Sleeping Giant State Park

Observation Tower, Sleeping Giant State Park, Hamden

Hamden, in New Haven County, is located in southern Connecticut. Originally settled by the Puritans as part of New Haven Colony, it was incorporated as its own town in May of 1786. Home to Eli Whitney’s armory, it played a crucial role in the Industrial Revolution in America. Marked by two large trap rock formations, Hamden is nicknamed, The Land of the Sleeping Giant, after the hills of Mount Carmel in the north. Home to Quinnipiac University, Hamden is Connecticut’s thirteenth-largest town, with an urban section to the south and a rural suburb in the north.

More on Hamden from the CT Digital Archive

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Sleeping Giant, Mount Carmel, Hamden

A Volcanic Giant Sleeps in Hamden

The unique ridge that runs east-west just six miles north of New Haven is known as "Sleeping Giant" for its resemblance (from a distance) to a recumbent person. …[more]

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Websites

“Greater New Haven Labor History Association,” 2017. Link.

Places

Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “Farmington Canal State Park Trail,” 2012. Link.
Hamden Public Library. “Hamden Historical Society,” 2012. Link.
Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “Sleeping Giant State Park,” 2016. Link.
“The Eli Whitney Museum and Workshop,” 2016. Link.
Hamden Historical Society. “The Hamden Historical Society Library and History Room,” 2015. Link.
Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. “West Rock Ridge State Park,” 2012. Link.

Documents

Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Hamden - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2014. Link.
“Hamden Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
“Map - Hamden, Conn. (Petersen Collection).” Petersen Collection. Hamden, CT, ca. 1850s. University of Connecticut Libraries - Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.
Barber, John Warner. “Whitneyville, Hamden,” 1836. Connecticut Historical Society. Link.

Books

Hamden Historical Society. Hamden. Portsmouth,  NH: Arcadia, 2004.
Lehman, Eric. Hamden: Tales from the Sleeping Giant. Charleston,  SC: History Press, 2010.
Rockey, J. History of New Haven County, Connecticut. Vol. 1. New York: W. W. Preston, 1892. Link.
Blake, William, ed. History of the Town of Hamden, Connecticut: With an Account of the Centennial Celebration, June 15th, 1886. New Haven, CT: Price  Lee & Company, 1888. Link.
Hartley, Rachel. The History of Hamden, Connecticut, 1786-1936. Hamden,  CT: Quinnipiack Press, 1943.