West Hartford Connecticut

Flourishing for 150 years, 1854-2004 

The Town of West Hartford is rich in history and new beginnings. West Hartford recognized its sesquicentennial milestone with special events throughout the month of May and into June. West Hartford’s incorporation date is May 3, 1854. The celebration began on May 1 with a parade and ended with fireworks on June 5. In between, thousands of people took part in the Day of Living History, historic district tours, an ice cream social, a garden tour, dance parties, church fairs, concerts and the compilation of a time capsule that will be unearthed in 2054. 
Our town’s history was captured in several ways this year. Prominent individuals were featured in oral history projects conducted by the Noah Webster House and Conard High School students. The Historic District Commission captured the diverse architecture of its three historic districts, West Hill Drive, Boulevard-Raymond Road and Buena Vista, with beautiful brochures that served as the basis of a self-guided tour of the neighborhoods. The Day of Living History invited schools, churches and organizations to showcase their beginnings and milestones through exhibits and performances.

Quality Town Services

The Town of West Hartford prides itself on its overall attractiveness, customer service, citizen involvement, public safety and education, all characteristics that make our town a desirable place to live. West Hartford has become a destination place for new businesses and new families because it is a full-service community in every sense, from its quality municipal services to its top-rated schools.

The town's major retail centers are all experiencing enormous success in attracting new business ventures and garnering attention region-wide. Real estate is also selling at a record pace; making West Hartford a highly marketable town.

Since 1974, West Hartford has received the coveted AAA bond rating from Moody's Investor Service and Standard & Poor’s, signifying the town's strength of management and conservative financial practices.

Municipal Utilities

West Hartford property owners benefit from the highest level of municipal utilities in the area. Some of the services provided for the tax dollar include weekly curbside collection of refuse and recyclables. Seasonal curbside collection of leaves is provided in the fall, snow plowing in the winter and street sweeping in the spring. Rich leaf compost, the end product of the leaves collected, is offered in the spring to residents for their gardens and flowerbeds for a $60 delivery fee.

Sanitary sewer services are available to over 90% of the town. Each year the number of streets that have this service increases. The Metropolitan District also provides quality drinking water to West Hartford homes and a household hazardous waste collection in September.

Streetlights, a basic amenity not found in every town, are in all residential neighborhoods, providing a sense of safety with improved visibility in the evening. Each year the town invests in its infrastructure by repaving a portion of its 205 miles of streets and improving its culverts, bridges, storm drainage and 245 miles of sidewalks.

Communication

The Town of West Hartford continues to develop ways to provide easy access to reliable information 24-hours a day. With that in mind, four after-hour services, accessible by phone, computer and television, were created. They are the town's web site, the 24-hour automated telephone line, the information-on-demand channel, and the cable TV programming channel. 

West Hartford’s web site, (www.west-hartford.com), was ranked first in the state by Connecticut Policy & Economic Council for its overall usefulness to its citizens. In addition, the web site features two services in which subscribers can access property records from their desks and receive timely emails at home or work about residential services, community events, school notices and special business happenings. 

Two cable access channels, managed by the West Hartford Telecommunications Project, a partnership with the town, schools and community television station, bring information right into the home. Information On Demand (Comcast ch. 21) provides hundreds of town and school service topics from a scrolling menu. Viewers select topics from the cable channel menu by dialing 561-2942 and pushing in the 3-digit topic identifier on their touch-tone phones. Instantaneously the request appears on the TV screen. The other cable channel (Comcast ch. 22) is dedicated to government and education-produced programming and downlinked satellite programming. The town’s annual calendar also keeps residents informed year round. The free calendar is available the first week of December.

Public Safety

West Hartford provides superior public safety services to the community. The town has emergency services 24-hours a day with its full-time police and fire departments and contracted paramedic and ambulance services. The police department is complete with a bicycle squad, law enforcement teams, a canine unit, a Traffic Enforcement Division, Community Relations Division, and animal control officers. Police cruisers are equipped with laptop computers that dial into the National Crime Information Center by using cellular technology and a modem. The fire department has staff at five stations, an officer-training program, fire prevention classes and a fire inspection program. West Hartford is one of the few communities in the nation to have automatic electronic defibrillators carried on all fire companies and police district patrol cars. The defibrillators help save heart attack victims when seconds count.

Recreation and Cultural

West Hartford Leisure Services has hundreds of leisure-time activities for people of all abilities and ages, from infants to senior citizens. A seasonal catalog arrives in the mail containing fitness, educational and cultural programs. Residents can now conveniently register for classes and programs on-line. West Hartford is proud of its award-winning 18-hole golf course, its shorter 9-hole course, two indoor pools, four outdoor pools, a newly renovated ice skating rink, six public parks including an environmental demonstration farm, a community center, and two active senior centers. 

Both senior centers have computer labs equipped with the latest software and Internet access. There is also a 24-hour Leisure Line in which residents may call 523-3111 to hear the latest special events, weather cancellations, and facility offerings.

The West Hartford Summer Arts Festival puts on a performance each summer and the West Hartford Leisure Services holds five outdoor concerts rotating at each of the parks in July and August. West Hartford Public Schools has an award-winning arts, drama and musical program for the whole community to enjoy. West Hartford Continuing Education publishes seasonal catalogs of courses for all levels of learning.
Capturing the town's top destination points, West Hartford's Great Streets brochure contains 36 historic, arts, entertainment, shopping and dining spots. The brochure attracts out-of-towners to West Hartford's tourism areas. 

The three public libraries serve as community gathering places and provide print material, maps, audio and video sources, books on tape, educational games, and book discussions. An extensive collection of electronic reference sources, Internet capabilities, and on-line search tools are also found at the libraries. Renowned authors visit the libraries during National Library Week in April. The Teen Room at the main library has been successful in attracting youths with its teen books, magazines, games, music, and on-line resources. Because of all these services, Hennen’s American Public Library Ranking Index awarded the West Hartford Public Library first place in Connecticut among libraries serving populations of 50,000 to 99,999.

Click Here To View West Hartford Street Map.

A Sense of Community

The residents of West Hartford have a community spirit that includes helping less-fortunate neighbors, participating in town events, volunteering and celebrating life. Examples that typify this community spirit include:

• The Park Road Playhouse, a community-operated theater that features local volunteer actors and the Park Road Parade, held in the fall, captures the essence of the neighborhood.

• The Mayor’s Charity Ball, held each January, raises over $60,000 to benefit The Bridge Family Center and HopeWorks.

• CowParade West Hartford Center raised over $400,000 for 40 local charities through the proceeds of the sale of over 40 beautifully painted bovines. Thousands of people throughout the region visited West Hartford from September 3 to December 4, 2003.

• The Connecticut Veterans Memorial, a $1.2 million project, is close to reaching its fundraising goal because of its supportive community. The new Veterans Memorial pays tribute to all veterans and elevates community awareness of the wars and conflicts in which the United States has been involved.

• Celebrate! West Hartford, a two-day town fair in June, is complete with crafts, food, and rides. West Hartford Celebrates Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. draws hundreds of people to town hall to hear inspirational music and speeches.

• The Town That Cares program, funded with community dollars, food, and gift donations, helps more than 800 residents. During the 2003 holiday season, more than $20,000 was collected from the community.

• Volunteers can be found in every neighborhood in town helping to raise money for special causes, delivering meals to the elderly and tutoring schoolchildren.