[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 15988]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING THE TOWN OF STRATFORD, CONNECTICUT AS THEY CELEBRATE THEIR 
                           375TH ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 18, 2014

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it gives me great pleasure to rise today to 
join the community of Stratford, Connecticut as they mark the 375th 
Anniversary of the town's founding--a remarkable milestone for this 
wonderful shoreline community. Founded in 1639, Stratford is a 
community rich in history and natural beauty. Situated on Long Island 
Sound, and bounded to the east by the Housatonic River, Stratford is 
home to some 51,000 residents.
  The community's colonial history traces to when William Judson, 
perhaps with a small party ventured into newly opened lands to scout 
for a new location for Reverend Adam Blackman's congregation. In 1639, 
a group of about seventeen families set out from Wethersfield, 
Connecticut, making their way down the Housatonic River to an inlet 
later named Mac's Harbor. They built their meeting house, the earliest 
Congregational Church and temporary sod houses. This new place was 
called Cupheag, an Indian word meaning ``a place enclosed or 
sheltered.'' According to town records, Cupheag was first called 
Stratford in April of 1643 and though there is little historical data 
to determine the exact origin of the name, it is traditionally assumed 
that Stratford was so named after the great playwright, William 
Shakespeare's own town of Stratford-upon-Avon.
  Like so many New England communities, Stratford is home to a number 
of historical properties. Boothe Memorial Park & Museum sits on 32 
acres by the Housatonic River, which was the estate of the Boothe 
family for many generations and willed to the town in 1949 for the 
public to enjoy. The museum maintains a collection of buildings 
including a carriage house, Americana Museum, miniature lighthouse and 
windmill, a clocktower museum, a trolley station, a chapel and a 
blacksmith shop. The original Sikorsky Bridge toll booth from the 
Merritt Parkway is also located on the museum grounds. The Judson 
House, built circa 1750 by Captain David Judson on the site of his 
great-grandfather's 1639 stone house, is a fine example of Georgian 
architecture with its impressive broken scroll pediment entry. It is 
furnished with period pieces of Stratford origin. The beautiful paneled 
``west roome'' contains an early piano which belonged to William Samuel 
Johnson, framer of the U.S. Constitution, and the second president of 
Columbia University.
  Stratford takes great pride in its heritage--from its first settlers 
to the brave immigrants who followed in later years. It is one of the 
few communities in the entire nation to own its own forest, the 
Roosevelt Forest, and it proudly keeps watch over the magnificent 
``Great Meadows''--the last great salt marsh left in New England. It is 
also home to the soon to be renovated, Shakespeare Theater which was 
once home to the American Shakespeare Theater Company. Stratford became 
the birthplace of the American helicopter industry, when in 1939, 
Russian immigrant Igor Sikorsky, successfully flew the first helicopter 
at his Stratford-based aircraft plant. More than a half-century later, 
Sikorsky Aircraft is the world's leading helicopter manufacturer, 
designing and producing state-of-the art helicopters for both military 
and commercial applications at its sprawling manufacturing facility on 
town's north side.
  It has been an honor for me to serve as Stratford's U.S. 
Representative these last twenty-four years and I am proud to have this 
opportunity to extend my heartfelt congratulations to every member of 
this special community as they celebrate their 375th Anniversary.

                          ____________________