Census Data on the Black Population in Newtown
by Paul D'Agostino
The first United States Census, conducted in 1790, lists only three racial categories: free White persons, other free persons, and slaves. The category of other free persons is a strange, middle-ground category that, in the case of Newtown, included four indentured servants and six free Blacks that year. Those six free, Black residents of the town all lived under one roof, meaning that at that time there was essentially only one free Black family living in Newtown. When added to the 64 persons listed as slaves, the Black total population of Newtown stood at 70 people, over 90 percent of them enslaved, making up a little less than 3 percent of Newtown’s 2774 residents. In percentage terms, this is when the Black population in Newtown was at its peak.
Native Americans, who had lived in the area for centuries prior to colonial settlement, were not listed in the census at all. The early censuses explicitly excluded “Indians not taxed” and, if there were any Native Americans living as residents of the town, the census makes no mention of them. They had seemingly become irrelevant in the land which had been theirs at the beginning of the century.
Over the course of the next 30 years, manumission changed the composition of the free and Black populations in town. By 1820, four Black slaves remained, while the free Black population had risen to 110 people--most of them former slaves or their descendents. By 1830, there were no slaves left in Newtown and the free Black population reached a peak of 116 people. From this point on, as the descendants of local slaves died or moved away, the Black population in town declined, reaching a low of only 34 Black residents in 1940. After 1830 and the end of slavery, nearly 150 years would pass before Newtown’s Black population again reached into triple digits.
Newtown’s overall population also waxed and waned during this time, hovering between 3,000 and 4,000 people from 1830 to 1930. After hitting a low point of 2635 people in 1930, the town began nearly a century of rapid growth. By 1950 it had more than doubled in size. Twenty years later it had doubled again, reaching almost 17,000 people by 1970. As of the 2010 census, Newtown had a total of 27,560 people--a more than tenfold increase in 80 years.
This growth spurt far outpaced the rest of the state. Connecticut as a whole grew from 1.6 million people in 1930 to a little over 3.5 million in 2010, roughly doubling in size during Newtown’s 10x growth spurt. Fairfield County grew only slightly faster than the rest of the State, growing from just under 400,000 to slightly over 900,000 during that same period.
Even as Newtown’s White population was exploding, so was the Black population of Fairfield county. The 1930 census lists 8,100 Black residents in Fairfield County. By 1990, that number had risen to 81,519--a more than tenfold increase in just sixty years. As Blacks migrated north and moved into the urban centers of Bridgeport, Danbury, and Stamford, the White population moved out for places like Newtown. This pattern of White flight prevailed across much of Connecticut. Meanwhile, the Black population in Newtown crept only slowly upward. By 1990, the Black population in Newtown had reached 206 people--still less than one percent of the town’s population.
The largest increase in Newtown’s Black population came in the 1990s. The census includes incarcerated people in the population figures for the towns in which they are located. The opening of Garner Correctional Institution in November of 1992 significantly increased Newtown’s Black population. As a result, the census data for the year 2000 lists the Black population at an all-time high of 478. It is a sad commentary that throughout its history, the two largest contributing factors to the growth of the Black population in Newtown have been slavery and mass incarceration.
Why is it that even as tens of thousands of Blacks moved into Connecticut during the Twentieth Century, so few of them settled in Newtown? As of 2019, Connecticut was roughly 66 percent White, 12 percent Black, and almost 17 percent Hispanic or Latino. Why then is Newtown 92 percent White? What are the factors that led to this disparity in the past? And how might they influence Newtown’s population growth in the future? We hope to investigate, understand, and illustrate these factors through our continuing work on this project.
Native Americans, who had lived in the area for centuries prior to colonial settlement, were not listed in the census at all. The early censuses explicitly excluded “Indians not taxed” and, if there were any Native Americans living as residents of the town, the census makes no mention of them. They had seemingly become irrelevant in the land which had been theirs at the beginning of the century.
Over the course of the next 30 years, manumission changed the composition of the free and Black populations in town. By 1820, four Black slaves remained, while the free Black population had risen to 110 people--most of them former slaves or their descendents. By 1830, there were no slaves left in Newtown and the free Black population reached a peak of 116 people. From this point on, as the descendants of local slaves died or moved away, the Black population in town declined, reaching a low of only 34 Black residents in 1940. After 1830 and the end of slavery, nearly 150 years would pass before Newtown’s Black population again reached into triple digits.
Newtown’s overall population also waxed and waned during this time, hovering between 3,000 and 4,000 people from 1830 to 1930. After hitting a low point of 2635 people in 1930, the town began nearly a century of rapid growth. By 1950 it had more than doubled in size. Twenty years later it had doubled again, reaching almost 17,000 people by 1970. As of the 2010 census, Newtown had a total of 27,560 people--a more than tenfold increase in 80 years.
This growth spurt far outpaced the rest of the state. Connecticut as a whole grew from 1.6 million people in 1930 to a little over 3.5 million in 2010, roughly doubling in size during Newtown’s 10x growth spurt. Fairfield County grew only slightly faster than the rest of the State, growing from just under 400,000 to slightly over 900,000 during that same period.
Even as Newtown’s White population was exploding, so was the Black population of Fairfield county. The 1930 census lists 8,100 Black residents in Fairfield County. By 1990, that number had risen to 81,519--a more than tenfold increase in just sixty years. As Blacks migrated north and moved into the urban centers of Bridgeport, Danbury, and Stamford, the White population moved out for places like Newtown. This pattern of White flight prevailed across much of Connecticut. Meanwhile, the Black population in Newtown crept only slowly upward. By 1990, the Black population in Newtown had reached 206 people--still less than one percent of the town’s population.
The largest increase in Newtown’s Black population came in the 1990s. The census includes incarcerated people in the population figures for the towns in which they are located. The opening of Garner Correctional Institution in November of 1992 significantly increased Newtown’s Black population. As a result, the census data for the year 2000 lists the Black population at an all-time high of 478. It is a sad commentary that throughout its history, the two largest contributing factors to the growth of the Black population in Newtown have been slavery and mass incarceration.
Why is it that even as tens of thousands of Blacks moved into Connecticut during the Twentieth Century, so few of them settled in Newtown? As of 2019, Connecticut was roughly 66 percent White, 12 percent Black, and almost 17 percent Hispanic or Latino. Why then is Newtown 92 percent White? What are the factors that led to this disparity in the past? And how might they influence Newtown’s population growth in the future? We hope to investigate, understand, and illustrate these factors through our continuing work on this project.