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is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States, located on Long Island Sound at the mouth of the Housatonic River. It was founded by Puritans in 1639.
The population was 49,976 at the 2000 census. It has a historical legacy in aviation, the military, and the theater. In 1942, Igor Sikorsky developed and produced the first successful single-rotor helicopter in Stratford. The town was also the home of the Stratford Army Engine Plant from 1939 to 1998.
Stratford was once home to the renowned American Shakespeare Festival, which was housed, until its closure, at its 1,100 seat Stratford Festival Theatre on the Housatonic River. Other Stratford features include Sikorsky Memorial Airport and the Great Meadows Unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge, which borders the airport. Today, Stratford has two Superfund sites as designated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Stratford is bordered on the west by Bridgeport, on the north by Trumbull, and Shelton, and on the east by Milford, (across the Housatonic).