Local History
Overview
The Local History Room is located in the Main Branch and is open
during the following hours. Since hours are subject to change, please
call 946-8130 for confirmation.
Monday: 5:30-8
Tuesday: 10-1
Wednesday: 10-1
Thursday: 1-5
Friday: Closed
Saturday: Closed
While the Local History Room is closed,
assistance is available over the phone (call 946-8130)
or through the Web (go to Ask a Local History Question).
The mission of the staff of the New Haven Free Public
Library's Local History Room is to promote an awareness of
the history and cultural diversity of New Haven and to
relate that rich history to the present. Assistance in the
use of the collection, collection development, referrals to
other sources of New Haven information and active
educational programs for patrons and librarians are
essential aspects of that mission.
Reference and referral services are provided on a free
and equal basis to all patrons. Patrons may be elementary
school students looking for the origin of New Haven street
names or graduate students researching the Model Cities
initiative; genealogists or house and neighborhood
researchers; individuals curious about the Black Panther
Party trial or a patron tracing the history of a New Haven
business.
The objective in developing the Local History Room's
collection is to support such public interests by locating,
preserving and making available books, pamphlets,
genealogies, newspapers, photographs, municipal documents,
maps, atlases, audiovisual materials, electronic resources
and indexes. These materials document the economic,
natural, political and social history of New Haven and with
lesser emphasis New Haven County and New Haven County
towns. The collection also includes works on general
Connecticut history, historical methodology and the history
of the New Haven Free Public Library.
Artifacts, valuable manuscripts and other items of
relatively high intrinsic value and rarity should be
considered for other collections in the area rather than
the New Haven Free Public Library. The special
considerations these items entail would not be consistent
with the public nature of the Local History Room's
collection.
New Haven Municipal Documents
The Library's New Haven Municipal Document Collection,
housed in the Local History Room, comprises publications produced by various
city departments and agencies such as annual reports, ordinances,
financial statements, proposals, etc. This material is for use
only in the Library. The list below provides a list of titles
organized by department and agency.
Call 946-8130 ext. 101 to verify the availability of a
publication.
Selected Resources for Researching New Haven's Neighborhoods
The following guide is intended to be a starting
point for those researching any of
New Haven's neighborhoods.
Resources are scattered among several
collections in New Haven and cover a wide range of formats, including
municipal documents, statistical reports, books, photographs,
Web sites, maps, and other material. This list is not comprehensive, but
the Library's Local History staff and some of the departments
listed below can refer you to other resources.
Library Materials
Census Data
Census publications spanning several periods in New Haven's history
are scattered throughout the Main Library. Census tracts, which roughly correspond to New Haven's neighborhoods (see map), yield data that are particularly valuable for
neighborhood research. In addition to Census tract data in the Library's Local History Room (see below), the Main Library's collection of Census publications includes 1980 and 1990 New Haven Census tract data.
Information Center Files
Files on New Haven's neighborhoods are available at
the Main Library's Information Center and include
newspaper clippings, brochures, guides, and other material.
Call 946-8130 (ext. 101) for more information.
Local History Material
I. Selected Books and Other Publications
Balzer, Richard. Street Time. New York: Grossman Publishers, 1972.
Call Number: R917.468 B241s
Brown, Elizabeth Mills. Historic Houses of Wooster
Square. New Haven: New Haven Preservation Trust, 1969.
Call Number: 917.461 N456h
Brown, Elizabeth Mills. Introduction to the History of
Wooster Square and its Architecture 1825-1880. New
Haven: New Haven Preservation Trust, 1969.
Call Number: 917.461 N456I
Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation. Dwight Area
Historical and Architectural Resources Survey. 3 vols. New Haven: Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation, n.d.
Call Number: R352.07461 C762d
Gardener, Benjamin. Fair Haven: Where the Rivers Meet the
Sea. New Haven: n.p., n.d.
Call Number: 974.61 GARDNER
Goldberg, Carey, ed. Inside New Haven's Neighborhoods:
a Guide to the City of New Haven. New Haven: City of New Haven in cooperation with the New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1982.
Call Number: R917.461 N421I
Homman, Mary. Wooster Square Design: A Report on the
Background, Experience, and Design Procedures in Redevelopment and
Rehabilitation in an Urban Renewal Project. New Haven: New Haven Redevelopment Agency, 1965.
Call Number: R352.07461 H743w
Lattanzi, Robert. Oyster Village to Melting Pot: the Hill
Section of New Haven. Chester, Ct.: Pattaconk Brook Publications, 2000.
Call Number: R974.61 LATTANZI
Niles, Anne F. New Haven Historic Resources Inventory. New Haven: New Haven Preservation Trust, 1982.
Call Number: R917.461 N456na
Townsend, Doris B., Fair Haven: A Journey Through Time. New Haven: New Haven Colony Historical Society, 1976.
Call Number: R974.61 T663f
Woodmansee, Florence. "Notes on Westville", Typescript.
[1921].
Call Number: R974.61 W17
II. Selected New Haven Municipal Documents
Alderman, Board of
- Neighborhood Meetings (Dixwell-Newhallville, Dwight, East
Rock-Wooster Square, East Shore, Fair Haven, Hill, Westville)
1983
City Demonstration Agency
- Comprehensive Program for New Haven's Model Neighborhood:
The Hill (Draft) 1969
- Ideas for the Hill Model Neighborhood 1967
City Plan
- Neighborhood Data Summaries 1967
- Neighborhood Statistics Program 1967
Community Progress Incorporated
- CPI Manpower Division Inner City Survey 1967
- Guidelines for Participation in the Development of Neighborhood
Corporations 1968
- Report to the New Haven Redevelopment Agency 1963-64
Empower New Haven
- The First 21 Months: January 1999 - September 2000
- Dixwell Making it Happen ... This is Only the Beginning
2000
- Dwight Neighborhood Phase I Submission 2001
- Fair Haven Neighborhood Plan Phase I (Draft) 2000
- Hill Neighborhood Plan 2001
- Newhallville Neighborhood Study 2000
- West Rock 2000
Goals For New Haven
- Neighborhood and Housing Committee 1979
Health
- Vital Statistics 1962-1979, 1983-1998
Historic District Commission
- Iron Fences of Wooster Square 197-
- Quinnipiac River Historic District 1977
Housing
- Empowerment Zone Application 1998
Mayor
- Dixwell/Newhallville Neighborhood Revitalization Plan 1981
- Housing and Neighborhoods 1981
- Report on an Expanded Neighborhood Preservation Program 1978
Police
- Police and Neighborhood Resources Manual 1992, 1993
Redevelopment
- Dixwell Redevelopment and Renewal Plan 1960, 1967
- Dwight Redevelopment and Renewal Plan 1963, 1965, 1968
- Fair Haven Redevelopment and Renewal Plan 1969, 1975, 1977
- Hill: A Neighborhood Plan for the Future 1966
- Hill Redevelopment and Renewal Plan 1972
- Ideas for the Hill Model Neighborhood Program 1967
- Long Wharf Development Commercial, Retail, Tourist, and Maritime
Center 1984
- Long Wharf Redevelopment Plan 1958, 1970
- Middle Ground: A Program for New Haven's Middle-Aged
Neighborhoods 1959
- New Haven's Approach to Neighborhood Improvement 1969
- Newhallville Renewal and Redevelopment Plan 1968
- Newhallville Renewal Plan 1968
- Ninth Square Project: New Haven Preservation Trust Design
Guidelines 1984
- Ninth Square Project: Ninth Square Association Interim Report
1984
- Ninth Square Project: Preservation Trust Business Plan 1984
- Ninth Square Project: Tax Implications for Non Profit
Organizations in Commercial Real Estate Development 1984
- Pretest Block Data 1967
- Redevelopment Plan for the Oak Street Redevelopment Area
1959
- Redevelopment Project Oak Street Area 1955
- State Street Renewal and Redevelopment Plan 1968, 1969
- State Street Renewal and Redevelopment Plan: Transportation
Center Study 1971
- Wooster Square Redevelopment and Renewal Plan 1958, 1961,
1967
- Wooster Square School - Community Center Architectural
Program 1959
III. Census Records
- New Haven Census: 1870-1970
Ward/tract data are included (personal names are included
only in the Library's 1790 Census records).
IV. Vertical File Collection
Files classified under City Planning and
Neighborhood Groups and Centers include newspaper clippings
(articles aren't clipped on a formal basis, so it's best to
check newspaper indexes for a more complete list of available
articles), newsletters, brochures, and city agency publications
relevant to New Haven's neighborhoods.
City Departments and Organizations
City Clerk
200 Orange Street
946-8346
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/TownClerk
The City Clerk's collection of municipal documents includes
aldermanic records dating back to the 1800's.
City Plan Department
165 Church Street
946-6379
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/CityPlan
The City Plan Department houses a collection of municipal documents,
books, maps, photographs, and other material for in-house use. Of
particular use for neighborhood research are Census publications,
the New Haven Historic Resources Inventory, redevelopment plans, neighborhood meeting records, and New Haven Redevelopment Agency
slides from the 1950's, 1960's, and 1970's. The latter includes
slides of buildings, streets, events, maps, etc.
Education Department
54 Meadow Street
946-8455
http://www.nhps.net
Public schools collect a variety of information about their communities;
much of their data is disseminated via the Strategic School Profiles,
which are online at
http://www.csde.state.ct.us/public/der/datacentral/ssp/ssp_frameset.htm
. In addition to district-wide data, the site includes profiles
of individual schools which provide student demographics by race,
academic performance, dropout rates, and other data. The Main Library's Connecticut documents collection includes information about New Haven's schools as well.
Empower New Haven
59 Elm Street
776-2777
http://www.empowernewhaven.org/
Empower New Haven collects data on New Haven's Empowerment Zone,
which encompasses six of the City's most
impoverished neighborhoods: Dixwell, Dwight, Fair Haven,
the Hill, Newhallville and West Rock.
Health Department
54 Meadow Street
946-6999
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Health
The Health Department collects a variety of data,
including vital statistics (births, deaths, marriages)
of the neighborhoods.
Livable City Initiative
165 Church Street
946-7080
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/LivableCity
LCI's Neighborhood Services Division is staffed by
neighborhood specialists who support the City Plan and
Empowerment Zone effort to create neighborhood plans
for each neighborhood. LCI's resources include
a database of vacant lots and buildings, housing
data (e.g. acquisitions and dispositions), and information
on neighborhood services and complaints. A directory of
neighborhood specialists is available on LCI's Web page.
New Haven Colony Historical Society
114 Whitney Avenue
562-4183
The Society's library has a wealth of material including
voting records from the early 1900's (organized by
neighborhood), maps, photographs, aldermanic records, etc.
The library also has a collection of housing and redevelopment
records comprising over 2,000 items including minutes of meetings,
reports, surveys, press releases, clippings, and photographs.
The bulk of the documents in this collection was generated
during the 1960's.
Police Department
1 Union Avenue
946-6310
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Police
New Haven's police department collects crime analysis data at various
levels of detail, including data by
police district and block aggregate data.
Members of the
public may obtain data by filling out one of the department's
forms
or by making a
Freedom of Information request
.
Web Sites
Census Data
http://www.census.gov
Year 2000 Census data on New Haven are available by census
tract.
New Haven Demographics (Library Page)
http://www.cityofnewhaven.com/Library/Demograph.asp
Includes a map of New Haven's neighborhoods/census tracts as well
as other
maps relevant to neighborhood research.
New Haven Health: Statistics and Data
http://info.med.yale.edu/newhavenhealth/statistics/
Includes vital statistics by neighborhood/census tract.
Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute Curriculum Units
While designed for teachers, these publications
include material relevant to neighborhood research, including
neighborhood histories and bibliographies.
Related Pages:
Revised September 15, 2003
