Fair Haven Heights
Encyclopedia
Fair Haven Heights, or simply the Heights, is a residential and light industrial neighborhood
in the east
ern part of the city of New Haven
, Connecticut
, located east of the Quinnipiac River
. Fair Haven Heights is not to be confused with the adjacent Fair Haven
neighborhood west of the river. The area is bordered on the west by the Quinnipiac River, on the north by Route 80
, on the east by the town of East Haven
, and on the south by Ferry Street and Warwich Avenue. The main through routes are Quinnipiac Avenue, East Grand Avenue, and Eastern Street
settlements existed in the same location. According to some, the name Dragon originated with stories told by suitors of seals (sea dragons) that would sun themselves on this sandy point of land. According to others, it was called Dragon by the early white settlers because the Native American word for those harbor seals sounded like "dragon" to their ear.
From the time of the Quinnipiac (in their language, “long-water-land”) Indians, the oyster
was not only an available food source but a major industry of the community, which was to influence the prosperity of the neighborhood during the 19th century.
Dragon in time came to include the eastern side of the river that belonged to East Haven
, and came to be known as the Heights (because the bulk of that area is set on a huge, heavily wooded hill). Together both the neighborhood across the River (called Neck at the time) and Dragon became Fair Haven in the 19th century (1824). In 1870 the Neck became part of New Haven. It was not until 1881 that the Heights incorporated with New Haven, after an affiliation with the town of East Haven.
s along the Quinnipiac, modest small homes along Grand Avenue, and public housing
projects at the summit of the hill. Similarly, the ethnic breakdown of residents ranges from Italian-American to Puerto Rican to African-American to white.
There are two large, colonial-era churches on Grand Avenue between Lenox and Quinnipiac. One is Episcopalian and predominantly caters to Fair Haven's Hispanic population, and the other is Presbyterian. In addition, the New Haven Religious Society of Friends
relocated their Quaker Meeting House to Grand Avenue in the 1990s.
There are still many factories and shipping businesses along the Quinnipiac.
Its current Alderman
is Democrat
Alexander Rhodeen.
James F. Babcock, a lawyer and publisher of the New Haven Palladium built a large Victorian Gothic home on 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) of land between East Grand Avenue and Clifton Street. The present day address is 89 Sherland Avenue. A few years later the house, two barns and a carriage house were sold. The Babcock home was altered and two more homes were built. Arched woodwork decorates the eaves and high gables. On the southern part of what was the Babcock estate at 154 East Grand Avenue can be found the Victorian Gothic home of the Moody family. Lucius Moody was a successful insurance agent. his wife, Dr. Mary Blair Moody was the first woman physician in the area. Sharp gables, porches and bays, and decorative woodwork complete this example of wooden Victorian Gothic. Two Victorian Gothic cottages remain at 106 and 112 Sherland Avenue.
The Charles Ives home originally was built on Clifton Street on land that is now Fairmont Park. The Ives redstone walls and gates remain. Charles Ives , a lawyer, not to be confused with the composer, Charles Edward Ives, was a member of the Connecticut General Assembly
and Speaker of the House in the mid-19th century. The Ives’ Victorian Gothic home was designed by Rufus Russell. In the early 1920s the Ives’ property was purchased by the City of New Haven to become Fairmont Park. The Ives’ home was moved across the street, and made into two two-family homes. (151-153 and 159-161 Clifton Street). Further down Clifton Street at 80 and 84 stand two Greek Revival homes on high cellars.
The Henry Lancraft house was built on Lenox Street in the Victorian Gothic style. The Lancraft brothers were builders and oystermen in the late 19th century. A redstone wall remains on the property with an entrance at 120 Lexington Avenue.
Coming down the hill to 61 East Grand Avenue one finds the Foote-Chamberlain house. Built in the 1830s in the Italian Villa style it sits above a stone wall topped by an iron fence. In the late 19th century the house was renovated with the addition of a veranda, two ells, a balustraded roof and scalloped shingles.
All along Quinnipiac Avenue one can find homes that were built by families in the oyster business, banking and provisions. The Barnes Victorian Gothic home can be found at 1212 Quinnipiac Avenue. Henry Barnes and his neighbor Horace H. Strong along with Franklin H. Hart were wholesale dealers in meat, seafood and vegetables. At 965 Quinnipiac Avenue stands a home built by Willet Hemingway. Descendants of the family continued to live in the home for years after it was built in the late 1840s. At the turn of the 20th century changes were made in the house that altered it to the Victorian Carpenter Gothic style. In 2002 the now 3 family home was purchased by Doug and Cheri Forbush who continue to occupy and maintain it. The bright pink house, located at the corner of Hemingway Street and Quinnipiac Avenue, serves as a useful landmark while driving or walking through this historic neighborhood.
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 the east
East
East is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating direction or geography.East is one of the four cardinal directions or compass points. It is the opposite of west and is perpendicular to north and south.By convention, the right side of a map is east....
ern part of the city of 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...
, located east of the 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...
. Fair Haven Heights is not to be confused with 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 west of the river. The area is bordered on the west by the Quinnipiac River, on the north by Route 80
Route 80 (Connecticut)
Route 80 is a long secondary east–west state route in Connecticut from New Haven to Deep River. It serves as a more inland alternate route to US 1 in eastern New Haven County and Middlesex County.-Route description:...
, on the east by the town of East Haven
East Haven, Connecticut
East Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 28,189. The town is just 3 minutes from downtown New Haven...
, and on the south by Ferry Street and Warwich Avenue. The main through routes are Quinnipiac Avenue, East Grand Avenue, and Eastern Street
History
It was founded in the 18th century as a fishing and oystering village called Dragon. Dragon was initially located at the point where the present day Ferry Street Bridge crosses the Quinnipiac River. Early Native AmericanNative Americans in the United States
Native Americans in the United States are the indigenous peoples in North America within the boundaries of the present-day continental United States, parts of Alaska, and the island state of Hawaii. They are composed of numerous, distinct tribes, states, and ethnic groups, many of which survive as...
settlements existed in the same location. According to some, the name Dragon originated with stories told by suitors of seals (sea dragons) that would sun themselves on this sandy point of land. According to others, it was called Dragon by the early white settlers because the Native American word for those harbor seals sounded like "dragon" to their ear.
From the time of the Quinnipiac (in their language, “long-water-land”) Indians, the oyster
Oyster
The word oyster is used as a common name for a number of distinct groups of bivalve molluscs which live in marine or brackish habitats. The valves are highly calcified....
was not only an available food source but a major industry of the community, which was to influence the prosperity of the neighborhood during the 19th century.
Dragon in time came to include the eastern side of the river that belonged to East Haven
East Haven, Connecticut
East Haven is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, in the United States. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 28,189. The town is just 3 minutes from downtown New Haven...
, and came to be known as the Heights (because the bulk of that area is set on a huge, heavily wooded hill). Together both the neighborhood across the River (called Neck at the time) and Dragon became Fair Haven in the 19th century (1824). In 1870 the Neck became part of New Haven. It was not until 1881 that the Heights incorporated with New Haven, after an affiliation with the town of East Haven.
Today
Today, it is a demographically mixed neighborhood. There are luxury condominiumCondominium
A condominium, or condo, is the form of housing tenure and other real property where a specified part of a piece of real estate is individually owned while use of and access to common facilities in the piece such as hallways, heating system, elevators, exterior areas is executed under legal rights...
s along the Quinnipiac, modest small homes along Grand Avenue, and public housing
Public housing
Public housing is a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. Social housing is an umbrella term referring to rental housing which may be owned and managed by the state, by non-profit organizations, or by a combination of the...
projects at the summit of the hill. Similarly, the ethnic breakdown of residents ranges from Italian-American to Puerto Rican to African-American to white.
There are two large, colonial-era churches on Grand Avenue between Lenox and Quinnipiac. One is Episcopalian and predominantly caters to Fair Haven's Hispanic population, and the other is Presbyterian. In addition, the New Haven Religious Society of Friends
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
relocated their Quaker Meeting House to Grand Avenue in the 1990s.
There are still many factories and shipping businesses along the Quinnipiac.
Its current Alderman
Alderman
An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members themselves rather than by popular vote, or a council...
is Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Alexander Rhodeen.
Architecture
Originally, the Heights was generally fields and woods. In the 18th and 19th centuries, this area saw the construction of many homes in the Victorian Gothic style. Spacious homes were built by successful businessmen high above the river on streets known as East Grand Avenue, Clifton Street, Sherland Avenue, Lenox Street and Quinnipiac Avenue.James F. Babcock, a lawyer and publisher of the New Haven Palladium built a large Victorian Gothic home on 30 acres (121,405.8 m²) of land between East Grand Avenue and Clifton Street. The present day address is 89 Sherland Avenue. A few years later the house, two barns and a carriage house were sold. The Babcock home was altered and two more homes were built. Arched woodwork decorates the eaves and high gables. On the southern part of what was the Babcock estate at 154 East Grand Avenue can be found the Victorian Gothic home of the Moody family. Lucius Moody was a successful insurance agent. his wife, Dr. Mary Blair Moody was the first woman physician in the area. Sharp gables, porches and bays, and decorative woodwork complete this example of wooden Victorian Gothic. Two Victorian Gothic cottages remain at 106 and 112 Sherland Avenue.
The Charles Ives home originally was built on Clifton Street on land that is now Fairmont Park. The Ives redstone walls and gates remain. Charles Ives , a lawyer, not to be confused with the composer, Charles Edward Ives, was a member of the Connecticut General Assembly
Connecticut General Assembly
The Connecticut General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is a bicameral body composed of the 151-member House of Representatives and the 36-member Senate. It meets in the state capital, Hartford. There are no term limits for either chamber.During...
and Speaker of the House in the mid-19th century. The Ives’ Victorian Gothic home was designed by Rufus Russell. In the early 1920s the Ives’ property was purchased by the City of New Haven to become Fairmont Park. The Ives’ home was moved across the street, and made into two two-family homes. (151-153 and 159-161 Clifton Street). Further down Clifton Street at 80 and 84 stand two Greek Revival homes on high cellars.
The Henry Lancraft house was built on Lenox Street in the Victorian Gothic style. The Lancraft brothers were builders and oystermen in the late 19th century. A redstone wall remains on the property with an entrance at 120 Lexington Avenue.
Coming down the hill to 61 East Grand Avenue one finds the Foote-Chamberlain house. Built in the 1830s in the Italian Villa style it sits above a stone wall topped by an iron fence. In the late 19th century the house was renovated with the addition of a veranda, two ells, a balustraded roof and scalloped shingles.
All along Quinnipiac Avenue one can find homes that were built by families in the oyster business, banking and provisions. The Barnes Victorian Gothic home can be found at 1212 Quinnipiac Avenue. Henry Barnes and his neighbor Horace H. Strong along with Franklin H. Hart were wholesale dealers in meat, seafood and vegetables. At 965 Quinnipiac Avenue stands a home built by Willet Hemingway. Descendants of the family continued to live in the home for years after it was built in the late 1840s. At the turn of the 20th century changes were made in the house that altered it to the Victorian Carpenter Gothic style. In 2002 the now 3 family home was purchased by Doug and Cheri Forbush who continue to occupy and maintain it. The bright pink house, located at the corner of Hemingway Street and Quinnipiac Avenue, serves as a useful landmark while driving or walking through this historic neighborhood.
Notable sites
- Benjamin Jepson Magnet School
- Fairmont Park
- Grand Avenue Bridge
- Quinnipiac Middle School
List of streets
- 1st Ave.
- Aner St.
- Clifton St.
- East Grand Ave.
- Eastern Cir.
- Eastern St.
- Eldridge St.
- Essex St.
- Foxon Blvd./Foxon Rd.
- Grand Avenue
- Hemmingway St.
- Highview Ln.
- Howard St.
- Hulse St.
- Judith Ter.
- Kingswood Dr.
- Lelia St.
- Lenox St.
- Lexington Ave./Lexington Ter.
- Marie St.
- Mountain Top Ln.
- Oxford St.
- Pequot St.
- Quinnipiac Ave.
- Revere Ct./Revere St.
- Rock Hill Rd.
- Rosewood Ave.
- Runo Ter.
- Russell St.
- Russo Ave.
- Sherland Ave.
- Skyview Ln.
- Summit St.
- Welcome St.
- Woodhill Rd.