New Haven, Connecticut

History

Pre-Colonial and Colonial History

Before European arrival, New Haven was the home of the Quinnipiack tribe of Native Americans, who lived in villages around the harbor and subsisted off of local fisheries and the farming of maize. The area was briefly visited by Dutch explorer Adriaen Block in 1614. Dutch traders set up a small trading system of beaver pelts with the local inhabitants, but trade was sporadic and the Dutch did not settle permanently in what would become New Haven.

Related Topics:
Quinnipiack - Native Americans - Harbor - Maize - Adriaen Block

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In April 1638, five-hundred Puritans who left the Massachusetts Bay Colony under the leadership of Reverend John Davenport and the London merchant Theophilus Eaton sailed into the harbor. These settlers were hoping to establish a more perfect theological community than the one they left in Massachusetts and sought to take advantage of the excellent port capabilities of the harbor (which is actually a fjord). The Quinnipiacks, who were under attack by neighboring Pequots, agreed to sell their land to the settlers in return for protection from hostile tribes.

Related Topics:
Puritan - Massachusetts Bay Colony - John Davenport - London - Theophilus Eaton - Massachusetts - Fjord - Pequot

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

By 1640, the town's theocratic government and city grid plan were in place, and the town was renamed Newhaven from Quinnipiac. The new settlement soon became the headquarters of the New Haven Colony, which at that time was separate from the Connecticut Colony which had been established to the north focusing on Hartford. (see ) Economic disaster struck the colony in 1646, however, when the town sent its first fully-loaded ship of local goods back to England. This ship never reached the Old World, and its disappearance stymied New Haven's development in the face of the rising trade power of Boston and New Amsterdam.

Related Topics:
1640 - New Haven Colony - Connecticut Colony - Hartford - 1646 - Boston - New Amsterdam

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

In 1661, the judges who had signed the death warrant of Charles I of England were pursued by Charles II. Two judges, Colonel Edward Whalley and Colonel William Goffe, fled to New Haven to seek refuge from the king's forces. John Davenport arranged for these "Regicides" to hide in the West Rock hills northwest of the town. A third judge, John Dixwell, joined the other regicides at a later time.

Related Topics:
1661 - Charles I of England - Charles II - Edward Whalley - William Goffe - Regicides - West Rock - John Dixwell

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New Haven became part of the Connecticut Colony in 1664, when the two colonies were merged under political pressure from England. It was made co-capital of Connecticut in 1701, a status it retained until 1873. At this time, New Haven was a largely agricultural town, but in 1716, Yale University relocated from Old Saybrook to New Haven and established the early city as a center of learning.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the American Revolution, New Haven was a town of approximately 3,500 citizens and was a major hotbed of revolutionary activity -- so much so that the British invaded the town during the course of the war; however, the British forces did not torch New Haven as they had done with many other coastal New England towns they seized, leaving many of its colonial features preserved.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

For over a century, New Haven had fought alongside the British in the French and Indian War, and many influential residents, such as General David Wooster, hoped that the conflict with Britain could be resolved short of rebellion. On April 23, 1775 (still celebrated in New Haven as Powder House Day) however, the Second Company, Governor's Foot Guard, of New Haven entered the struggle against the British when, under Captain Benedict Arnold, they broke into the powder house to arm themselves and began a three day march to Cambridge, Massachusetts. Other New Haven militia members were on hand to escort George Washington from his overnight stay in New Haven on his way to Cambridge. Contemporary reports, from both sides, remark on the New Haven volunteers' professional military bearing, including uniforms.

Related Topics:
French and Indian War - David Wooster - April 23 - 1775 - Powder House Day - Governor's Foot Guard - Benedict Arnold - Cambridge, Massachusetts - George Washington

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Post-colonial History

New Haven was incorporated as a city in 1784, and Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Constitution and author of the "Connecticut Compromise", became the new city's first mayor.

Related Topics:
1784 - Roger Sherman - Connecticut Compromise

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The city struck fortune in the late 18th-century with the inventions and industrial activity of Eli Whitney, a Yale graduate who remained in New Haven to develop the cotton gin and also establish a gun-manufacturing factory in the northern part of the city near the Hamden border. That area of Hamden is still known as Whitneyville, and the main road through both cities is known as Whitney Avenue. The factory is now a museum, with particular emphasis on activities for children, as well as a substantial collection of exhibits pertaining to the A. C. Gilbert Company. Whitney pioneered the concept of industrial mass-production instead of painstaking hand-shaping of individual pieces, no two of which would be interchangeable. Adoption of his methods made early Connecticut a powerful manufacturing economy; so many arms manufacturers sprung up that Connecticut became known as 'The Arsenal of America'. It was in Whitney's gun-manufacturing plant that Samuel Colt first invented the automatic revolver in 1836.

Related Topics:
Eli Whitney - Cotton gin - Hamden - Whitneyville - A. C. Gilbert Company - Samuel Colt - Automatic revolver

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

New Haven was home to one of the important early events in the burgeoning anti-slavery movement when, in 1839, the trial of mutineering Mendi tribesmen being transported as slaves on the Spanish slaveship Amistad was held in New Haven's United States District Court.

Related Topics:
1839 - Mendi - Amistad

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

During the Civil War, the city received another economic boost as demand for industrial goods increased nationally. New Haven's population doubled in the time between the war and the start of the 20th century, most notably due to the influx of immigrants from southern Europe, particularly Italy.

Related Topics:
Civil War - Europe - Italy

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Modern History

New Haven's growth continued during the two world wars, however most inward immigration during those years was of African-Americans from the South and Puerto Ricans as opposed to foreigners. The city reached its peak size during World War II, and in many cases it can be argued that it was already in decline when the post-war process of suburbanization began in earnest.

Related Topics:
African-Americans - World War II

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

As early as 1954, New Haven was already suffering from an exodus of middle-class workers and the chronic development of "slums". Then mayor Richard Lee attempted to stem the tide by engaging in one of the earliest major urban renewal projects in the United States. Large sections of downtown New Haven were destroyed and rebuilt with new office towers, a hotel, and large shopping complexes. Other parts of the city were affected by the construction of Interstate 95 along the Long Wharf section and Interstate 91. In some cases, the destruction leftover from a planned semi-beltway around and through the city remains incomplete to this day in the form of open fields in the midst of older neighborhoods.

Related Topics:
Urban renewal - Interstate 95 - Interstate 91

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

From the 1960s through the early 1990s, New Haven continued to decline both economically and in terms of total population despite many attempts to resurrect the city through renewal projects. During this period, the city and Yale were engaged in ongoing disputes over taxation and land use.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

At present, New Haven has stabilized. The city has engaged in efforts to attract and encourage biomedical and pharmaceutical research facilities to locate in-town, and some have done so to take advantage of the city's connections with Yale. Downtown New Haven is revitalizing itself as a center of shopping, and Crown Street and Chapel Street are becoming centers of regional nightlife and a burgeoning bar scene. The university, and other local schools, also continue to draw in many young people from around the world. Ongoing problems persist, however, with poverty, the spread of AIDS, and decaying primary education facilities and transportation infrastructure remaining as chronic problems for the city. In this respect, New Haven shares similar aspects with many of New England's post-industrial urban centers.

Related Topics:
Downtown New Haven - Crown Street - Chapel Street - AIDS

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~