purchased by the state of Connecticut in late 2008 to be incorporated into the adjacent Machimoodus State Park as a campground, and to protect "4,700 feet of additional frontage along the Salmon River". The village center, dubbed "Downtown Moodus", located formerly at the intersection of routes CT 151 and CT 149, was a popular destination for resort guests. However most of the village was razed after the citizens of East Haddam controversially voted in 1967 to accept urban renewal funding to build a new commercial district for Moodus a quarter mile east, along CT 149. East Haddam was one of the smallest towns in the United States to participate in the urban renewal program. Geography Moodus is in eastern Middlesex County, in the northwest part of the town of East Haddam. Connecticut Routes 149 and 151 pass through the village, Route 149 running northeast-southwest and Route 151 running northwest-south. Colchester is to the northeast, East Hampton is to the north-northwest, and the village of East Haddam is to the south, on the Connecticut River. According to the United States Census Bureau, the Moodus CDP has a total area of , of which , or 0.59%, are water. The CDP includes the village of Bashan and some neighborhoods next to Moodus Reservoir in the northeast. The area is subject to earthquakes, with an intensity VI quake occurring in 1568, and numerous quakes being recorded from 1638 onwards. The largest earthquake recorded for Connecticut was an intensity VII quake on May 16, 1791 near Moodus. Demographics As of the census of 2000, there were 1,263 people, 529 households, and 322 families residing in the CDP. The population density was . There were 592 housing units at an average density of . The racial composition of the CDP was 97.78% White, 0.40% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.79% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population. There were 529 households, out of which 31.8% had children younger than age 18 living with them, 43.7% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder without a husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were composed of individuals, and 14.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 3.05. In