STRATFORD

city, seat (1853) of Perth county, southeastern Ontario, Canada. It lies along the Avon River in the heart of dairy-farming country. The settlement was founded during the winter of 183132 by William Seargeant (or Sargint), who erected the Shakespeare Hotel near the Avon; both the river and the settlement were originally called Little Thames, but both had received their present names by 1835, probably at the insistence of William Dunlop of the Canada (development) Company, to honour the birthplace of William Shakespeare, at Stratford-upon-Avon in England. The city is best known as the site of the Stratford Festival, held each summer since 1953; the festival's theatrical performances, particularly of plays by Shakespeare, were originally directed by Tyrone Guthrie and are held in the Festival Theatre (built 1957), the Avon Theatre (acquired 1964), and Third Stage (established 1971). Lake Victoria, the centre of Stratford's park system, was created in the early 20th century by damming the Avon for one of the city's numerous mills (for lumber, grain, and woolens). Railway repair shops, engineering industries, and light manufacturing combine with the arts and tourism to form the city's economic base. Inc. village, 1853; town, 1858; city, 1885. Pop. (1991) 27,666. town, Taranaki local government region, west-central North Island, New Zealand, on the Patea River. Land was set aside in 1877 for the town, which was constituted five years later. Gazetted a borough in 1898, it was originally known as Stratford-on-Patea in honour of William Shakespeare. Many of the local streets bear names of characters from his plays. Stratford is situated on the New PlymouthWanganui highway and rail line and is a market for lambs and cattle from upland stations. It is also a tourist centre for the Mount Egmont area to the west, lies on the natural-gas pipeline from the Kapuni fields to Auckland, and has various light industries. Pop. (1990 est.) 10,050. urban town (township), Fairfield county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S., on Long Island Sound and the Housatonic River just east of Bridgeport. The original site was a Pequannock Indian tract called Cupheag (Harbour). European settlers arrived in 1639, and in 1643 their settlement was named for either Stratford-upon-Avon or Stratford-le-Bow, Eng. Confirmation of land titles and boundaries was granted by patent in 1685. Stratford has several pre-Revolutionary War houses, including the Captain David Judson House (built c. 1750) and Museum. Early economic activities were shipbuilding and oyster fishing. Diversified manufactures now include aircraft products, helicopters, industrial machinery, and machine tools. The American Shakespeare Theatre is located there. Area 18 square miles (46 square km). Pop. (1990) 49,389; (1996 est.) 49,096. (England): see Stratford-on-Avon; Stratford-upon-Avon.