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 20th 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.

Featured

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]

Learn More

“Middlesex County Historical Society.” 2017. https://mchsct.org/.
The Story of the Twenty-First Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry, During the Civil War. 1861-1865. 1900. Middletown, CT: Stewart Printing Co. https://archive.org/stream/00544322.3071.emory.edu/00544322_3071#page/n5/mode/2up.
Donlan, H. F. 1896. The Middletown Tribune Souvenir Edition an Illustrated and Descriptive Exposition of Middletown, Portland, Cromwell, East Berlin, and Higganum. Middletown,  CT: E.P. Bigelow. https://archive.org/stream/middletowntribun00donl#page/n5/mode/2up.
Canfield, Isaac A. 1885. “Patent Number 317,626 - Dress Shield.” https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US317626.pdf (July 23, 2013).
“Middletown - WPA Architectural Survey.” 2015. Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. http://cslib.cdmhost.com/cdm/search/collection/p4005coll7/searchterm/Middletown/field/towns/mode/exact/conn/and/order/title (February 11, 2015).
“West Burying Ground (Washington Street Cemetery).” 2012. Connecticut Freedom Trail. http://www.ctfreedomtrail.org/trail/concept-of-freedom/sites/#!/west-burying-ground-washington-street-cemetery.
Beers, F. W. 1874. County Atlas of Middlesex, Connecticut: From Actual Surveys. New York, NY: F.W. Beers & Company. http://archive.org/stream/countyatlasofmiddlesexct00newy/uconn_magic_ocm10743298#page/n5/mode/2up.
“Wadsworth Falls State Park.” Department of Energy & Environmental Protection. http://www.ct.gov/dep/cwp/view.asp?a=2716&q=325274&depNav_GID=1650 (February 29, 2012).
Fowler, T. M. (Thaddeus Mortimer). 1915. “View of Middletown, Conn.” http://www.flickr.com/photos/uconnlibrariesmagic/3404346569/ (December 6, 2011).
O.H. Bailey & Company. 1877. “View of Middletown, Conn.” http://www.flickr.com/photos/uconnlibrariesmagic/3404430517/.
“Housewife Was Well Trained To Take Over Tavern - Hartford Courant.” http://articles.courant.com/1998-11-25/news/9811240085_1_tavern-keeper-four-children-century (November 6, 2012).
Beers, J.B., & Company, and Henry Whittemore. 1884. History of Middlesex County, Connecticut, with Biographical Sketches of Its Prominent Men. New York, NY: J.B. Beers & Company. http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924097556595#page/n7/mode/2up.
“Levereet Beman Historic District.” 2012. Connecticut Freedom Trail. http://www.ctfreedomtrail.org/trail/concept-of-freedom/sites/#!/leverett-beman-historic-district (July 20, 2012).
Field, David. 1819. A Statistical Account of the County of Middlesex, in Connecticut. Middletown,  CT: Clark & Lyman. http://www.archive.org/stream/astatisticalacc00fielgoog#page/n7/mode/2up.
“Local History Room.” 2012. Russell Library. http://russelllibrary.org/reference/history_middletownrm.html.
Hall, Catherine. 1890. The Leading Business Men of Middletown, Portland, Durham and Middlefield. Boston, MA: Mercantile Publishing Company. http://www.archive.org/stream/leadingbusinessm00hall#page/n3/mode/2up.
Greater Middletown Preservation Trust, and Elizabeth Warner. 1990. A Pictorial History of Middletown. Norfolk,  VA: Donning Company Publishers.
Hall, Peter. 1981. Middletown--Streets, Commerce, and People, 1650-1981. Middletown,  CT: Wesleyan University.
Middlesex County Historical Society, and Robert Hubbard. 2009. Middletown. Charleston,  SC: Arcadia.
Greater Middletown Preservation Trust, and Julia Perkins. 1996. Long Ago, Not Far Away: An Illustrated History of Six Middlesex County Towns. Virginia Beach,  VA: Donning Company Publishers.
Society of Middletown Upper Houses, and Charles Adams. 1908. 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. http://www.archive.org/stream/middletownupperh00adam#page/n7/mode/2up.
“The Wadsworth Mansion at Long Hill.” 2012. http://www.wadsworthmansion.com/.