arena, McKesson, Stanley Black & Decker and TRUMPF Inc.

Farmington Bank was headquartered in town until it was acquired by People's United Bank in 2018.

The Jackson Laboratory of Bar Harbor, Maine, is building a new facility on the grounds of the University of Connecticut Health Center, which specializes in the research and development of genomic medicine. The project is part of BioScience Connecticut, an initiative designed to launch Connecticut into the forefront of biomedical research. A growing collection of doctor's offices and medical practices is concentrated in the vicinity of the University of Connecticut Health Center.

Farmington is unique in that more people work within the town lines than actually live there, a characteristic atypical of a traditional suburb.

Arts and culture • Austin F. Williams Carriagehouse and House – 127 Main Street (added 1998) • Farmington Historic District – Porter and Mountain Rds., Main and Garden Sts., Hatter's and Hillstead Lanes, and Farmington Ave. (added 1972) • First Church of Christ – 75 Main St. (added 1975) • Gen. George Cowles House – 130 Main St. (added 1982) • Gridley-Parsons-Staples Homestead – 1554 Farmington Ave. (added 1981) • Hill-Stead Museum (added 1991). The estate, completed in 1901 and designed for Alfred Atmore Pope by his daughter Theodate Pope Riddle, one of the first woman American architects, is known for its Colonial Revival architecture. Now a museum, its 19 rooms hold a nationally recognised collection of Impressionist paintings by such masters as Manet, Monet, Whistler, Degas and Cassatt. It is the site of the annual Sunken Garden Poetry Festival and is a National Historic Landmark. • Pequabuck Bridge – Meadow Rd. at Pequabuck River (added 1984) • Shade Swamp Shelter – US 6 E of New Britain Ave. (added 1986) • Stanley-Whitman House – 37 High St. (added November 15, 1966) • West End Library – 15 School St., Unionville (added 2000)

Education Farmington Public Schools operates public schools.

Farmington's seven public schools are highly regarded rank among the top in the state and nationally. The district's four pre-K to 4 elementary schools are Union School, West District School, Noah Wallace School, and East Farms School. West Woods Upper Elementary School houses grades 5 and 6. Irving A. Robbins Middle School houses grades 7 and 8. Farmington High School serves grades 9–12. In 2005, Farmington High School was ranked 125 on Newsweek magazine's list of the best schools in the United States, in 2006 ir was ranked 269,and in 2007, 298.

Miss Porter's School, a private college preparatory school for girls, is located in Farmington's Historic District. The day and boarding school occupies much of the village center. Founded in 1843 by educational reformer Sarah Porter, the school has played a significant part in Farmington's history since its founding. As of the mid-2010's, the school owned over 90 buildings in Farmington centre, approximately 70% of which were historic. Since then, Miss Porter's has been concentrating its footprint around its core buildings at the centre of Main Street. Famous alumni include Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, Princess Anastasia of Greece & Denmark, Lee Bouvier Radziwill, Lilly Pulitzer and members of the Bush, Vanderbilt, and Rockefeller families.

Tunxis Community College is in the south-west part of the town.

Infrastructure The University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington employs approximately 4,600 full-time employees as of 2021. The Health Center also houses John Dempsey Hospital. The hospital provides the only full-service emergency department in the Farmington Valley and a Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), one of only two in Connecticut.

Connecticut's first temple of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints opened in Farmington in 2016.

Transport Connecticut Transit Hartford provides local bus service.