MiddletownIn 1650, Middletown earned its name due to its location halfway between the mouth of the Connecticut River and the first Connecticut settlement of Windsor. The town grew from a key Native American village to become a major seaport and the wealthiest town in Connecticut by the mid-1700s. In the early 1800s, as international disputes adversely affected Middletown's seafaring trade, manufacturing prospered. Factories turned out everything from ship hardware and textiles to sleigh bells and sidearms for Union army officers. Trolleys encouraged suburban expansion while railroads and highways greatly influenced commercial development. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many immigrants from Europe made Middletown their home. Today Middletown is perhaps best known as the location of top-ranked Wesleyan University. |
Contents
Introduction | 7 |
Buildings and Streets | 14 |
3 | 22 |
4 | 47 |
5 | 61 |
6 | 69 |
7 | 78 |
8 | 89 |
9 | 99 |
Disasters | 109 |
| 126 | |
Common terms and phrases
advertised African American Allie Wrubel Arrigoni Arrigoni Bridge automobiles Bakery blizzard of 1888 Born in Middletown brick brownstone building built Bunce cars Chocolate CLARA LOUISE KELLOGG College Row College Street Company Conn Connecticut River construction corner of Main County Historical Society Court Street end of Main Episcopal factory FIRE-CHIEF Hall Hartford Haven High Street Holy Trinity horses Hotel Middletown KELLOGG later left to right Lyman mansion manufacturing Mattabeseck Mattabesett McDonough Meech Middlesex County Historical Middletown High School Middletown native Middletown Press Middletown-Portland Bridge National Bank Native American north end Pameacha parade photograph shows photograph was taken pictured Portland postcard Pres railroad Raymond Baldwin residents Riverside Cemetery Russell House Russell Library Samuel Savings Bank Saybrook Point seen sold South Congregational Church South Main Street Staddle Hill town trolley tracks W. T. Grant Wadsworth Washington Street Wesleyan University Wesleyan University's Wilbert Snow Wilcox