Colchester, Connecticut

Colchester, Connecticut
Town
Town of Colchester historical marker
Seal
New London County and Connecticut  Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region and Connecticut
Show Colchester Show Connecticut Show the United States
Coordinates: 41°34′33.4″N 72°19′56.3″W / 41.575944°N 72.332306°W / 41.575944; -72.332306
Country	United States
U.S. state	Connecticut
County	New London
Region	Southeastern CT
Incorporated	1698 / 1699
Government
• Type	Selectman–town meeting
• First Selectman	Bernard Dennler
Area
• Total	49.8 sq mi (129.0 km2)
• Land	49.1 sq mi (127.1 km2)
• Water	0.7 sq mi (1.9 km2)
Elevation	551 ft (168 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	15,555
• Density	310/sq mi (120/km2)
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (Eastern)
ZIP Codes	06415, 06420
Area code(s)	860/959
FIPS code	09-15910
GNIS feature ID	0213409
Website	www.colchesterct.gov

Civil War monument on the Green (1875)

Colchester Federated Church

Old Bacon Academy

Cragin Memorial Library

Colchester is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The town is part of the Southeastern Connecticut Planning Region. The population was 15,555 at the 2020 census.^[1] In 2010 Colchester became the first town in Connecticut, and the 36th in the country, to be certified with the National Wildlife Federation as a Community Wildlife Habitat.

The villages of Westchester and North Westchester are located within Colchester. The town center village, which was previously incorporated as a borough, is a census-designated place, with a population of 4,700 at the 2020 census.^[2]

The Colchester area was part of the Mohegan territory at the time of European settlement. Several members of the Paugussett tribe currently reside in Colchester, where the tribe (which also has a heritage property in Trumbull) has a larger more recently acquired second 106-acre (0.43 km²) reservation.^[3]

The Colchester Historical Society operates a local history museum in town.