Fair Haven, Connecticut

Fair Haven is a neighborhood in the eastern part of the city of New Haven, Connecticut located between the Mill and Quinnipiac rivers. It is located about 2 miles from the New Haven Green.

In its early days, the area was called by a succession of names including 'Farmes', 'East Farmes', 'The Neck', and 'Clamtown'.

History

17th century

Prior to its founding by European settlers, Fair Haven was used by the Quinnipiack for farming.

It is said that in 1639, when Captain Richard Russell first viewed the harbor, "The sight of the harbor did so please the Captain of the ship, that they called it a Fayre Haven." In 1640, the area presently called Fair Haven was named 'The Neck'.

Founded by Herman Hotchkiss in 1679, Fair Haven was originally a village formed to house industrial workers, as the area was a source of oysters and other products of the rivers and nearby harbor. It is said to have produced almost 5,000 gallons of oysters per day in season when at its peak. Besides oyster houses, manufacturing plants and a brewery were established.

In the beginning, Fair Haven could only be reached only by boat, on foot or on horseback. In time, dirt roads were laid, for use by horse-drawn vehicles.

18th century

In 1784 Fair Haven became a part of the city of New Haven.

In 1785, the Pardee Family of East Haven began a ferry service across the Quinnipiac. The service was discontinued in 1791 with the construction of the Dragon Bridge.

19th century

In 1806, land was donated for Fair Haven Union Cemetery.

By 1808, Fair Haven had 50 houses.

In 1820, the first apartment building for multiple residences was built.

In 1824, residents changed the name of their home from 'Dragon' to 'Fair Haven'.

By 1830, the oyster beds were dried up.

In 1835, imporatation of oysters began, with the supply being replenished by 1900.

In 1837 Fair Haven withdrew from the juridiction of New Haven.

The Fair Haven Underground Railroad hid slaves in a number of homes.

By the time of the Civil War, some streets had been paved. There was an influx of immigrants after the war, notably Irish, German, Polish, Italian and Russian.

In 1860, a group of local businessmen drew up a charter to build and operate a horsecar line of one or two tracks between Fair Haven and Westville.

In 1866, Samuel L. Blatchley developed Blatchley Ave., building moderately-priced homes for local workers.

St. Francis Church held its first service in 1867.

In 1870 Fair Haven rejoined New Haven.

In 1885, Nathaniel Graniss donated land for the construction of the First Quinnipiac School.

20th century

By the 1930s, Fair Haven was home to more immigrants than 'natives'.

By the 1960s, there were many black and Puerto Rican families migrating into Fair Haven. Redevelopment was done along the Quinnipiac River.

In 1978, a local historic district was created.

In the early 1980s, many buildings on Grand Avenue were renovated.

Historical populations

• 1808 – 150 (15 families)
• 1837 – 1,000
• 1850 – 1,317
• 1870 – 5,600
• 1930 – 23,960
• 1989 – 13,895
• 1990 – 14,545
• 2000 – 13,753 (4,724 households)

Notables sites

• Barnesville Bridge (carrying Grand Ave over the Mill River)
• Clinton Avenue School (built in 1911)
• Christopher Columbus Academy
• Fair Haven Middle School (built in 1927)
• Fair Haven Union Cemetery
• Grand Avenue Bridge (built in 1896; the 3rd bridge on the site)
• Lewis Bridge (carries Middletown Ave. across the Quinnipiac River)
• Methodist Episcopal Church (originally a Congregational Church)
• New Haven Brewing Company
• Quinnipiac River Park
• St. Donato Roman Catholic Church (built in 1915)
• St. Francis Roman Catholic Church
• St. Rose Roman Catholic Church (built in 1908)
• Strong Traditional Magnet Academy (built in 1916)
• Tomlinson Bridge (built 1796–98)

Notable sites of the past

• A. C. Gilbert Company
• Bigelow Company
• Cheever School
• Clerkin and McDonald (plumbing and heating business)
• Dover Beach
• Dragon Bridge
• Ferry Street School
• First Church
• First Quinnipiac School (built in 1885, burned down in 1914)
• Grace Church
• Grapevine Point
• John Rowe’s tavern
• King's Hotel
• Lloyd Street School
• National Folding Box Company
• National Pipe Bending Company
• Quinnipiac Brewery
• Warner's Hardware Store (built in 1875)
• Woolsey Grade School

List of streets

• 2nd St.
• Alton St.
• Atwater St.
• Bailey St.
• Blatchley Ave. (named for Samuel L. Blatchley)
• Brewery Sq.
• Bright St.
• Castle St.
• Chambers St.
• Chapel St. (previously called College St.)
• Chatham St. (named for Chatham, England)
• Clay St.
• Clinton Ave. (named for DeWitt Clinton)
• Clinton Pl.
• Dover Dr.
• Dover St. (named for Dover, England)
• Downing St.
• East Pearl St. (originally named Pearl Street, perhaps because of the custom of using crushed oyster shells as a road surface)
• English St.
• Exchange St. (named for exchange office where oyster were traded for merchandise or for money)
• Fawn St.
• Ferry St. (originally Ferry Path, although the diagonal street was relaid straight)
• Fillmore St.
• Fox St.
• Front St. (thought to be the oldest road in Fair Haven; it used to be low enough that oyster boats could reach houses at high tide)
• Grafton St.
• Grand Ave. (called Grand St. until 1887)
• Haven St.
• Houston St.
• James St.
• John W. Murphy Dr. (named for the Mayor of New Haven from 1940–1941)
• Lewis St.
• Limerick St.
• Lloyd St.
• Lombard St.
• Main St.
• Maltby Pl.
• Maltby St.
• Market St.
• Middletown Ave.
• Mill St. (named for eight colonial gristmills built there by 1780)
• Monroe St.
• Murray Pl.
• Park Pl.
• Peck Aly.
• Peck St.
• Perkins St.
• Pierpont St.
• Pine Aly.
• Pine Pl.
• Pine St.
• Poplar St.
• Qualmish Ave.
• Richard St.
• River St. (named for the Quinnipiac River)
• Rowe St. (named for a Civil War-era family of oyster industry leaders)
• Saltonstall Ave.
• Saltonstall Ct.
• Sandford St.
• Shelter St.
• Wilcox Pl.
• Wolcott St. (named for Oliver Wolcott)
• Woolsey St.

Bibliography

Digital

• A River Runs Through It – A Brief History Of Fair Haven
• CTSchools.net – Clinton Avenue School
• The Community and You: Learning Your Way Around Fair Haven
• DataHaven
• Fair Haven: An Historical and Ecological Field Study
• Fair Haven Community and the Grand Avenue Bridge
• Fair Haven Walking Tour
• The Fair Haven & Westville Railroad
• New Haven Vital Statistics
• Population of Connecticut Towns 1756–1820

Print

• Harrison's Illustrated Guide: Greater New Haven ISBN 0–927054–39–6
• Images of America: New Haven – Reshaping the City 1900–1980 ISBN 0–7385–1032–7
• New Haven – A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design ISBN 0–300–01993–9
• Three Centuries of New Haven – The Tercentenary History ISBN 0–300–00812–0