Hamden, Connecticut

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Hamden, Connecticut
Location in Connecticut and town seal
Location in Connecticut and town seal
Coordinates: 41°23′52″N, 72°55′18″W
NECTA New Haven
Region South Central Region
Incorporated 1786
Government type Mayor-council
Mayor Craig B. Henrici
Area  
 - City 56.2 km²  (33.3 sq mi)
Population  
 - City (2005) 58,180[1]
 - Density 685/km² (1,774/sq mi)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 - Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 06514, 06517, 06518
Website: http://www.hamden.com/

Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant".

Contents

[edit] History

Hamden was originally settled by Puritans as part of the town of New Haven. The land was purchased by Theophilus Eaton and Reverend John Davenport in 1638 from the local Quinnipiack Native American tribe. It remained a part of New Haven until 1786 when 1,400 local residents incorporated themselves as a separate town. It is named after the English statesman John Hampden.

Hamden was largely developed as a nodal collection of village-like settlements. These include Mount Carmel, Whitneyville, Spring Glen, and Highwood. It has a long-standing industrial history having been the site of many workshops of Eli Whitney, as well as Charles Goodyear. In 1798, four years after he began manufacturing the cotton gin in new Haven, Whitney began making arms for the U.S. Government at a mill site in Hamden at the border with New Haven, where a waterfall provided a good source of power. It was here that Whitney began the modern era of mass production with the concept of interchangeable parts, manufactured using the newly introduced milling machine. The major thoroughfare through town has been named Whitney Avenue in Eli Whitney's honor, and it runs past Whitney's old factory, now the Eli Whitney Museum.

Whitney constructed stone houses for his employees in the nearby area, which is still referred to as Whitneyville; this is believed to be the first example of employer-provided homes in U.S. history. In 1806, the dam Eli Whitney built at the mill site was enlarged to create a reservoir, Lake Whitney. The first truss bridge in the United States was erected nearby over the Mill River in Whitneyville in 1823, but has since been replaced.

The Farmington Canal providing ship travel from New Haven northward passed through Hamden, between 1825 and 1848, until it was supplanted by railroad travel. The canal right-of-way has in recent years became a popular walking and bicycling trail, passing by some of the well-preserved locks of the canal, as well as some of Hamden's oldest important sites.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hamden received a steady influx of immigrants, most notably from Italy and Ireland. To this day, Hamden is an essential part of New Haven's Italian-American community.

In the post-war period, Hamden underwent significant suburban development. Much of the southern section of town is urbanized and is difficult to distinguish from neighboring New Haven. The northern section of town, however, retains a more rural character, and has the distinct neighborhood of Mount Carmel. This area of town is the location of the unique Sleeping Giant hill formation that is the source of the town's nickname.

Hamden was host to the Ghost Parking Lot, a notable roadside public art installation located in front of the Hamden Plaza shopping center in Hamden's commercial district on Dixwell Avenue. Erected in 1978, it consisted of 15 car hulks, specially treated and encased in asphalt. Although featured in over 100 art books, the attraction was torn down in 2003 due to the excessive cost of restoration and repair. [1]

[edit] Notable people, past and present

  • Ernest Borgnine, the actor was born in town.
  • Edward W. Gosselin (1917 – December 7, 1941), a U.S. Navy ensign who died in the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, was born in town.
  • Donald Hall, poet, named poet laureate of the United States in 2006, grew up in town.
  • Anttaj Hawthorne , Oakland Raiders defensive tackle, grew up in town and starred on the high school football team.
  • Jaroslav Pelikan (1923–2006) one of the world's leading scholars in the history of Christianity and medieval intellectual history, died in town, but not before saying the last of his many aphorisms: "If Christ is risen, nothing else matters. And if Christ is not risen -- nothing else matters."
  • The Rock (Dwayne Douglas Johnson, b. 1972), professional wrestler and actor, spent part of his childhood in town, attending Shepherd Glen Elementary and Hamden Middle School.
  • Thornton Wilder, the playwright, lived in town and is buried in Mount Carmel Cemetery. In tribute to him, the Miller library (the town's main library) has a stage/performing arts wing named the Thorton Wilder Hall.
  • C. Vann Woodward (1908-1999), pre-eminent historian focusing on the South and race relations, died in town.

[edit] Schools

[edit] Elementary

  • West Woods Elementary School
  • Church Street Elementary School
  • Spring Glen Elementary School
  • Shepherd Glen Elementary School
  • Ridge Hill Elementary School
  • Dunbar Hill Elementary School
  • Bear Path Elementary School
  • Helen Street Elementary School

[edit] Middle

[edit] Magnet

  • Wintergreen Interdistrict Magnet School (grades Kindergarten through 8)
  • Highville Mustard Seed Charter School (Highschool)

[edit] High

[edit] Private

Hamden is home to a few private schools, including West Woods Christian Academy, Hamden Hall Country Day School, and Sacred Heart Academy.

[edit] Colleges and universities

Mount Sacred Heart College, a Catholic women's college associated with Sacred Heart Academy, closed in 1997.

[edit] Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 86.3 km² (33.3 mi²). 84.9 km² (32.8 mi²) of it is land and 1.4 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (1.62%) is water. The town features the Mill River, which runs from the northern part of town, is dammed to form Lake Whitney, and flows from there to the Long Island Sound. The town also has the Quinnipiac River and Lake Wintergreen, as well as numerous small streams.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 56,913 people, 22,408 households, and 14,027 families residing in the town. The population density was 670.4/km² (1,736.1/mi²). There were 23,464 housing units at an average density of 276.4/km² (715.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 77.30% White, 15.53% African American, 0.13% Native American, 3.53% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 1.61% from other races, and 1.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.26% of the population.

There were 22,408 households out of which 26.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.2% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the town the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 12.1% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 84.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $52,351, and the median income for a family was $65,301. Males had a median income of $45,909 versus $35,941 for females. The per capita income for the town was $26,039. About 4.5% of families and 7.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.4% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.

Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005[2]
Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage
Democratic 13,161 701 13,862 37.98%
Republican 4,782 369 5,151 14.11%
Unaffiliated 15,593 1,828 17,421 47.74%
Minor Parties 57 4 61 0.17%
Total 33,593 2,902 36,495 100%

[edit] References

  1. ^ U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates
  2. ^ Registration and Party Enrollment Statistics as of October 25, 2005 (PDF). Connecticut Secretary of State. Retrieved on 2006-10-02.

[edit] External links

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