Willimantic, Connecticut

Willimantic, Connecticut
Downtown District
The Willimantic Footbridge
A railroad yard in Willimantic
The former Armory
The Windham Town Hall in Willimantic
The old stone mills in the area
From top to bottom, left to right: The view of the center of Willimantic from Route 66, the Willimantic Footbridge, a well known bridge, a railroad yard, the Willimantic Armory, the Windham Town Hall, and the American Thread Company's former mill
Official seal of Willimantic, Connecticut
Nickname(s): 
Thread City, Frog City
Willimantic's location within Windham County and Connecticut
Map
Map
Map
Coordinates: 41°43′N 72°13′W / 41.717°N 72.217°W / 41.717; -72.217
Country United States
U.S. state Connecticut
CountyWindham
RegionSoutheastern CT
Named forWillimantic River
Government
 • MayorThomas DeVivo (D)
 • Town ManagerJames Rivers
Area
 • Census-designated place4.5 sq mi (11.6 km2)
 • Land4.4 sq mi (11.4 km2)
 • Water0.1 sq mi (0.3 km2)
Population
 (2020)
 • Census-designated place18,149
 • Estimate 
(2021)[1]
18,150
 • Density4,120/sq mi (1,592/km2)
 • Urban29,669
Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code
06226[3]
Area code(s)860/959
AirportWindham Airport
Major highways
WebsiteOfficial website
[4][5][6]

Willimantic is a census-designated place located in Windham, Connecticut, United States. Previously organized as a city and later as a borough, Willimantic is currently one of two tax districts within the Town of Windham. Willimantic is located within Windham County and the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. Known as "Thread City" for the American Thread Company's mills along the Willimantic River, it was a center of the textile industry in the 19th century. Originally incorporated as a city in 1893, it entered a period of decline after the Second World War, culminating in the mill's closure and the city's reabsorption into the town of Windham in the 1980s.

Willimantic was populated by a series of ethnic groups migrating to the city to find work at the mills, originally Western European and French Canadian immigrants, later Eastern Europeans and Puerto Ricans.[7] Architecturally, it is known for its collection of Victorian-era houses and other buildings in the hill section, the Romanesque Revival town hall and several crossings of the Willimantic River, including the Willimantic Footbridge and the "Frog Bridge". It is home to Eastern Connecticut State University and the Windham Textile and History Museum. As of 2020, Willimantic had a population of 18,149 people.[8]

  1. ^ "Explore Census Data". data.census.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-15.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference UrbanArea was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ "Willimantic ZIP Code". zipdatamaps.com. 2023. Retrieved January 12, 2023.
  4. ^ "Mayor and Town Manager". Town of Windham, Connecticut. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  5. ^ "Town Council". Town of Windham, Connecticut. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  6. ^ Firestone, Michelle (2017-11-08). "Funderburk is victor in Windham". The Chronicle. Retrieved 2018-06-19.
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference MillsAndMigrants was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "Community Facts - Willimantic CDP, Connecticut". American FactFinder. United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on 2020-02-14. Retrieved 2018-06-05.