Madison,Guilford & Branford, Connecticut Shoreline Real Estate

Article

Tracey Kersteen is your CT Shoreline Real Estate Connection!

Madison CT

Madison is a town in the southeastern corner of New Haven County, Connecticut, and it occupies a central location on the Connecticut Shoreline area. The population was 18,812 at the 2000 census.

Welcome to Madison

Madison is a unique town graced by the sound to the south and by farms and woodlands to the north. Its ambiance includes a little something for every taste.

The Main Street area sports an award-winning, user-friendly book store, a cinema, quaint sandwich and sweet shops, linen appointed restaurants, and a growing number of clothing and gift boutiques. In addition, the town green hosts a variety of summer art and craft fairs, antique shows, musical and dramatic performances.

Guests can choose a charming beach hotel or a warm country inn, each with proximity to historical homes, antique shops, hiking, biking, fishing and, of course, beautiful beaches.

Year-round residents boast of a superior school system, an expansive recreational program and many opportunities to volunteer their service. Madison is, indeed the perfect combination of small-town closeness and urban sophistication. It is a wonderful place to live, no less a must to visit.

General Description

The Town was first settled in 1641 as part of Guilford. It was organized as a separate community in 1707 and incorporated in 1826. The Town was the one hundred twenty-eighth town established in Connecticut. The Town encompasses approximately 36.3 square miles within New Haven County, approximately 15 miles east of New Haven and 35 miles south of Hartford. Interstate 95 and state highways 80 and 1 (Boston Post Road) intersect the Town for east and west transportation access, while state highway 79 provides north-south access. Today Madison is bounded on the east by Clinton; on the north by Durham; on the south by Long Island Sound; and on the west by Guilford. The Town is primarily a suburban, residential community with single-family homes.

Since the 1860's the Town has maintained a large summer resident community attracted to the Town's beaches and Long Island Sound. Most year-round residents are in the executive, professional, technical, and managerial categories, with employment in Hartford, New Haven, Fairfield County and New York. The 1990 U. S. Census figure was published at 15,485 persons. Bus, air and rail service are available from the New Haven, Hartford, Providence, Rhode Island and New York area facilities. The Town has a railroad stop near the central business district provided by Shore Line East, a State of Connecticut Department of Transportation Commuter Railroad that provides commuter service between New London and New Haven during rush hours. Other Metro-North and Amtrak connections are available from the New Haven Union Station.

Located within Town are two state parks, the Cockaponset State Forest in the northern portion of Town, and the Hammonasset State Park and Beach located on the southeastern edge of Madison. The Hammonasset Park consists of 930 acres and 558 campsites provide concessions, bathhouses, a pavilion and picnic areas. Parking for 7,000 vehicles is available for bathers and campers alike, with overall park capacity rated to serve 16,000 people. The Park also provides a fishing jetty for surf and boat fishing.

Aside from the state parks, the Town has provided for 3 parks, including the Surf Club Beach area, a 45-acre beach/recreation facility owned by the Town that provides beaches, ball fields, football and soccer fields. In addition to the clean beach with lifeguards, there are restrooms, showers, a snack shack, shaded picnic area, play ground and club house. There is also the Madison Beach Club and a private country club.

The town green is the heart of Madison, hosting a variety of summer art and craft fairs, antique shows, and musical performances, including the Fourth of July concert. The streets downtown are rarely empty (especially in the summer) as you will find residents and visitors window shopping, catching a movie at Madison Art Cinema, stopping at the coffee shops, clothing stores, wine shops, the free library, R.J. Julia’s Book Store an much more.

The Town utilizes an adopted Plan of Development to maintain its rural and seashore character of Town. Under the Town Charter, the Planning and Zoning Commission is responsible for approval of all projects. Current zoning regulations were adopted on April 10, 1953, with various revisions being adopted since that time. The Town is completely zoned with approximately 80% of the land zoned residential, with one to two acre lots. The balance of the Town is zoned commercial or light industrial. The areas zoned for one acre can include apartment or condominium units. As part of the Town Plan of Development, open space and preservation of the seashore and rural character of the Town are major goals.

The Town provides educational opportunity with public schools grades K-12. In addition, within Town there are two private schools grades K-8 and one private school K-12, along with eight different pre-school programs. Colleges and Universities a short distance from Town include Middlesex Community College and Wesleyan University, both in Middletown, approximately 20 miles north of Madison. To the west is Albertus Magnus College, South Central Community College, Southern Connecticut State University, The University of New Haven, Gateway Community College, and Yale University, all located in the Greater New Haven area. For more information on the Madison Public Schools, visit www.madison.k12.ct.us.