Bristol, city, coextensive with the town (township) of Bristol, Hartford county, central Connecticut, U.S., on the Pequabuck River. The area, part of Farmington or Tunxis Plantation, was settled in 1727 and became known as New Cambridge. Renamed for Bristol, England, it was organized as a town in 1785. Bristol borough (incorporated 1893) was chartered as a city and consolidated with the town in 1911. During the American Revolution Bristol was the centre of considerable Tory activity, and a cave on Chippens Hill was called the “Tory’s Den.” Bristol became known for clock making (begun 1790 by Gideon Roberts), and the American Clock and Watch Museum is located there. The city is also the home of the New England Carousel Museum, the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (ESPN), and Lake Compounce (opened 1846), the oldest continuously operated amusement park in the United States. Industries produce precision springs, ball bearings, and electronic products. Bristol includes Forestville, a manufacturing village. Pop. (2000) 60,062; (2010) 60,477.