Town #111: Stafford

Stafford, like many towns in Connecticut, used to be a mill town. Walking around the streets you can tell that the town has kept much of its charm from those days. At one time a trolley connected Stafford to Rockville and the town could have grown much larger in time, but eventually the trolley was discontinued, and as the mill boom ended, the town settled into itself as it is today.

Stafford is fairly large, in land, if not population. It's the fourth largest town in Connecticut after New Milford, Woodstock, and Sharon. However, the Town of Stafford often incorrectly refers to the town as the third largest town in land size.

The town also has a rather strange public park/beach situation. In order to get to it, you have to go through an elementary school and the entrance to the beach backs up to the school playground. This is the first time we've visited a town that combines a public beach and an elementary school yard.

Another unique element of Stafford is its traffic circle. There are relatively few traffic circles in Connecticut--somewhere between 10 and 12. It's hard to explain why, and the photo does not help me with this at all, but the traffic circle in Stafford looks more like a traffic triangle. If you're not from the area it's a bit confusing. I think it's because the entrance to the traffic circle is off-center. Two of the entrances are on a corner next to each other, so it gives the seeming effect of having three entrances to the traffic circle instead of four. If I ever take a better photo, I'll make sure to post for illustrative purposes. But I should get on to what people think of when they think of Stafford.

What Stafford is known for: Stafford Motor Speedway


There are only a few racetracks (i.e., paved and oval courses) in Connecticut. There is one in Thompson and another in Waterford. There is also a road course track in Salisbury. But arguably the most well-known is the one in Stafford. The track opened in 1870 has plans to keep expanding in the future with more seating, scoring capabilities, and display boards.

*We'd like to thank our friends for taking the time to give us a tour of Stafford. Thanks, Brian and Veronica.

Stafford Stats:
Population: 11,307
Size: 58.8 square miles
Historic Places: Stafford Hollow Historic District