Fair Haven is a

neighborhood A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

in the eastern part of the city of

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...

Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its cap ...

, between the

Mill Mill may refer to: Science and technology * * Mill (grinding) * Milling (machining) * Millwork * Textile mill * Steel mill, a factory for the manufacture of steel * List of types of mill * Mill, the arithmetic unit of the Analytical Engine early ...

and

Quinnipiac Quinnipiac is the English name for the Eansketambawg (meaning "original people"; ''cf.'' Ojibwe: ''Anishinaabeg'' and Blackfoot: ''Niitsítapi''), a Quiripi-speaking Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the ''Wampano ...

rivers. The northeast section of the neighborhood is also known as Chatham Square. Fair Haven is located about two miles east of the

New Haven Green The New Haven Green is a privately owned park and recreation area located in the downtown district of the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It comprises the central square of the nine-square settlement plan of the original Puritan colonists in New ...

comprising New Haven

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s 14, 15, 16, and a portion of 8. It is bounded on the east and south by the Quinnipiac River, on the west by the Mill River, on the northwest by

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

railroad tracks, and on the north by

I-91 Interstate 91 (I-91) is an Interstate Highway in the New England region of the United States. It provides the primary north–south thoroughfare in the western part of the region. The Interstate generally follows the course of the Connecti ...

(in the vicinity of Exit 7). The main through routes of the area are Grand Avenue, Blatchley Avenue, and Ferry Street. In its early days, the area was called by a succession of names including Farmes, East Farmes, The Neck, Dragon, and Clamtown.

Herman Hotchkiss Herman Hotchkiss (1 July 1765 – 20 February 1836) was an early settler of East Haven, Connecticut and is credited as founder of Fair Haven, Connecticut. This is not because he discovered it, which was achieved by other Europeans in 1639, but be ...

is credited as founder due to his investments and development. Fair Haven is not to be confused with the adjacent Fair Haven Heights neighborhood.

History

17th century

Prior to its founding by European settlers, Fair Haven was used by the Momauguin group of

Quinnipiack Quinnipiac is the English name for the Eansketambawg (meaning "original people"; ''cf.'' Anishinaabe language, Ojibwe: ''Anishinaabeg'' and Blackfoot language, Blackfoot: ''Niitsítapi''), a Quiripi language, Quiripi-speaking Native Americans i ...

Native Americans for

farming Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to ...

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 currently called Fair Haven was named 'The Neck'. Fair Haven was originally a village formed in 1679 to house industrial workers, as the area was a source of

oyster Oyster is the common name for a number of different families of salt-water bivalve molluscs that live in marine or brackish habitats. In some species, the valves are highly calcified, and many are somewhat irregular in shape. Many, but not al ...

s and other products of the rivers and nearby

harbor A harbor (American English), harbour (British English; see spelling differences), or haven is a sheltered body of water where ships, boats, and barges can be docked. The term ''harbor'' is often used interchangeably with ''port'', which is a ...

. 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 A brewery or brewing company is a business that makes and sells beer. The place at which beer is commercially made is either called a brewery or a beerhouse, where distinct sets of brewing equipment are called plant. The commercial brewing of be ...

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

horse-drawn vehicle A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have m ...

18th century

In 1784 Fair Haven became a part of the city of New Haven. The Pardee Family of East Haven began a ferry service across the Quinnipiac in 1785. 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 Fair Haven Union Cemetery, located at 149 Grand Ave., covers in the neighborhood of Fair Haven, Connecticut. Although graves were there as early as 1803, the land was donated for the cemetery by local farmers Stephen Rowe and Nathaniel Granniss i ...

. 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, importation of oysters began, with the supply being replenished by 1900. River_St

In 1837 Fair Haven withdrew from the jurisdiction of New Haven. A number of homes in Fair Haven were used to hide slaves in the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was a network of clandestine routes and safe houses established in the United States during the early- to mid-19th century. It was used by enslaved African Americans primarily to escape into free states and Canada. T ...

. By the time of the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, some streets had been

paved Pavement may refer to: * Pavement (architecture), an outdoor floor or superficial surface covering * Road surface, the durable surfacing of roads and walkways ** Asphalt concrete, a common form of road surface * Sidewalk or pavement, a walkway ...

. There was an influx of

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...

after the war, notably

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Poles, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken *Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin screenwr ...

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

and

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

. One area with a large number of Irish was nicknamed 'little

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

'. In 1860, a group of local businessmen drew up a charter to build and operate a

horsecar A horsecar, horse-drawn tram, horse-drawn streetcar (U.S.), or horse-drawn railway (historical), is an animal-powered (usually horse) tram or streetcar. Summary The horse-drawn tram (horsecar) was an early form of public rail transport, wh ...

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. In 1888,

Lancraft Fife and Drum Corps Lancraft Fife and Drum Corps is an Ancient Fife and Drum Corps based in North Haven, Connecticut, and is a member of the Connecticut Fifers and Drummers Association. Lancraft was founded in 1888 by conservative Freemasons, but over the years has be ...

organized, practiced in Ed Lancraft's Oyster house.

20th century

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

black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white have o ...

and Puerto Rican families migrated into Fair Haven by the 1960s. Redevelopment occurred along the Quinnipiac River. As part of

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

Richard C. Lee's urban renewal program, 107 Fair Haven households were displaced in the 1960s. In 1978, a local historic district was created. In the early 1980s, many buildings on Grand Avenue were renovated.

21st century

The waterfront area (Front Street and adjacent streets) have been redeveloped in the last decade, including construction of luxury condominiums, renovation of the Fair Haven marina, demolition of the Quinnipiac Terrace public housing project and replacement with a Cape Cod style village with both subsidized and market rate units, and the renovation of many of the old oyster houses. This part of Fair Haven has attracted a culturally diverse mix of young professionals, students, artists, and families with children. Other parts of Fair Haven continue to struggle with poverty related problems such as crime and homelessness. In 2010, a 100kW windmill was erected near Criscuolo Park, which can be seen from much of New Haven.

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)

Flora and fauna

Aside from stray cats and dogs, other small animals that can be found in Fair Haven include

mice A mouse ( : mice) is a small rodent. Characteristically, mice are known to have a pointed snout, small rounded ears, a body-length scaly tail, and a high breeding rate. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse (''Mus musculus' ...

, urban

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

opossums Opossums () are members of the marsupial order Didelphimorphia () endemic to the Americas. The largest order of marsupials in the Western Hemisphere, it comprises 93 species in 18 genera. Opossums originated in South America and entered North A ...

raccoon The raccoon ( or , ''Procyon lotor''), sometimes called the common raccoon to distinguish it from other species, is a mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of , and a body weight of ...

s, and

squirrel Squirrels are members of the family Sciuridae, a family that includes small or medium-size rodents. The squirrel family includes tree squirrels, ground squirrels (including chipmunks and prairie dogs, among others), and flying squirrels. Squ ...

s. Common birds include

blue jay The blue jay (''Cyanocitta cristata'') is a passerine bird in the family Corvidae, native to eastern North America. It lives in most of the eastern and central United States; some eastern populations may be migratory. Resident populations are a ...

feral pigeon Feral pigeons (''Columba livia domestica'' or ''Columba livia forma urbana''), also called city doves, city pigeons, or street pigeons,Nagy, Kelsi, and Johnson, Phillip David. ''Trash animals: how we live with natures filthy, feral, invasive, an ...

robins Robins may refer to: Places United States *Robins, Iowa, a small city * Robins, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Robins Township, Fall River County, South Dakota * Robins Island, of the coast of New York state *Robins Air Force Base, Georgia *R ...

, and

starling Starlings are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Sturnidae. The Sturnidae are named for the genus ''Sturnus'', which in turn comes from the Latin word for starling, ''sturnus''. Many Asian species, particularly the larger ones, ...

s. Along Dover Beach, there are

scud A Scud missile is one of a series of tactical ballistic missiles developed by the Soviet Union during the Cold War. It was exported widely to both Second World, Second and Third World, Third World countries. The term comes from the NATO reporti ...

s and

caddisflies The caddisflies, or order Trichoptera, are a group of insects with aquatic larvae and terrestrial adults. There are approximately 14,500 described species, most of which can be divided into the suborders Integripalpia and Annulipalpia on the b ...

. Plants include the

autumn olive ''Elaeagnus umbellata'' is known as Japanese silverberry, umbellata oleaster, autumn olive, autumn elaeagnus, or spreading oleaster. The species is indigenous to eastern Asia and ranges from the Himalayas eastwards to Japan. It is a hardy, aggres ...

, the beach rose, ''

Spartina alterniflora ''Sporobolus alterniflorus'', or synonymously known as ''Spartina alterniflora'', the smooth cordgrass, saltmarsh cordgrass, or salt-water cordgrass, is a perennial deciduous grass which is found in intertidal wetlands, especially estuarine salt ...

'', ''

Rosa virginiana ''Rosa virginiana'', commonly known as the Virginia rose, common wild rose or prairie rose, is a woody perennial in the rose family native to eastern North America, where it is the most common wild rose. It is deciduous, forming a suckering shr ...

'', and the

weeping willow ''Salix babylonica'' (Babylon willow or weeping willow; ) is a species of willow native to dry areas of northern China, but cultivated for millennia elsewhere in Asia, being traded along the Silk Road to southwest Asia and Europe.Flora of China'' ...

Notable sites

A. C. Gilbert Company The A. C. Gilbert Company was an American toy company, once one of the largest in the world. Gilbert originated the Erector Set, which is a construction toy similar to Meccano in the rest of the world, and made chemistry sets, microscope kits, ...

* Barnesville Bridge (carrying Grand Ave over the Mill River) * The Bigelow Company * Clinton Avenue School (built in 1911) *

Erector Square Erector Square LLC is a 11-building, three-story brick industrial warehouse complex located at the intersection of Blatchley Avenue and Peck Street in the Fair Haven neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut. History The complex originally housed ...

* Ezekiel Cheever School * Fair Haven Middle School (built in 1927) *

* First Church *

Grace Church Grace Church may refer to: Canada * Grace Church on-the-Hill, Toronto China * Grace Church, Guanghan Poland * Grace Church, Teschen or Jesus Church, a Lutheran basilica in Teschen, Poland United Kingdom United States * Grace Cathedral (disam ...

* Grand Avenue Bridge (built in 1896; the 3rd bridge on the site). * Grapevine Point * John Rowe's tavern * King's Hotel * Lewis Bridge (carries Middletown Ave. across the Quinnipiac River) *

Methodist Episcopal Church The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...

(originally a Congregational Church) * National Folding Box Company (In Cedar Hill (New Haven) once a community of Fair Haven) *

National Pipe Bending Company National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

New Haven Brewing Company New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

Quinnipiac River Historic District Quinnipiac River Historic District is a historic district straddling the Quinnipiac River in the Fair Haven and Fair Haven Heights neighborhoods of New Haven, Connecticut. It encompasses most of the historic maritime village of Fair Haven, w ...

Quinnipiac River State Park Quinnipiac River State Park is a public recreation area located in the New England town, town of North Haven, CT, North Haven, Connecticut. The four sections of the state park protect of the Quinnipiac River. The park was traversed by a stret ...

* River Street Historic District * Regan Metal Corporation (began in 1887) *

St. Donato Roman Catholic Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

(built in 1915) *

St. Francis Roman Catholic Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

* St. Rose Roman Catholic Church (built in 1908) * Strong School (built in 1916) * Tomlinson Bridge (built 1796–98) * Quinnipiac Brewery

References

Bibliography

Digital

A River Runs Through It - A Brief History of Fair Haven

DataHaven

The Fair Haven & Westville Railroad

New Haven Vital Statistics

Print

* ''Harrison's Illustrated Guide: Greater New Haven'' * ''Images of America: New Haven - Reshaping the City 1900-1980'' * ''New Haven - A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design'' * ''The Streets of New Haven - The Origin of Their Names'', 2nd edition 1998 * ''Three Centuries of New Haven - The Tercentenary History'' {{authority control Neighborhoods in New Haven, Connecticut Populated places on the Underground Railroad Fair Haven (New Haven) Populated coastal places in Connecticut