In the U.S. state of Connecticut, a borough is an incorporated section of a town. Borough governments are not autonomous and are subordinate to the government of the town to which they belong. For example, Fenwick is a borough in Old Saybrook. A borough is a clearly defined municipality and provides some municipal services, such as police and fire services, garbage collection, street lighting and maintenance, management of cemeteries, and building code enforcement. Other municipal services not provided by the borough are provided by the parent town. Connecticut boroughs are administratively similar to villages in New York. Borough elections are held biennially in odd years on the first Monday in May.
Historical background Bridgeport (now a separate city) was the state's first borough, formed in 1800 or 1801 as a subdivision of the town of Stratford. Numerous additional boroughs were established thereafter, mostly during the 19th century, to serve a variety of local governmental purposes. There were 18 boroughs in the state as of 1850 and a total of 26 as of 1910. Most Connecticut boroughs have subsequently disincorporated or have become cities.Connecticut Heritage Commission (2003), City, Town, Borough, and County, Connecticut Heritage Gateway website, accessed January 31, 2010S. Matthews, The Woman Citizen's Library, (The Civics Society, Chicago, 1913), Volume 4, Chapter 8 An example of a former borough is Willimantic located in the Town of Windham. It was originally incorporated as a borough in 1833, re-incorporated as a city in 1893 and in 1983 was dis-incorporated becoming a special service district within the town of Windham under the town's governmental control.
List of boroughs As of 2016, there are nine boroughs in Connecticut, four of which share the name of the town in which they are located. Of the current boroughs, one (Naugatuck) is consolidated with its town. Litchfield is the only town to have two incorporated boroughs located within its limits. Below is a list of boroughs that have existed ordered by date of incorporation. Currently existing boroughs are indicated in boldface.
BoroughParent townDate incorporatedCurrent statusBridgeportStratford1800Consolidated city-town separate from original parent town since 1889StoningtonStonington1801BoroughGuilfordGuilford1815Disincorporated 1941EssexDeep River (Saybrook)1820Disincorporated 1854 when Town of Essex was incorporatedKillingworth (Clinton)Killingworth1820Disincorporated 1838 when Town of Clinton was incorporatedDanburyDanbury1822Consolidated city-town since 1965NewtownNewtown1824BoroughColchesterColchester1824/1846Disincorporated 1990WaterburyWaterbury1825Consolidated city-town since 1902StamfordStamford1830Consolidated city-town since 1949SouthportFairfield1831Disincorporated 1854WillimanticWindham1833Disincorporated 1893 when City of Willimantic was incorporatedCliftonWinchester1833Disincorporated 1858(Became part of new Borough of Winsted)WorthingtonBerlin1834Disincorporated ?NorwalkNorwalk1836Consolidated city-town since 1913HumphreysvilleDerby1836Disincorporated 1850 when Town of Seymour was incorporatedBethelDanbury1847Town of Bethel separated from Danbury in 1855; Borough disincorporated (?)New BritainNew Britain1850Consolidated city-town since 1906BirminghamDerby1851Consolidated city-town since 1893 (as Derby)WallingfordWallingford1853Disincorporated 1958SharonSharon1853Disincorporated ?DanielsonKillingly1854BoroughGreenwichGreenwich1854Disincorporated 1932WinstedWinchester1858Consolidated with Winchester 1915; chartered as city in 1917, although the US Census Bureau rescinded recognition sometime between 1970 and 1980.AnsoniaDerby1864Consolidated city-town in 1893, separated from original parent town in 1889 when town of Ansonia was incorporatedBranfordBranford1867Disincorporated 1970sFair Haven EastEast Haven(annexed to New Haven in 1881)1872Disincorporated 1897West StratfordStratford1873Disincorporated 1889 (now part of the city of Bridgeport)West HavenOrange1873Consolidated city-town since 1961, separated from parent town of Orange since 1921Stafford SpringsStafford1873Disincorporated 1991LitchfieldLitchfield1879BoroughSheltonShelton (Huntington)1882Consolidated city-town since 1915TorringtonTorrington1887Consolidated city-town since 1923New CanaanNew Canaan1889Disincorporated 1935SouthingtonSouthington1889Disincorporated 1948NaugatuckNaugatuck1893Consolidated borough-town since 1895BristolBristol1893Consolidated city-town since 1911Jewett CityGriswold1895BoroughFenwickOld Saybrook1899BoroughFarmingtonFarmington1901Disincorporated 1947RidgefieldRidgefield1901Disincorporated 1921GrotonGroton1903Chartered as non-coextensive city in 1964WoodmontMilford1903BoroughBantamLitchfield1915BoroughUnionvilleFarmington1921Disincorporated 1947
See also Administrative divisions of Connecticut Borough
References
Further reading C.H. Carter, "Connecticut boroughs", New Haven Colony Historical Society Papers, Vol. IV (1886), p. 149 N.M. Schoonmaker, The Actual Government of Connecticut, (National Woman Suffrage Publishing, 1919) C.H. Douglas, The Government of the People of the State of Connecticut, (Hinds, Hayden and Eldredge, 1917) Various editions of the Connecticut State Register and Manual R.A. Ferry, "A short directory of the names, past and current of Connecticut boroughs", (Connecticut Ancestry Society, 1996) W.E. Buckley and C.E. Perry, "Connecticut, the state and its government", (Oxford Book Co., 1948)