Arrigoni Bridge, Middletown

The city of Middletown, located in Middlesex County, lies along the west side of the Connecticut River in the central part of the state. Incorporated as a town in 1650 under its original Native American name of Mattabeseck, it received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central settlement was incorporated as a city distinct from the town, and in the early 2oth century the city and town consolidated. A busy sailing port and trading center in the 18th and 19th centuries, it later became an industrial and commercial center. Middletown is now mainly residential and is also home to Wesleyan University.

More on Middletown from the CT Digital Archive

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Olin Library and The Debate About Open Space at Wesleyan University

The history of Wesleyan's library system includes a debate that reveals how values associated with the environment in the early 1900s helped shape the campus's development. …[more]

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Places

Connecticut Freedom Trail. “Levereet Beman Historic District,” 2012. Link.
Russell Library. “Local History Room,” 2012. Link.
“Middlesex County Historical Society,” 2017. Link.
“The Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill,” 2012. Link.
Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “Wadsworth Falls State Park.” Accessed February 29, 2012. Link.
Connecticut Freedom Trail. “West Burying Ground (Washington Street Cemetery),” 2012. Link.

Documents

Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Middletown - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2015. Link.
“Middletown Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
Canfield, Isaac A. Patent Number 317,626 - Dress Shield. 317,626. Middletown, CT, issued May 12, 1885. Link.
O.H. Bailey & Company. “View of Middletown, Conn.” New York: Hughes & Bailey, 1877. University of Connecticut Libraries, Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.
Fowler, T. M. (Thaddeus Mortimer). “View of Middletown, Conn.” New York: Hughes & Bailey, 1915. University of Connecticut Libraries, Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.

Books

Greater Middletown Preservation Trust, and Elizabeth Warner. A Pictorial History of Middletown. Norfolk,  VA: Donning Company Publishers, 1990.
Field, David. A Statistical Account of the County of Middlesex, in Connecticut. Middletown,  CT: Clark & Lyman, 1819. Link.
Beers, F. W. County Atlas of Middlesex, Connecticut: From Actual Surveys. New York, NY: F.W. Beers & Company, 1874. Link.
Beers, J.B., & Company, and Henry Whittemore. History of Middlesex County, Connecticut, with Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men. New York, NY: J.B. Beers & Company, 1884. Link.
Greater Middletown Preservation Trust, and Julia Perkins. Long Ago, Not Far Away: An Illustrated History of Six Middlesex County Towns. Virginia Beach,  VA: Donning Company Publishers, 1996.
Middlesex County Historical Society, and Robert Hubbard. Middletown. Charleston,  SC: Arcadia, 2009.
Society of Middletown Upper Houses, and Charles Adams. Middletown Upper Houses a History of the North Society of Middletown, Connecticut, from 1650 to 1800, with Genealogical and Biographical Chapters on Early Families and a Full Genealogy of the Ranney. New York: Grafton Press, 1908. Link.
Hall, Peter. Middletown--Streets, Commerce, and People, 1650-1981. Middletown,  CT: Wesleyan University, 1981.
Hall, Catherine. The Leading Business Men of Middletown, Portland, Durham and Middlefield. Boston, MA: Mercantile Publishing Company, 1890. Link.
Donlan, H. F. The Middletown Tribune Souvenir Edition an Illustrated and Descriptive Exposition of Middletown, Portland, Cromwell, East Berlin, and Higganum. Middletown,  CT: E.P. Bigelow, 1896. Link.
The Story of the Twenty-First Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, During the Civil War. 1861-1865. Middletown, CT: Stewart Printing Co., 1900. Link.