Whitneyville, Connecticut facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Whitneyville
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neighborhood
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Whitneyville Congregational Church near the center of Whitneyville
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| Country | United States |
| State | Connecticut |
| County (non-governmental) | New Haven |
| Town | Hamden |
| Population | 5,112 |
Whitneyville is a neighborhood located in the southeastern part of Hamden, Connecticut. It began in the early 1800s as a factory town. This means it was a place built around a factory, providing homes for the workers. The factory belonged to Eli Whitney, famous for his gun manufacturing.
Later, around the year 1900, Whitneyville changed into a "trolley suburb" of New Haven. This happened because electric trolley lines made it easy for people to live in Whitneyville and travel to New Haven for work or other activities.
Today, Whitneyville is mostly a place where people live. You can find single-family houses, as well as smaller apartment and condominium buildings. There are also some shops and businesses, mainly around the intersection of Whitney Avenue and Putnam Avenue.
Whitneyville does not have official borders. However, one map shows its boundaries. To the north, it's near the northern part of Lake Whitney and Waite Street. To the east, it's bordered by Hartford Turnpike and the Mill River. The southern edge is the New Haven city line. To the west, it's near parts of Newhall Street, Putnam Avenue, and the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. In 2010, about 5,112 people lived in this area.
Contents
The Story of Whitneyville: How it Grew
Long ago, as early as 1640, there were several grist mills in the area that is now Whitneyville. Grist mills used water power to grind grain into flour.
In 1798, Eli Whitney chose one of these mills as the perfect spot for his gun factory. This mill was at the base of East Rock and used water power from the Mill River. To house his workers, Eli Whitney built a special boarding house nearby for those who were not married. This was the beginning of the village of Whitneyville.
In 1860, Eli Whitney's son, Eli Whitney Jr., completely rebuilt the factory. He also made the mill dam taller. This created more water power for the factory and formed Lake Whitney. This lake became the very first public water supply for the city of New Haven.
Eli Whitney Jr. also helped pay for the Whitneyville Congregational Church. This church was almost a mile north of the factory. Because of the church, the center of the neighborhood slowly moved to that area.
By 1900, an electric trolley line from New Haven reached Whitneyville. This made it easy for people to travel, so more land was divided up for new homes. Most of the streets in the neighborhood were built by 1927. Houses continued to be built throughout the 1900s. Some interesting modern homes were built on Deepwood Drive, and the famous writer Thornton Wilder lived in his last house here.
Cool Historic Places to See
These special places in Whitneyville are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. This means they are important historical sites:
- Edgerton Park
- Farmington Canal (a part of it)
- Pistol Factory Dwelling
- Eli Whitney Gun Factory
- Whitneyville Congregational Church
Getting Around Whitneyville
Whitney Avenue is a main road that runs north and south through the neighborhood. Putnam Avenue goes west from Whitney Avenue. If you need to get on a major highway, the closest exits are on the Wilbur Cross Parkway (Route 15) in Hamden or I-91 in New Haven.
CT Transit operates local bus routes. Bus routes 228 and 229 travel along Whitney Avenue. Route 234 runs on Putnam Avenue and some other streets in the neighborhood.
The Farmington Canal Greenway is a walking and biking path that runs along the western edge of Whitneyville. It's part of the larger East Coast Greenway trail system. You can find an entrance to it on Putnam Avenue.
Schools and Learning in Whitneyville
Whitneyville has several places for education. Hamden Hall Country Day School is a private school for students from pre-kindergarten all the way to 12th grade. The Children's Center of Hamden is a special place that helps children and teenagers who have learning difficulties or other challenges. The main offices for the Hamden public schools are located in the old Putnam Avenue School building.
A small part of the campus for Albertus Magnus College in New Haven also extends into the Whitneyville neighborhood.
Fun and Recreation
There are two town parks in Whitneyville where you can play and relax.
- DeNicola Park has a playground, a field for many sports, and basketball courts.
- Villano Park also has a playground, a splash pad (a fun water play area), a multisport field, and courts for basketball and tennis.
Next to Villano Park is Rochford Field, which has baseball and softball fields. These fields are used by Albertus Magnus College for their sports teams.
