from:
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/history/index.html
Click Here: <A HREF="http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/history/index.html">New
Haven Online!: History of New Haven</A>
-----
NATIVE AMERICANS AND THE PURITAN SETTLEMENT
Less than four centuries ago the area which is now New Haven was the home of
a small tribe of Native Americans, the Quinnipiack, who built their villages
around the harbor. They harvested seafood, hunted with bow and arrow for food
and furs and grew maize, the staple of their diet.
On April 24, 1638, a company of five-hundred English Puritans led by the
Reverend John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton, a wealthy London merchant,
sailed into the harbor. They soon discovered that the Quinnipiacks and other
local tribes were much distressed by raiding bands of Pequots and Mohawks
from surrounding areas. It was for this reason that Momauguin, the sachem of
the Quinnipiacks, and other tribe members agreed to sell the tribe's land to
the Puritans. In return, the settlers pledged to protect the natives and to
allow them the use of the lands on the east side of the harbor.
New Haven's founders not only hoped to create a Christian utopia, they also
saw in New Haven's spacious harbor an opportunity to establish a commercial
empire that would control Long Island Sound and possibly the coastline as far
south as Delaware Bay.
By 1640 a complete government had been established and the settlement,
originally called Quinnipiac, was renamed Newhaven. The town plan was based
on a grid of nine squares. In accordance with old English custom, the central
square, now the Green, was designated a public common. By 1641 New Haven had
grown into a community of approximately 800.
Over the next few years, however, the flow of newcomers began to weaken and
trade with the outside world shifted more and more to Boston. In an attempt
to establish direct trade with England, the settlers managed to assemble
enough produce to fill a vessel which would become known as the "Great
Shippe." However, after setting sail in January, 1646, the ship and its crew
were never heard from again. This disaster ended the dream of creating an
economic empire and over the years New Haven became overshadowed by New
Amsterdam and Boston.
In 1649, King Charles I of England was accused of treason and beheaded. His
son, Charles II, became king eleven years later and sought vengeance against
the men who had signed his father's death warrant. Two of them, Colonel
Edward Whalley and his son-in-law Colonel William Goffe fled to America and,
in 1661, they were hidden by John Davenport in a cave on the top of New
Haven's West Rock. They were later joined by a third regicide, John Dixwell.
Three of New Haven's streets are named after the regicides and their story
has become an integral part of New Haven's history.
In 1664, the forces of King Charles' brother, the Duke of York, seized New
Amsterdam. Rather than face the possibility of rule by the Catholic duke, New
Haven surrendered its hope of remaining independent and united with the
Connecticut Colony. By 1701, New Haven had grown to be the village center of
a mainly agricultural township and became co-capital of Connecticut, along
with Hartford. It was not until 1873 that New Haven lost its status as
co-capital.
In 1700, a small Puritan college known as the Collegiate School was founded
in Old Saybrook. Eighteen years later it moved to New Haven, and, after
receiving a large benefaction from Elihu Yale, was renamed Yale College. It
would eventually become a world renowned university and a major economic
factor in the city.
PROSPERITY AND EXPANSION
By the time the Revolutionary War began, New Haven had evolved from a
colonial village into a growing town of about 3,500 that would contribute
men, financial support and arms to the revolutionary cause. At one point in
the war New Haven was invaded by 3,000 British soldiers. Unlike Norwalk and
Fairfield the British did not burn the city and casualties were relatively
few.
In 1784, New Haven was incorporated as a city and Roger Sherman, one of the
signers of the Declaration of Independence, was elected first mayor.
Shortly before the turn of the century Eli Whitney, a Yale graduate, invented
the cotton gin, a machine that revolutionized the cotton industry in the
South. Later, Whitney established a gun factory along the Hamden border. New
Haven's status as one of the major American arms-manufacturing centers has
its roots in the Whitney Arms Company. Whitney's operation was eventually
bought by the Winchester Arms Company, which became one of New Haven's
largest employers.
In 1839 nearly fifty African Mendi Warriors had been captured in Africa by
Spanish slave traders. While off the coast of Cuba aboard the Spanish
schooner Amistad they mutinied and were eventually found by a United States
patrol boat. Since New Haven had a United States District Court, the Mendi
and their leader, Cinque, were imprisoned and tried in the city. At the end
of a three-year trial that would receive national attention, the court ruled
that the Mendi had been kidnapped into slavery in violation of Spanish law.
The return of the Mendi to their homeland would be remembered as a triumph of
the anti-slavery movement in the North.
New Haven's economy flourished during the Civil War era. The city's carriage
industry became for many years one of the nation's largest. New Haven also
produced rubber goods, clocks, beer, pianos and a wide range of other
products.
The city's population also surged after the Civil War. At the outbreak of the
war, the population was 40,000; by the turn of the century it had grown to
108,000. Many of the new citizens had immigrated from abroad from such areas
as Ireland, Italy, and Eastern Europe. By 1900, 28 percent of New Haven's
population was foreign-born.
Immigrant labor would help New Haven become a leading producer of clocks,
plows, wagons, guns and clothing. However, after World War I anti-immigration
laws drastically reduced the flow of European immigrants. African-Americans
from the South and Hispanics from Puerto Rico became new sources of post-war
immigration into the city.
DECAY AND RENEWAL
After the world wars, new roads and the increasing availability of the
automobile opened the floodgates on the middle class exodus to the suburbs.
As suburban communities gave birth to industrial parks and shopping centers,
New Haven's economic condition became progressively worse.
In 1954, Mayor Richard Lee began his first of eight terms as Mayor of New
Haven. Lee hoped to stem the emigration of the middle class, eliminate the
slums and revitalize the economy. More than $300 million dollars was spent in
public and private construction in renewal areas during Lee's administration.
One of the more dramatic development projects undertaken during Lee's
administration was the rebuilding of downtown New Haven. The project,
completed in 1965, included the office tower facing Chapel Street, a shopping
mall, a 300-room hotel and Macy's and Edward Malley's department stores.
Despite Lee's efforts, New Haven's population continued to decline. Downtown
New Haven experienced the closings of Macy's, Edward Malley's, the hotel and
many long-time businesses.
However, revitalization of many areas of the city continued after Lee left
office in 1969. Wooster Square, which in the 1950's was a slum, is now home
to new commercial and industrial buildings and an established historic
district. In 1994 The Audubon Arts Center Complex was completed.
Revitalization is also occurring in Science Park, the East Shore community,
the harborfront, Upper State Street and many other areas.
Under Mayor John DeStefano, Jr., new and continuing initiatives are being
carried out to renew New Haven. The Livable City Initiative is a historic,
new approach to housing and neighborhood revitalization that is making a
tangible difference in the city's neighborhoods. The Elm City--Green and
Clean initiative, the return of an AHL hockey team to the New Haven Coliseum,
the revitalization of Ninth Square and the redevelopment of downtown are
restoring a sense of hope and future to the fabric of the community.
-----
Aloha, He'Ping,
Om, Shalom, Salaam.
Em Hotep, Peace Be,
All My Relations.
Omnia Bona Bonis,
Adieu, Adios, Aloha.
Amen.
Roads End
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