Ground Water in the Norwalk, Suffield, and Glastonbury Areas, Connecticut

25 Feet. 18.5 27.8 22.5 18.9 18.6 10.1 "ii.'e' ii.fi Feet. 16.9 26.4 20.7 16.2 12.0 6.4 12.0 10.6 7.7 22.1 Feet. 1.6 1.4 1.8 2.7 1.6 3.7 Two-bucket rig. . .do 3 do 4 do do 5 do do 6 do Windlass rig and house pump. Nonfailing. 21 Slope Ridge Plain Slope Plain Do. 22 (a) 24 34 G. W. Harris... 1.0 3.9 Two-bucket rig. . ....do Nonfailing. For analysis see p. 114. Nonfailing. 37 25 i 23. 3 1.2 "Wiudlass rig Do. a Three attempts to make driven wells have been made on this bar. A little fresh water was obtained in each at 12 to 14 feet, but below this only salt water was found. WILTON. 117 M'rlls (1(1(1 ill ytratifi((l iliijt in ll'r.s7/)or/ — ('(iiitiimcd. No. on 11. II. MciTill (.'ault. John Barlow.. B.F.BuUdeyJr Westport Wa- tiT Co. do Topocruphic situation. Ploiio . riain. Slope . . . Terrace . Slope . . Plain.. do. Ele- vation above soa level. Fed. 25 10 25 depih. '" Feet. 21.9 8.5 11.7 25. G 13.1 11.0 11.0 Feet. 20.0 0.5 8.7 21.3 10.9 4.0 Depth of water ill well. Fret. 1.9 2.0 3.1) 1.3 2.2 7.0 liijr. Kt'iiiark Two-l)Uckct riR.' Nonfailiiij;. Two-bucktt rig . Windla.ss and couiiterba 1- ance ri-;. Chain puiii] Nonfuilinf,'. For aiiulvsi.s see p. 114." Xoiifailing. For assay seep. 114. N o n f a i 1 i n g . Never loss than 14 inches of water. Rock bottom. For assay see p. 114. Noiifailins;. For assay see p. 114. Nonf ailing. a The water from this well is quite potable, though slightly salty. Satisfactory supplies are obtained by wells S feet deep on the plain around this well. Deeper wells yield salty water. b Further information on these wells is given in the discussion of pulilic water supplies on p. 114-115 > Drilled ircll-s in ^\'e.stl)ort. . a Data from Gregory, H. E., and Ellis, E. E., Underground water resources of Connecticut: U. S. Geol, " I'aia iroin vrregorv, n. n.., anu r. Survey WatCT-Supply Paper 232, 1909. WILTON. AREA, POPULATIOX, AND INDUSTRIES. Wilton lies a little soutliwest of the center of Fairfield County, and on the west touches New* York State. Norwalk and Ridgefield lie respectively to the south and north. The area of the town is 28 s<}iiare miles. There are woods scattered over the town, but espe- cially along the west and north margins. They have an aggregate area of a little over 12 square miles or 45 per cent of the whole area of the town. The first settlement in Wilton was made from Norwalk about 1701, and in 1726 it had become large enough to be organized as Wilton Parish. In 1S02 the territory was incorporated as a separate town. Tlie population in 1910 Avas 1,700, an incrciise of 108 over the pre- \ ious census return. There are about 60 inhabitants to the square .118 GROUND WATER IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, COISTISr. mile. The following table shows the changes in population since 1810 : Foptilation of Wilton, 1810 to 1910." 1810 1820 1830 1S40 1850 1860 Popula- tion. 1,728 1,818 2.097 2; 053 2,06G 2, 20s Per cent change. + 15 -2 + 1 +7 1870 1880 1890 1900 1910 Popula- tion. 1,994 l,86i 1,722 1,598 1,706 Per cent cliange. a Connecticut Register and Manual, 1915, p. C5G. There was in general a fair growth until 1860, followed by a con- siderable diminution until 1900. The last decade has shown a slight increase. Since 1890 there have been fewer people in Wilton than there were in 1810. As in manj^ other portions of New England, the loss of population in the middle and later parts of the nineteenth century is to be ascribed to the greater attractions of other regions. Some of the emigrants went to the manufacturing towns near by, and others vrent to the richer and more easily tilled farming regions in the AYest. During the last decade a number of country" residences have been built in Wilton. With the development of good roads and of the automobile Wilton has become quite accessible, and its scenic value is being realized and developed. It is probable that this growth will continue for some time, but it seems improbable that there will be any large settlements in the near future. The principal settlements are Wilton and Cannondale on Norwalk Eiver: Parts of Georgetown and Branch ville spread over into Wilton. North Wilton and Bald Hill Street northwest of Wilton, and Hurl- butt Street to the east are small villages. The Norwalk and Danburj^ turnpike follows the valley of Norw^^lk River through Wilton. This 8-mile piece of road and a piece 5 miles long from Wilton through North Wilton and Bald Hill Street to the Eidgefield town line are State trunk-line roads. The town keeps in repair about 60 miles of dirt road. The Danbury branch of the New York, New Haven & Hartford Eailroad, which joins- the main line at South NorM-alk, also follows Norwalk River through the tow^n. It has stations at South Wilton, Wilton, Cannondale, Georgetown, and Branchville. There are post offices at Wilton, Cannondale, and Georgetown, and rural-delivery routes have been established over all the town. Agriculture is the principal industry. SURFACE FEATURES. The topography of Wilton is rugged and diveisificd. Between the valleys are ridges and elongated hills which trend north and south. In the northern part of the town the crests have elevations of 620 WILTON. 119 to 660 feet above sea level. Sepaiated from this lii^lilinid l.y a zone about 2 miles wide for wliich no <j;eiieral statemeiil of elevation ean be made is the southern part of (he town, in Avhich the liilhoi)s nin»e from 360 to 400 feet above sea level. The set of projected hill pi'o- files in fioure 16 shows how these two groups of hills have a steplike relation to eaeli other. The sections bear about north-northwest. Tliese hilltops are believed to be fragments of an old plnin or stepped yorvy^T^py^-i Vertical scale about Z'/z times the horizontal I'liirni: ic. — I'r.gciti'd uoith-souni profile acru.s.s WilldU showiu';- ti'iraced charaftci; of the plateau. plain which has been uplifted and had valleys cut in it. Xorwalk River is the master stream and has the deepest valley. A comparison of figure 17, which is an east-west profile across Wilton on the line B-B\ on the maps (Pis. II and III), with the composite north-south profile of figure 16 will bring out tliese points. The lowest point in AVilton is where Norwalk River crosses the south boundary at an ele- vation of 110 feet above sea level, and the greatest elevation. 700 feet, is near the west end of the north boundary. A strip of country 2 to 1 miles wide through the middle of the town is drained by NorAvalk River and its tributaries. On one tributary, betvreen Wilton and North Wilton, is the North -» b' Wilton reservoir of the South Xorwalk waterworks. The vcest margin of Wilton is in the drainage basin of Silver- mine River, and includes three of the reservoirs of the South Norwalk supply. The south part of the east border is drained by the West Branch of Saugatuck River. AVATER-P.EARING FOmrATIOXS. Gneiss and schist. — Four varieties of bedrock have been recognized in Wilton.^ The Becket granite gneiss, Avhich underlies a strip half a mile wide along the south boiuidary, is a schist into which have been injected many thin dikes and sheets of igneous rock, chiefly granitic. The injected material is so abundant that it gives the rock its dominant character. Vertical 5Cale about 2'/2 tiTiestiie horizon Fir,ri!E 17. — Pi-ofile across Wilton (section B-Ii' on Pis. II and III) showing dissec- tion of the terraced pin lean. ' Gregory, H. E., and Robinson, II. II., rreJiminary geological map of Connecticut : Connecticut Geo!, and Nat. Hist. Survey Bull. 7, 1907. 120 GROUND WATEE IN NORWALK AND OTHER AREAS, CONN. The Berkshire schist, Avhich underlies tiie valley of Norwalk River north of Hovey Hill, is a gray mica schist, composed essentially of quartz and mica. It has been extensively injected by granite intru- sions but not to the same degree as the Becket granite gneiss, which in places it closely resembles. The injected material has feldspar in addition to quartz and mica so that it is more massive than the lam- inated schists. There has been some development of red garnet and of staurolite in the limy parts of the schist. The bedrock of Hovey Hill and Sturgis Eidge is the Thomaston granite gneiss, as is also that of a strip a mile wide extending west from Chestnut Hill across Belden Hill to the west boundary and thence north to Ridgefield. This granite gneiss is a light-gray or pinkish-gray medium coarse grained rock, composed essentially of feldspar, quartz, and black mica — the minerals that characterize a granite. There are also small amounts of accessory minerals. Meta- morphism has produced gneissoid structure in the rock. Foliation planes, marked by concentration and parallel orientation of mica flakes, have been made. These foliation planes give the rock its banded appearance and its tendency to cleave along certain planes. Locally this rock is so strongly metamorphosed as to resemble the Becket gneiss. The middle part of the town, including Wilton, Comstock Knoll, Turner Ridge, North Wilton, and a strip northwest into Ridgefield is underlain by Danbury granodiorite. This rock is similar to the Thomaston granite gneiss except that the mica is in large part replaced by hornblende.