By Thane Grauel

WESTPORT — The Westport Weston Health District has turned the clock back almost four decades by renaming itself.

Effective Jan. 1, 2022, the multi-town agency will be known as the Aspetuck Health District.

The board voted to adopt the new-ish name 5-1 Monday night.

Vice Chair Catherine Revzon of Weston voted against it.

She said during the discussion she preferred Aspetuck Valley Health District, which was the exact name the agency had when created by Westport and Weston in 1965.

It was changed to the Westport Weston Health District in 1983 for easier identification.

“I don’t know if you want to keep ‘Valley’ in it,” Director of Health Mark Cooper said at the beginning of the discussion. “Aspetuck is just shorter and sweet.”

The topic has been discussed before, starting when Easton joined the health district in May, making the current moniker obsolete.

The board appeared mindful of the ongoing discussion nationwide about the use of Native American names, particularly for sports teams.

“It’s good because it’s historic. We’re just returning to our previous name,” said board member Peter Shaum of Westport.

“I don’t think we’re going to receive any controversy,” he said.

“It’s not a nickname, it’s not mocking,” said board member Ilisa Nussbaum of Weston.

“Aspetuck can be translated as ‘river originating in the high place’ in the Algonquin language,” said board member Linda Lewis Bruce of Westport.

“Who can protest that?” Shaum said.

The name Aspetuck is well-known name in the area. There is, of course, the Aspetuck River. It begins in the hills in Bethel and winds its way through Redding, Easton and Fairfield before feeding into the Saugatuck River in Westport.

There’s also a village and historic district named Aspetuck in Redding and Weston. 

Further north is the East Aspetuck River in Litchfield County, the Aspetuck Reservoir in Easton, and the Aspetuck Trail in Newtown, Easton and Redding.

An area country club and an orchard also use the name, as do several other entities.

According to a 2014 health district document, the Aspetuck Valley Health District, which then served Westport and Weston, was the first health district in the state when it was formed in November, 1965.

Next for the agency comes the business of notifying the state, and updating account names, letterhead, the website, and the like.