Carolyn C. Smith
Many of the streets were names for prominent figures who played an important part in transforming the city and neighborhoods into what they are today. Some of those persons are listed below along with a description of their role in the community.
Abraham Baldwin
was a Yale graduate who fathered the public school system and state university. He served in the Federal House and Senate. Balwin School is named in his honor.
Herbert Bassett
was the president of Acme Wire Company which made high tension ignition cables.
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James Brewster
was a carriage maker, railroad builder, philanthropist, and civic leader.
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Charles Goodyear
volcanized rubber.
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James Hillhouse
was also known as “The Sachem”. He is responsible for the Elm trees planted in the city.
He was also president of the U. S. Senate as well as Administrator of Connecticut Western School lands.
Henry Hooker
was a carriage maker. A school is named for him.
Jonathan Mix
was the inventor of the elliptical steel carriage spring.
Jedidiah Morse
was head of a New Haven school for young ladies. He was also known as the father of geography.
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Jared Mansfield
developed and supervised a survey system which opened the Northwest to settlers.
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George Newhall
was the first to apply steam power in making marriages. His company became the largest New Haven carriage of that time.
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Theron T. Pond
distilled witch-hazel from
Hamamelis,
a shrub used by the Indians and early settlers for soothing medical purposes.
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Roger Sherman
was New Haven’s first mayor. He was a shoemaker, compiler of almanacs, lawyer, legislator, judge, and a member of the Continental Congress. He is the only man who signed the Declaration of Independence, the Articles of Confederation, and the Constitution of the United States.
Eli Whitney
was known as the Father of American Industry. He was the inventor of the cotton-gin, guns with interchangeable parts, and many machine tools. He was the founder of Whitneyville in Hamden.
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Oliver Winchester
was the founder of Winchester Repeating Arms Company. He was Connecticut’s Lieutenant Governor for one term beginning 1866.
John Winthrop
was a notable physician. He was also a successful inventor and metallurgist. He was the founder of Saybrook.
Elihu Yale
went to India as a poor man. He rose to the position as Governor of Madas. He made five million dollars in the diamond trade. Yale University is named in his honor.
David Wooster
was a Major-General who was famous for his exploitations in the Indian Wars.
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Joseph Earl Sheffield
is responsible for supplying the necessary fund to proceed with the building of the canal in New Haven which would have been a part of the Farmington Canal.
Samuel F. B. Morse
was the inventor of the telegraph and the Morse code.
Ezra Stiles
was president of Yale University during and after the war of Independence. He conducted the first electrical experiments in New England. He also promoted mulberry and silk-worm culture. He experimented with hot-air baloons and was the builder of a Yale planetarium.
