Classic small-town Connecticut living
The small town of Colchester, in New London County, was settled as a farming community in the late 1600s. By the late 1700s, it was fully industrialized, with tanneries, mills, creameries and canneries. Modern Colchester is more of a commuter community, with residents heading to Hartford and New London for work at big employers like Aetna and General Dynamics Electric Boat. “It’s a great middle location for families with one spouse working in one town and the other spouse working in another,” says Joyce Covone, a Berkshire Hathaway Realtor with over 30 years of experience. But the close-knit, small-town New England atmosphere is really the draw. “We have a town green with a gazebo where there’s always something going on. It’s a great, busy place to live,” Covone says.
A wide price range for single-family homes
Housing runs the gamut from modest manufactured homes in age-restricted communities like Colchester Commons to large New Traditionals in subdivisions like North Pond. Classic ranch-style homes, raised ranch-style homes, split-levels, Colonial Revivals and Cape Cods are also common. Prices start under $100,000 and quickly rise to nearly $900,000. Custom-built estates with hundreds of acres of land, while rare, can sell for more than $1 million. Connecticut’s snow season is typically between November and April, but residents can expect the bulk of snow to fall in January and February.
Highly rated Colchester Public Schools
The Colchester Public Schools district, which gets a B from Niche, serves over 2,000 students with an 11-to-1 student-teacher ratio. The district comprises five schools, including B-minus-rated Colchester Elementary, B-plus-rated Jack Jackter Intermediate, A-minus-rated William J. Johnston Middle and B-plus-rated Bacon Academy, the high school. East of the River Transition Academy is an alternative school for students between the ages of 18 and 22; it does not have a Niche score. Bacon Academy offers dual enrollment and early college credit programs in partnership with the University of Connecticut, Eastern Connecticut State University and Connecticut State Community College.
Events on Colchester Town Green and outdoor recreation nearby
The Colchester Town Green, between Main Street and Hayward Avenue, hosts various events on the grass around the gazebo. “They do tech sales on the green, there’s a farmer’s market every Sunday with local vendors, and once a month in the summer, they do a classic car show,” Covone says. It also hosts Colchester’s summer concert series and seasonal celebrations, including the annual Christmas tree lighting and the annual Pumpkins & Pooches fall festival and dog show. Chanticlair Golf Course, a public, nine-hole course, and the adjacent Colchester Golf Range are on the north side of town, near the Colchester Recreation Complex. The big park, known locally as the RecPlex, has ballfields, tennis courts and a splash pad. Day Pond State Park and Salmon River State Forest, to the west, offer fishing, swimming, hiking and picnicking.
Historic downtown Colchester has locally owned retailers, restaurants
Colchester’s town center is full of auto parts stores, banks, doctors’ offices and other small businesses. “The only chain store is Stop & Shop. We have no Walmart, no Kohl’s, nothing like that. Most everything is independently owned,” Covone says. There’s Colchester Mill Fabrics & Quilting, a second-generation, family-owned quilt shop, and locally owned clothing boutiques, like Thread & Nail and Boutique at 56. Folklore & Fable Booksellers is an independent, woman-owned bookstore next to the Cragin Memorial Library. Noel’s Market is an independent grocery store near Big Gary’s Colchester Wine & Spirits. “We have plenty of package stores. And there are a lot of restaurants, ranging from Italian to diner style to Chinese,” Covone says. For ribs, she recommends Oz ‘n Bones BBQ.
Hartford and coastal Connecticut under 30 miles away
State Road 2 runs northwest to Hartford, about 25 miles away, and southeast to Norwich, less than 20 miles away. Hartford Hospital, on the south side of the capital city, is about 30 miles from most homes. The drive typically takes 30 minutes without traffic. Popular coastal vacation towns, like Niantic and New London, are just over 20 miles south. Ferry service is available from New London to Fishers and Block islands. The Hamptons, in New York, are about 90 miles away, or a three-hour trip via State Road 2, Interstate 395 and the Cross Sound Ferry.
