Wolcott ( ) is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It is primarily residential, with a population of 16,142 as of the 2020 United States Census. The town was settled in the 1730s by English settlers of the Connecticut Colony and was known as Farmingbury. It was renamed as Wolcott after being incorporated in 1796, following the United States' gaining independence. Some early records spell it as Wolcutt. History The early towns of Waterbury and Farmington occupied a great deal of west-central Connecticut in the Naugatuck River Valley and Farmington River Valley at the end of the 17th century. At that time, the borderlands between these two towns were known as Farmingbury, a term derived from the two town names. People were living within the Farmingbury territory as early as the 1730s, but they possessed no official identity apart from the parent towns of either Waterbury or Farmington. By 1770, the residents of Farmingbury successfully petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly to create the First Ecclesiastical Society of Farmingbury. Having established an independent parish, Farmingbury gained some religious, legal, and financial independence from Waterbury and Farmington. However, the political boundaries of the region remained unchanged for more than two decades afterward. During that time, the Farmingbury parish was largely self-sufficient, as it was in a fairly remote location. It was still officially considered to be part of the towns of Waterbury in the west and Farmington in the east. Thus, the parish society had to deal with several matters that would ordinarily have been municipal duties, such as managing taxes and local education. Farmingbury petitioned the Connecticut General Assembly in 1796, requesting that it be incorporated as an independent town, distinct from Waterbury and Farmington. Assembly votes were tied, with half in favor and half against the proposal. After the tie-breaking vote in favor of Farmingbury was cast by Lieutenant Governor Oliver Wolcott, the lands of Farmingbury were officially ceded by Waterbury and Farmington to the new town. In honor of the Lieutenant Governor's deciding vote, the residents of Farmingbury renamed their newly incorporated town as "Wolcott". The 1800 United States Census was the first census conducted after Wolcott's incorporation; it counted 948 individuals living within the town. 1962 tornado On May 24, 1962, the town was heavily damaged by a high-end F3 tornado. Numerous buildings, homes, businesses, and vehicles were damaged or destroyed, trees were blown down,