NEW IIAVEN (ante) is situated on a sandy plain inclosed between the Quinipine and Mill rivers on the e. and the West river on the w.; East Rock and West Rock on either side are of volcanic formation, about 450 ft. in height, and front the city with their precipitous faces. The railroads which center here are the'New York, New Haven, and Hartford—running w. and n. and with a branch, the Shore line, running to the e.; the New Haven and Northampton, the New York and Boston air line, and the Derby and New Haven; pop. '80, 62,882. The harbor is large but not of great depth; improvement is now being made by extensive dredging. The shipping business is considerable, but not as great, proportionately, as in former years, when a large trade was carried on with the West. Indies. Two lines of steamboats run to New York, four boats leaving each port daily. The city is distant from Hartford, the capital, 36 m., from New London about 50 m., and from New York 76 miles.
New Haven was founded in 1638 by a Puritan colony under the rev. John Daven port and Theophilus Eaton, and with the adjoining towns of Guilford, Milford, Stam ford, and Branford, constituted an independent colony until 1662, when it was brought under the same charter with Connecticut. Hartford and New Haven were then made joint capitals and continued so until 1873, when the constitution of the state was amended and Hartford became sole capital. There are both town and city governments, the latter under a special charter; the villages of Westville and Fair Haven are included in the city limits. There are ten wards, each sending two aldermen and three councilmen to the common council, who are elected annually, as is the mayor. The fire, police, and street departments, are controlled by boards of commissioners, and are very efficient. Taxes are moderate and, including that for the school fund, amount to about 16 mills on the dollar. The city has long been called "Elm City," from the great number of ancient elms which adorn its streets and parks, most of which were planted at the end of the last and beginning of this century. The public square or " green " lies in the center of the city as originally laid out, and is surrounded by a double row of elms, which also border Temple street passing through the green, and that part of the college grounds adjoining. In this park are three churches; one. the oldest in the city, has a crypt containing the tombs of many of the old heads of families of the state. Here also is the old state capital, in decay of late years. Behind Center church are the tombs of the " regicides,"
Goffc, Whalley and Dixwell, and upon the slope Rock may be seen a cave, or rather shelter among boulders, said to have been occupied by them as a place of conceal ment, and bearing the inscription " Opposition to tyrants is obedience to God." Among the principal streets are Chapel, Church, and Ftate, the business thoroughfares, and Hillhouse avenue, Prospect, 'West Chapel, and Dwight streets, where are many of the best residences and handsome grounds. The town is remarkable for the abundance of trees and the absence of all crowding of residences, even in the center of the city. The most noteworthy public buildings are the post-office, city hall, and county court-house the finest buildings of the city, the police building, the public high school, the Peabody museum, and other of the college buildings. See YALE COLLEGE. There are nearly 50 churches; among, the finest are Trinity ,and..St, Paul's Episcopal, St. Mary's Roman Catholic. Clinic], of theRedeerner;Uotigkegiltional, land. the 'Baptist .= church on Chapel street. Besides the various departments of the college, there are several academies for boys and young ladies. Hopkins grammar school being the best known, There is a fine high school and a good common school system. For many years New Haven has been largely engaged in the manufacture of clocks and carriages, and there are many factories for making the latter. Winchester's rifle, pistol, and cartridge factory; Ca ndee's rubber works (the second largest in the world); Sargent's factory of domestic hardware, etc.; and Wheeler's iron works are among the largest concerns in the city. Among many other articles produced are pianos, organs, pins, fish-hooks, matches, paper boxes, all kinds of iron and brass ware, machinery, corsets, skirts, paper, and shoes. The city is the center of a large retail trade with the surrounding country, and through it passt-a nearly all the coal and freight of the New England states. The city debt is not burden some, and consists mainly in bonds for the expense of the excellent sewerage system, and ia aid of the Derby railroad. There are five daily newspapers, nine weeklies, several monthly magazines, and a quarterly published in the city. The college, which of late has assumed the features, though not the name, of a university, has for over a hundred years been a center for much of the social life of the community, but this influ ence is now less dominant, as the city has greatly enlarged.