New Haven, Connecticut, USA (Westville)
1895 - New Haven

New Haven, a city and port of entry, the county seat of New Haven co., Conn., and the largest and most populous city of the state, is situated at the head of New Haven Harbor, 4 miles above its entrance into Long Island Sound, and on the New York, New Haven & Hartford Rail road, 74 miles E.N.E. of New York, and 36 miles W.S.W. of Hartford, the state capital. Lat. 41° 18' 23" N.; Lon. 72° 56' 30" W. New Haven stands upon a plain which is enclosed landward by an amphitheatre of hills, of which two, called East Rock and West Rock, rise from 300 to 400 feet in rugged, perpendicular precipices, producing a very picturesque effect. Three small streams, the Quinepiac on the E., with Mill River, its affluent, and the West River on the W., intersect this plain and fall into the harbor. The streets of New Haven are wide, and generally skirted with majestic elms, for which this city is noted, the dwellings being generally built in separate plots. There are 4 large natural parks on the outskirts, besides more than 12 smaller parks scattered through the city, among them being the well-known East Rock Park, with its drive ways to the top, and West Rock Park, with the famous Judges' Cave, which was the place of concealment of the regicides Whalley and Goffe, it having also a drive-way to the top. On the E. side of the city are also Fort Wooster Park, on the hills overlooking the city, and Fort Hale Park, along the shore of the harbor. Under a town organization, consisting of 15 wards, the voters elect 7 selectmen, a town clerk, a registrar of vital statistics, a treasurer and collector of taxes, a board of education, &c., while under a city charter there are 12 wards, and the citizens elect a mayor, a city clerk, a treasurer and collector of taxes, &c., a board of aldermen (2 from each ward), and a city council (3 from each ward). The mayor, aldermen, and council select certain administrative boards and sub ordinate officers. The schools of New Haven, both public and private, are of a high order of excellence. Conspicuous among these is the Hopkins Grammar-School, founded in 1660. New Haven is also the seat of Yale University, Chartered by the colonial general assembly of Connecticut in 1701, and which from the outset has stood in the fore most rank among the educational institutions of this country. Besides the numerous buildings belonging to the university (the finest of which are Winchester Hall, Chittenden Library, Osborn Hall, the Gymnasium, and Peabody Museum), and more than 30 public school buildings, New Haven has a United States building of Portland stone, in which the custom-house, post-office, and the United States courts are located; a city hall and a county court-house, a free public library, 2 hospitals, 2 orphan asylums, an alms house, &c., and some 65 churches. It has also 9 regular banks, a trust company doing a general banking business, 3 savings-banks, an insurance company, &c. There are 7 daily, 1 semi-weekly, and 11 weekly papers, and 1 quarterly and 2 monthly magazines published here. New Haven has an ample supply of good water, is well lighted with gas and electricity, and has a model sewer system. It also has an extensive system of street railways. As a business centre it holds no mean rank, having a large inland and coastwise commerce, besides a considerable foreign trade, carried on both direct and through New York. The exports of New Haven during 1890 aggregated $1,626,225. During the year 1892 the foreign imports amounted to $489,796, including perfumery, tin-plate, corset-trimmings, carriage trimmings, iron and steel, rags, &c., and the duties collected were $116,032.22. Its manufacturing interests are extensive; there are 1042 establishments, employing a capital of $16,826,635, and producing a great variety of articles, as corsets, carriages, clocks, fire-arms, hardware, cutlery, india-rubber and gutta-percha goods, musical instruments, &c., and a vast number of iron and steel products. New Haven is the centre of an extensive railroad system, consisting of the New York, New Haven & Hartford, Housatonic, New Haven & Northampton, Providence & Worcester, and other railroads, being the second largest and best equipped system in New England. There are also two steamboat lines between here and New York.

New Haven was first settled in 1638 by a company from London, led by Rev. John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton. It constituted an independent colony until 1662, when it united with the Connecticut Colony. It was semi capital of the colony and subsequently of the state until 1873, when Hartford was made the sole capital. New Haven was chartered as a city in 1784. Pop. of the town ship in 1830, 10,678; in 1840, 14,390; in 1850, 22,529, of whom 20,341 resided within the city; in 1860 (the town ship and city having been made coextensive), 39,267; in 1870, 50,840; in 1880, 62,882; in 1890, of the city proper, 81,298; of the township, including the city, 86,045.

Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

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