In 1720 a party of eight men, originally from England, bought 16,000 acres of the region and called it Wellington. Willington was incorporated in May 1727. Willington became a part of Tolland County when it was formed from portions of eastern Hartford County and western Windham County on 13 October 1785. The town was well adapted for grazing and lumbering. After a century of farming, the town gradually expanded commercially and industrially. The circa 1815 Daniel Glazier Tavern includes an upstairs ballroom that was used for almost thirty years as a town meetinghouse in cold weather. By 1845 Willington included a thread mill, a cotton mill, three silk factories, a scythe factory, four comb factories, button mills, a glassworks producing demijohns and flasks of various designs.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of, of which of it is land and of it is water.
Notable people
Roger Wolcott, 28th Governor of the Connecticut Colony, one of the town's founders.
Jared Sparks, historian, Unitarian minister and President of Harvard University. A street named in his honor extends from the town green to Moose Meadow Road.
Justus Vinton, a Baptist missionary to Myanmar, was born in town.
Elias Loomis, a mathematician and astronomer, was born in town.
Philip Corbin, a businessman and founder of P&F Corbin Company, was born in town.
Jeremiah Chaplin,, a Reformed Baptist theologian who preached in town.
William L. Higgins,, a US Congressman and doctor who practiced medicine in town.
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,959 people, 2,353 households, and 1,437 families residing in the town. The population density was 179.1 people per square mile. There were 2,429 housing units at an average density of 73.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the town was 94.06% White, 0.97% African American, 0.12% Native American, 3.02% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.62% from other races, and 1.12% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.81% of the population. There were 2,423 households, of which 24.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.3% were married couples living together, 11.2% were single householders with no spouse present, and 39.5% were non-families. 21.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 5.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out with 20.4% under the age of 20, 16.9% from 20 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 30.7% from 45 to 64, and 4.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38.3 years. The median income for a household in the town was $51,690, and the median income for a family was $70,684. Males had a median income of $41,250 versus $36,310 for females. The per capita income for the town was $27,062. About 2.9% of families and 13.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.0% of those under age 18 and 3.1% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Elementary and middle school-aged residents attend schools in the Willington School District. All residents are zoned to:
High school-aged residents attend E. O. Smith High School of the Regional School District 19. Prior to the community's affiliation with Regional School District 19, Willington offered its high school-aged students a choice attending one of the two institutions. Numbers varied from year to year, having the undesired effect of breaking up classes and bussing them distances of up to 15 miles. The two available choices as of 2018 are:
Willington was featured on the Fox science fiction show Fringe in Season 5, Episode 9. Willington was the start of serial killer/kidnapper Peter Manfredonia’s multi-state crime spree where he murdered a resident, injured another and took a third resident hostage in his home.
