Stratford Real Estate

The Town of Stratford population 40,000 and covering 17.6 square miles, is the birthplace and home of the late Igor Sikorsky, father of today’s modern helicopter industry. It’s also the hometown of the company he founded, Sikorsky Aircraft. Helicopters that are built by the Company, such as the one being used in the picture by the Coast Guard, are employed everyday to rescue people and animals the world over.  That is just one of the many tasks in which these aircraft play a major role. By the way, the U.S. Coast Guard Academy is located just a short car ride up I-95 to New London, CT.  Once there, you will be able to see the “Tall Ship Eagle” if it is not on a training mission with future Coast Guard officers aboard. 

Stratford is located in Fairfield County on the Long Island Sound and at the mouth of the Housatonic River, which also is the Town’s eastern boundary.  Other Town boundaries are Bridgeport on the west and Trumbull and Shelton on the north.  Just across from the Housatonic River is Milford, CT.  Stratford is traversed by I-95 and the Merritt Parkway, and is a little over an hour’s drive to New York City.  New Haven is less than a 30-minute drive on I-95. Rail service to and from Manhattan is provided by the MTA-Metro North Railroad with connections to Amtrak.  Sikorsky Memorial Airport, located in the Lordship section of Town, is a hub for corporate aircraft and small private planes.  Although it is located in Stratford, the Sikorsky Memorial Airport is owned by the City of Bridgeport.

As a coastal Town, Stratford has long viewed its waterfront as one of its important natural resources. The Town’s location on the Long Island Sound affords residents and visitors alike with public beaches, marinas, several fishing piers, and public boat-launching facilities.  The header of our website is a picture of the Stratford Point Lighthouse that overlooks the Sound and the Housatonic River.

Stratford boasts several other outstanding natural resources, including the 250-acre, Town-owned Roosevelt Forest, named after Franklin D. Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, and the Great Meadows Salt Marsh, one of the largest unditched salt marshes remaining in New England.  The Marsh is now a portion of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge and is a key bird migration stopover. Boothe Memorial Park, a municipally-owned park and museum, showcases an assortment of architecturally-unique structures, and a vast collection of American artifacts.  Speaking of Presidents, Gerald R. Ford, the 38th President of the United States, is a descendant of one of the families that originally settled in Stratford.

The Lordship section of the Town is a true treasure. The two primary attractions of the area are the beautiful seawall where you can fish, enjoy the small beach area, or just sit and gaze out at the Long Island Sound.  The other treasure is the 30-acre Short Beach Park, which is located at the confluence of the Sound and the Housatonic River. Here, you’ll find three picnic pavilions, a handicap accessible playground, basketball courts, tennis courts, volleyball courts, a skateboard park, a lighted softball field, a soccer field, two baseball fields, and a lacrosse field. There also is a wonderful beach in Short Beach Park that has a concession stand, restrooms, and lifeguards.  Short Beach Park is also home to the 9-hole, Par-3, Short Beach Golf Course.

There’s a variety of home styles to choose from in Stratford. There are the more established Colonial-style neighborhoods, which are within walking distance of shopping, parks, and transportation. Then, there are the more contemporary and spacious Colonials and Ranches, which are located in the Putney and Oronoque neighborhoods of Town. The waterfront community of Lordship contains Capes, Ranches and Colonials, while vintage Victorians and Colonials abound in the historic neighborhood surrounding the Stratford Shakespeare Festival Theater. Throughout the community, there are numerous Condominium developments, some with spectacular waterfront locations.

Oronoque Village, an age-55-and-over adult community, borders the Merritt Parkway. Many of the almost 1,000 homes in the Village border the challenging 18-hole, semi-private Oronoque Country Club, an Arnold Palmer golf managed course. Stratford is also home to Mill River Country Club, a private18-hole golf course.

The public school system in Stratford consists of nine elementary, two middle schools, and two high schools, Stratford High School and Frank Scott Bunnell High School. There are gifted and honors programs for students beginning at the elementary level and extending through the high school years. Two of the elementary schools, Stratford Academy Honeyspot House (Grades K – 2,) and Stratford Academy Johnson House (Grades 3 – 6,) form a magnet school (not a neighborhood school,) which is open to all elementary students residing in the Town,  Enrollment is available through an application process. The Town also has two parochial schools (Grades 2 - 12,) and a school for special education.  There are over 30 houses of worship in Stratford

The Housing Market.  If you are interested in living in Stratford, then you will want updated information on all homes listed on the Multiple Listing Service that meet your search criteria.  You also will want to stay current on the status of the housing market in Stratford with a report that answers the question, “How’s the market?”  This report is updated on a weekly basis.

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