BRANFORD

town (township), New Haven county, south-central Connecticut, U.S. It lies on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Branford River. A southern suburb of New Haven, it includes the borough of Branford (incorporated 1893) and the villages of Pine Orchard, Stony Creek, Indian Neck, and Short Beach. The town was settled in 1639; its name, which it received in 1653, is a corruption of that of Brentford, Eng. In 1685 Branford was separated from New Haven. A saltworks in Branford was used to preserve meat for the American Revolutionary army. Several colonial buildings still stand. Branford's economy is based on tourism, its bays and beaches attracting many summer residents. Area 22 square miles (57 square km). Pop. (1990) 27,603; (1996 est.) 27,323.