Cedar Hill (New Haven)
Encyclopedia
Cedar Hill is a neighborhood
in New Haven
, Connecticut
. It includes portions of the city-designated neighborhoods of East Rock
, Quinnipiac Meadows
, and Mill River
.
Cedar Hill was named for cedar
trees that were once plentiful there in 1665. The area was divided from the local surroundings by the construction of I-91 in the 1950s.
Cedar Hill's boundary runs from James Street, up the Mill River, to Rice Field
, over Indian Head Rock
, to the Hamden
town line, across to Middletown Avenue, to the Eastern side of State Street, back up to James Street.
was one of the earliest European
settlers recorded living in Cedar Hill (at that time called the East Farm). David Atwater, who died October 5, 1692, was the first of the New Haven Colony who was sworn a freeman of the united colony.
A farm was assigned to him in the "Neck", the tract between the Mill and Quinnipiac River
s.
(now known as upper State Street) and the Middletown Turnpike (now known as Middletown Avenue).
The few residents of the area during this period included M. Atwater, J. Matlby, R. Atwater and R. Augur. Major Lyman Atwater (Lyman Street named after him) and son Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater
also where born and lived in Cedar hill. Elias B. Bishop married the Major's daughter Grace (Grace St. in Cedar Hill is named after her which at one time was the road around the bottom of East Rock and is now partly called Rock St. and English Dr.) and bought the Atwater House on State Street, Cedar Hill from the Major when he moved to Vermont. Henry Eld
had lived in the area now known as View St., but when it started becoming more populated he relocated. Charles A. Warren President of the State Street House Railroad Company took over the property his office was at 82G Grand Street, Atwater building.
From the late 1860s through the 1890s most of the development was residential and concentrated it that portion of the area which lay near the junction of State Street and Middletown Ave.
Rock Street, one of the gateway streets going into East Rock Park
, was built in or around 1875. It was originally called the Highway to the top of East Rock. Charles Warren and Charles Blatchley developed the Road. Warren Place in the Cedar Hill was named after Charles Warren. The beginning of the street is now a residential area but the better part of it is now closed to cars but can be hiked up to the top of East Rock.
One of the more important light industry built in the area was the Rock Street Brewing Company owned by George Basserman
. Basserman owned the Brewery and the adjacent apartment building, which still stands on the corner of Rock and 1395 State Street.
Until the late 19th century Cedar Hill was an area of Hamden. When the rail yards where built it was incorporated into New Haven's Fair Haven neighborhood.
Begun in 1909 as part of an effort by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
, during the building of the new railyard in Cedar Hill rail men wanted to strike. But where able to get the extra pay to work all the hours the construction of the yard would ask of them. Cedar Hill Yards had 14 yards of the 25 that were in New Haven at the time. The railyard could hold over 15,000 cars at a time. The trolleys were stored in what is now the Connecticut Transit
Bus Terminal. The building still stands virtually unchanged from when it housed trolleys. Even though the rail-yards are now all but empty they still are a dominant the central part of the Cedar Hill District.
The development of Cedar Hill continued at a gradual pace though the early years of the 20th century. Most of the residents of Cedar Hill Ave. in the early 20th century were there to help with the Ferry Street Congregational Church work. Grace, May and Cedar Hill Ave. were laid out in the Reconstruction Era. These houses were constructed for the working men of the burgeoning manufacturing industries in the adjacent Fair Haven
neighborhood.
Then there is the National Folding Box & Paper Co on James street across from the Cedar Hill Station (car barn when there were trolleys), both buildings still stand today. City lines at the time defined this area as Cedar Hill. It was a large factory for its time. A four story building over 240000 sq ft (22,296.7 m²). Over 22,629 people were employed there. And the Bridgeport branch had 23,343. Which showed that Bridgeport was the largest manufacturing city in the State during this time, but New Haven was a close second.
Although the economic character of Cedar Hill changed gradually, the architectural complexion of the area appears to have changed little since the late 1940s. The best remaining example of scattered commercial structures built in Cedar Hill is the Michael W. Ferrell Building on 1296-1304 State Street. Mostly Brick structure had seemed to be popping up around the area. An excellent example would also be the John H. Slator Building (built and owned by John Slator President of the Masions at the time), a late 19th century Italianate style detached duplex row house 1515-1517 State Street. And is a registered historical home.
, City Point and Part of the Annex
.
Present Streets - *Welton Street *Lyman Street *Albert Street *Grace Street *Rock Street *Ridge Street *Warren Street State Street *May Street *Willow Street (Turns into Blatchley right on the Cedar Hill Line) * and a small part of James Street
Partially removed Streets - *Cedar Hill Ave. *View Street *Some homes removed on State and Willow.
Streets removed - *Hemlock Street *Sycamore Street *Ash Street *Birch Street *Grotto Street
Between 1910 and 1913, the railroad built a large new classification yard in the northeast part of New Haven, the Cedar Hill Terminal, in order to consolidate and expand its freight operations. In connection with that work, the railroad right of way was then further widened to accommodate more tracks, and electrification was extended to the new Cedar Hill yards.photos. The widening required a new bridge at Ferry Street. The bridge was entirely paid for by the railroad with the exception of $316.92 paid by the city of New Haven for a temporary bridge during construction.
Snake Rock contains a half-emerged laccolith, its summit exposed, but the western wall of sandstone still standing and overtopping the trap. The sandstone shows everywhere the effects of hot vapors in- all their varied forms, and before encroachments were made by a brewery there was a fine display of columnar sandstone in the southwestern bluff.
Neighbourhood
A neighbourhood or neighborhood is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town or suburb. Neighbourhoods are often social communities with considerable face-to-face interaction among members. "Researchers have not agreed on an exact definition...
in New Haven
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. It includes portions of the city-designated neighborhoods of East Rock
East Rock (neighborhood)
East Rock is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut, named for nearby East Rock, a prominent trap rock ridge. The area is home to a large group of Yale students, staff, and faculty, as well as many young professionals and families. The neighborhood is divided between New Haven's...
, Quinnipiac Meadows
Quinnipiac Meadows
Quinnipiac Meadows, also known as Bishop Woods, is a neighborhood in the northeast corner of the city of New Haven, Connecticut located east of the Quinnipiac River and north of Fair Haven and Fair Haven Heights. It contains a considerable wetlands area which is a nature preserve. There is also a...
, and Mill River
Mill River (neighborhood)
Mill River is a primarily industrial neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut located between the Wooster Square and Fair Haven neighborhoods....
.
Cedar Hill was named for cedar
Cupressaceae
The Cupressaceae or cypress family is a conifer family with worldwide distribution. The family includes 27 to 30 genera , which include the junipers and redwoods, with about 130-140 species in total. They are monoecious, subdioecious or dioecious trees and shrubs from 1-116 m tall...
trees that were once plentiful there in 1665. The area was divided from the local surroundings by the construction of I-91 in the 1950s.
Cedar Hill's boundary runs from James Street, up the Mill River, to Rice Field
Honor Frank J. Rice
Frank J. Rice was a four-term Republican mayor of New Haven, Connecticut.. At 18 he went into the grocery business. And a few years after became the superintendent of H.P. Ives & Company. He was voted in as mayor in 1909, winning the race by 402 votes. He was a former member of the New Haven...
, over Indian Head Rock
East Rock
East Rock of south-central Connecticut, United States, with a high point of , is a long trap rock ridge located on the north side of the city of New Haven...
, to the Hamden
Hamden, Connecticut
Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The town's nickname is "The Land of the Sleeping Giant." Hamden is home to Quinnipiac University. The population was 58,180 according to the Census Bureau's 2005 estimates...
town line, across to Middletown Avenue, to the Eastern side of State Street, back up to James Street.
Early settlement
David AtwaterDavid Atwater
David Atwater 1615 to October 5, 1692Was a founder of the Colony of New Haven, Connecticut. Was the first of the New Haven Colony who was sworn a freeman of the United Colony....
was one of the earliest European
European ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
settlers recorded living in Cedar Hill (at that time called the East Farm). David Atwater, who died October 5, 1692, was the first of the New Haven Colony who was sworn a freeman of the united colony.
A farm was assigned to him in the "Neck", the tract between the Mill and Quinnipiac River
Quinnipiac River
The Quinnipiac River is a river in the New England region of the United States, located entirely in the state of Connecticut.It rises in west central Connecticut from Dead Wood Swamp west of the city of New Britain...
s.
19th century
Prior to the mid-19th century, the Cedar Hill district remained one of the most undeveloped portions of New Haven. The earliest significant settlement of the district does not appear to have taken place until the mid or late 1840s. An 1851 map shows that only about a dozen scattered houses and shops were standing in the area by that time. Virtually all of the buildings stood along or close to the area's two principal streets The Road to WallingfordWallingford, Connecticut
Wallingford is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 43,026 at the 2000 census.- History :Wallingford was established on October 10, 1667, when the Connecticut General Assembly authorized the "making of a village on the east river" to 38 planters and freemen...
(now known as upper State Street) and the Middletown Turnpike (now known as Middletown Avenue).
The few residents of the area during this period included M. Atwater, J. Matlby, R. Atwater and R. Augur. Major Lyman Atwater (Lyman Street named after him) and son Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater
Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater
Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater was an American Presbyterian philosopher.-Life:He was born in Cedar Hill, New Haven, Connecticut. He started going to Yale University at the age of 14 in 1827 and graduated in 1831...
also where born and lived in Cedar hill. Elias B. Bishop married the Major's daughter Grace (Grace St. in Cedar Hill is named after her which at one time was the road around the bottom of East Rock and is now partly called Rock St. and English Dr.) and bought the Atwater House on State Street, Cedar Hill from the Major when he moved to Vermont. Henry Eld
Henry Eld
Henry Eld was born in Cedar Hill, New Haven, Connecticut, on June 2, 1814, and lived in the area now known as View Street, but when it started becoming more populated he removed his house and relocated. He was a Lieutenant in the U.S...
had lived in the area now known as View St., but when it started becoming more populated he relocated. Charles A. Warren President of the State Street House Railroad Company took over the property his office was at 82G Grand Street, Atwater building.
From the late 1860s through the 1890s most of the development was residential and concentrated it that portion of the area which lay near the junction of State Street and Middletown Ave.
Rock Street, one of the gateway streets going into East Rock Park
East Rock Park
East Rock Park is a park in the city of New Haven and the town of Hamden, Connecticut that is operated as a New Haven city park. The park surrounds and includes the mountainous ridge named East Rock and was developed with naturalistic landscaping....
, was built in or around 1875. It was originally called the Highway to the top of East Rock. Charles Warren and Charles Blatchley developed the Road. Warren Place in the Cedar Hill was named after Charles Warren. The beginning of the street is now a residential area but the better part of it is now closed to cars but can be hiked up to the top of East Rock.
One of the more important light industry built in the area was the Rock Street Brewing Company owned by George Basserman
George Basserman
George A. Basserman was a noted brewery owner in the Cedar Hill neighborhood of New Haven, Connecticut during the late 19th century. Born in Germany in 1832, and came to New Haven in 1851.Basserman was owner of the Rock Brewery on State and Rock St...
. Basserman owned the Brewery and the adjacent apartment building, which still stands on the corner of Rock and 1395 State Street.
Until the late 19th century Cedar Hill was an area of Hamden. When the rail yards where built it was incorporated into New Haven's Fair Haven neighborhood.
20th century
The most significant feature of the area's development during the first half of the 20th century was the construction of the Cedar Hill Railyard Terminal in the central part of the district between State St. and Middletown Ave.Begun in 1909 as part of an effort by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad , was a railroad that operated in the northeast United States from 1872 to 1968 which served the states of Connecticut, New York, Rhode Island, and Massachusetts...
, during the building of the new railyard in Cedar Hill rail men wanted to strike. But where able to get the extra pay to work all the hours the construction of the yard would ask of them. Cedar Hill Yards had 14 yards of the 25 that were in New Haven at the time. The railyard could hold over 15,000 cars at a time. The trolleys were stored in what is now the Connecticut Transit
Connecticut Transit
Connecticut Transit is a bus system serving much of the U.S. state of Connecticut and is a division of that state's Department of Transportation. CT Transit provides bus service via contract providers for seven different metropolitan areas in the state, mostly concentrated in Hartford and New...
Bus Terminal. The building still stands virtually unchanged from when it housed trolleys. Even though the rail-yards are now all but empty they still are a dominant the central part of the Cedar Hill District.
The development of Cedar Hill continued at a gradual pace though the early years of the 20th century. Most of the residents of Cedar Hill Ave. in the early 20th century were there to help with the Ferry Street Congregational Church work. Grace, May and Cedar Hill Ave. were laid out in the Reconstruction Era. These houses were constructed for the working men of the burgeoning manufacturing industries in the adjacent Fair Haven
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. The northeast section of the neighborhood is also known as Chatham Square....
neighborhood.
Then there is the National Folding Box & Paper Co on James street across from the Cedar Hill Station (car barn when there were trolleys), both buildings still stand today. City lines at the time defined this area as Cedar Hill. It was a large factory for its time. A four story building over 240000 sq ft (22,296.7 m²). Over 22,629 people were employed there. And the Bridgeport branch had 23,343. Which showed that Bridgeport was the largest manufacturing city in the State during this time, but New Haven was a close second.
Although the economic character of Cedar Hill changed gradually, the architectural complexion of the area appears to have changed little since the late 1940s. The best remaining example of scattered commercial structures built in Cedar Hill is the Michael W. Ferrell Building on 1296-1304 State Street. Mostly Brick structure had seemed to be popping up around the area. An excellent example would also be the John H. Slator Building (built and owned by John Slator President of the Masions at the time), a late 19th century Italianate style detached duplex row house 1515-1517 State Street. And is a registered historical home.
Present Time
Up until the 2002 Cedar Hill was part of the Fair Haven District of New Haven. The community members in 2000 (based on the finds of the 2000 census) were asked to vote what district they wanted to be part of because of Census results requiring New Haven to redistrict before elections of 2002, they became part of the East Rock district because of the shift of the congressional districts.Cedar Hill Streets Past and Present
These are a list of the original streets of Cedar Hill when I-95 was built some were removed (marked as gone) see map. The importance of this is that the community is now isolated from its communities on all sides, stalling city services from getting to it. Three other communities in New Haven were isolated in the same way, Mill RiverMill River (neighborhood)
Mill River is a primarily industrial neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut located between the Wooster Square and Fair Haven neighborhoods....
, City Point and Part of the Annex
The Annex (New Haven)
The Annex is a residential neighborhood in the city of New Haven, Connecticut. It is located on the eastern side of New Haven Harbor across from Long Wharf...
.
Present Streets - *Welton Street *Lyman Street *Albert Street *Grace Street *Rock Street *Ridge Street *Warren Street State Street *May Street *Willow Street (Turns into Blatchley right on the Cedar Hill Line) * and a small part of James Street
Partially removed Streets - *Cedar Hill Ave. *View Street *Some homes removed on State and Willow.
Streets removed - *Hemlock Street *Sycamore Street *Ash Street *Birch Street *Grotto Street
Landmarks
- Ferry Street Railroad Bridge is significant as a representative example of standard 20th century truss construction; as a product of Boston Bridge Works, a regionally important bridge fabricator; and as part of the New Haven Railroad’s extensive improvements to its freight facilities in Cedar Hill, New Haven, CT
Between 1910 and 1913, the railroad built a large new classification yard in the northeast part of New Haven, the Cedar Hill Terminal, in order to consolidate and expand its freight operations. In connection with that work, the railroad right of way was then further widened to accommodate more tracks, and electrification was extended to the new Cedar Hill yards.photos. The widening required a new bridge at Ferry Street. The bridge was entirely paid for by the railroad with the exception of $316.92 paid by the city of New Haven for a temporary bridge during construction.
- Cedar Hill Coal Tower is a stop for many. This was a coaling tower for refueling steam locomotives for the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad at the "humpHumpHump may refer to:* HUMP! , an annual presentation of amateur pornography* The Hump, a name given by WWII Allied pilots to part of the Himalayan mountains* Kyphosis, the curve on an upper spine that causes a hunchback* Speed hump...
". West Hump was closed by the NH during the 1960s, it was briefly reopened during the early Providence, RI yard era to relieve snow "Lindsay Storm of 1969"February 1969 nor'easterThe February 1969 nor'easter was a severe winter storm that affected the Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the United States between February 8 and February 10. It ranked as Category 2, or "significant", on the Northeast Snowfall Impact Scale...
related congestion at Selkirk, NY. East Hump was closed by Conrail April 1980.
- Bishop Gate - The first road to the top of East Rock was called the Old Stewart's road. It started near Rice Field in Cedar Hill, up to the summit via the dip between East RockEast RockEast Rock of south-central Connecticut, United States, with a high point of , is a long trap rock ridge located on the north side of the city of New Haven...
and Indian head. The newly formed Parks Commission constructed Indian Head Drive in 1890 which started at Bishops Gate (Mrs. John Bishop sold a good park of her land to the parks department, the land going down to Rock Road at the time)on State Street and over Snake Rock, Indian Head and to the top of East Rock. Now Bishops Gate is closed off due to falling rocks but the two Red traprock pillars still mark the start of a fantastic trail for biking and joggers.
- Snake Rock The home of Bishops Gate, is a broad mass of trap measuring 900 by 450 feet (137.2 m) in its two diameters lies encased in sandstone. Height 160 feet (48.8 m) and on the west side it is over 200 feet (61 m). The traprock covers the eastern slope. The south end of the Rock, in the yard behind the north corner of the Basserman house on Rock Street, at a junction of the trap and sandstone, the dip is about 45° ; and this is direct evidence as to the inclination.
Snake Rock contains a half-emerged laccolith, its summit exposed, but the western wall of sandstone still standing and overtopping the trap. The sandstone shows everywhere the effects of hot vapors in- all their varied forms, and before encroachments were made by a brewery there was a fine display of columnar sandstone in the southwestern bluff.
- English Gate - Also finds a home in Cedar Hill and was built in 1890 can be found aside the Cedar Hill Playground. Named after Governor James Edward English who donated a significant amount (along with two others) to the building of the park. English gate is one of the entrance to the car trip to the top of East Rock and all its beauty.
External links
- Cedar Hill Community website
- New Haven Historical Digital collection
- Photos of Cedar Hill Rail Yard - Connecticut History Online
- Aerial photo of I-95 construction. Cedar Hill is in the lower right corner
For Researchers
- 1851 Map of Cedar Hill (With Names of residents)
- 1852 Map of Cedar Hill,CT (With names of residents)
