Editing Hamden, Connecticut (section)

==History==

The peaceful <ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Hamden, Conn., Shoe String Press| last = Hartley| first = Rachel M.| title = The history of Hamden, Connecticut, 1786-1959|date = 1959| page=11}}</ref> tribe of Quinnipiacs were the first residents of the land that is now Hamden; they had great regard, awe and veneration for the Blue Hills Sleeping Giant Mountain.

In spring 1638, [[Theophilus Eaton]] and the Reverend [[John Davenport (Puritan)|John Davenport]] purchased, from [[Quinnipiac]] Chief Momauguin, the land that would become the settlement of New Haven Colony.<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Hamden, Conn., Shoe String Press| last = Hartley| first = Rachel M.| title = The history of Hamden, Connecticut, 1786-1959|date = 1959| page=10}}</ref> Later that November, Eaton expanded the settlement by acquiring 130 square miles from [[Mattabesset]] Chief Montowese. This tract extended the original settlement 10 miles north along the [[Quinnipiac River]], with an additional 8 miles to the east and 5&nbsp;mi. to the west. This piece of land included what would eventually become Hamden. The payment was made with "11 coats of trucking cloth and a fine coat for the chief."<ref>{{Cite book| publisher = Hamden, Conn., Shoe String Press| last = Hartley| first = Rachel M.| title = The history of Hamden, Connecticut, 1786-1959|date = 1959| page=11}}</ref> 
It was settled by [[Puritan]]s as part of the town of [[New Haven, Connecticut|New Haven]].

It remained a part of New Haven until 1786 when 1,400 local residents incorporated the area as a separate town, naming it after the English statesman [[John Hampden]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Connecticut Magazine: An Illustrated Monthly|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qoEyAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA332|year=1903|publisher=Connecticut Magazine Company|page=332}}</ref>

Largely developed as a nodal collection of village-like settlements (which remain distinct today), including [[Mount Carmel, Hamden|Mount Carmel]] (home to [[Quinnipiac University]]), [[Whitneyville, Connecticut|Whitneyville]], Spring Glen, West Woods, and [[Highwood, Hamden|Highwood]], Hamden has a long-standing industrial history. In 1798, four years after [[Eli Whitney]] began manufacturing the [[cotton gin]] in New Haven, he made arms for the U.S. government at a [[watermill|mill]] site in Hamden, where a waterfall provided a good source of power. At that site, Whitney introduced the modern era of [[mass production]] with the concept of interchangeable parts.

The major thoroughfare through Hamden is named Whitney Avenue in honor of Eli Whitney, and it runs past Whitney's old factory, now the [[Eli Whitney Museum]].

[[File:Eli Whitney Gun Factory William Giles Munson 1827.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An 1827 painting of Whitneyville by William Giles Munson.]]
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 that Eli Whitney built at the mill site was enlarged to create a [[reservoir]], [[Lake Whitney (Connecticut)|Lake Whitney]]. The first [[truss bridge]] in the United States was erected nearby over the [[Mill River (Connecticut)|Mill River]] in Whitneyville in 1823, but has since been replaced.

The [[Farmington Canal]], which ships traveled from New Haven northward, passed through Hamden between 1825 and 1848 until it was supplanted by [[railroad]] travel. The canal right-of-way has become, in recent years, a popular walking and bicycling trail, passing by some of the well-preserved [[Lock (water transport)|locks]] of the canal, as well as some of Hamden's oldest sites. Before its use as a walking and bicycling trail, many local residents rode their motocross bikes on the Farmington Canal.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hamden received a steady influx of immigrants, most notably from [[Italy]] and [[Ireland]]. To this day, a large part of Greater New Haven's [[Italian-American]] community resides in Hamden.

During 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 (Connecticut)|Sleeping Giant]] hill formation that is the source of the town's nickname.
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