East Rock, New Haven

East Rock
Neighborhood of New Haven

East Rock neighborhood with the trap rock feature for which it is named, behind

East Rock within New Haven
Coordinates: 41°19′16″N 72°54′25″W / 41.321°N 72.907°W / 41.321; -72.907Coordinates: 41°19′16″N 72°54′25″W / 41.321°N 72.907°W / 41.321; -72.907
Country United States
State Connecticut
City New Haven

East Rock is a neighborhood in the city of New Haven,[1] Connecticut, named for nearby East Rock, a prominent trap rock ridge. The area is home to a large group of Yale students, staff, and faculty, as well as many young professionals and families. It is known as the "grad ghetto," because it is a popular apartment rental location for graduate and professional students at Yale.[2] East Rock is also a popular destination for cyclists, as a city bike lane runs along Orange Street, the neighborhood's spine.

Geography

Restaurants on Upper State Street, East Rock's main commercial strip

The neighborhood is bordered on the north by the town of Hamden, on the east by Amtrak railroad tracks, on the southeast by Interstate 91 (between Exits 3 and 6), on the south by Trumbull Street, and on the west by Whitney Avenue. The northeast corner of the area, separated from the main neighborhood by the Mill River and the East Rock hill, is part of the community known as Cedar Hill.

The neighborhood is divided between New Haven's ninth and tenth aldermanic wards. Before redistricting, it lay in the fifteenth ward; the area was the subject of William Lee Miller's book The Fifteenth Ward and the Great Society. The western half of the neighborhood (west of Orange Street) is within the Whitney Avenue Historic District. The southerly parts of the neighborhood are also listed as historic districts: Upper State Street Historic District along State Street, and Orange Street Historic District along Orange Street. The northern portion of the neighborhood is occupied by part of East Rock Park.

Notable sites

Houses in the Orange Street Historic District

List of streets

Street Origin of name Other
Anderson St. possibly William S. Anderson of Boston, who owned land in the area
Alburt St.
Avon St. probably Avon, New York
Bishop St. Bishop family, heirs of Abraham Bishop
Bradley St. Abraham Bradley, landowner previously named Third St. as well as Marshall St.
Burns Dr. possibly James Burns, painter, or Mary C. Burns, mother of John W. Bishop, landowner
Canner St. either Henry Caner, Bostonian constructor of Yale College, or his son Dr. Henry Caner, rector of King's Chapel in Boston. The name of the street has become misspelled with time.
Cedar Hill Ave. Named after the Cedar Trees that once grew in the area
Clark St. Mary Ann Clark, daughter of Abraham Bishop
Cold Spring St. named for a cold spring that sourced from the Mill River
Cottage St. named for a Greek villa on the estate of wealthy New Yorker Henry Whitney previously called Amity Pl.
Eagle St. previously called North Vernon St.
East Rock Rd. East Rock previously called Rock Ln.
Edwards St. probably Pierpont Edwards
Eld St. Lt. Henry Eld who originally settled in Cedar Hill
Everit St. Richard Mansfield Everit, landowner
Farnum Dr.
Foster St. Stella Bishop Foster, daughter of Abraham Bishop
Grace St. Grace Clarissa, Major Lyman Atwater's daughter who was married to Elias B. Bishop
Humphrey St. David Humphreys previously Humphreys
Lawrence St. Cornelia Lawrence, daughter-in-law of James Hillhouse
Lincoln St. Abraham Lincoln previously Clinton Pl.
Linden St. named for the Linden tree
Livingston St. Maria Whitney Livingston, heir to Henry Whitney's estate
Lyman St. Named after Major Lyman Atwater
May St.
Mechanic St. houses were built on this street for mechanics of the Marlin Firearms Co.
Mitchell Dr. Donald D. Mitchell, landscape gardener
Nash St. possibly Thomas Nash, gunsmith, or Burr Nash, blacksmith
Nicoll St. Caroline B. Nicoll, daughter of Abraham Bishop
North Bank St. located on the south bank of the Mill River
Orange St. William III of England, Prince of Orange one of the first paved streets in the city, called Mill Lane in colonial days
Pearl St. named for the pearly oyster shells covering the roads
Pleasant St.
Ridge St.
Rock St. The Highway to East Rock is its nickname built by Mr. Warren and Mr. Blatchley previously called Rock Lane
State St. Previously named Neck Lane "The Neck", Hancock Ave.[3]
Trumbull St. named for the widow of Jonathan Trumbull previously called New St., then Second St.
View St. the original place of residence of Henry Eld
Warren Pl. Charles Warren, one of the two men that built the road to the top of East Rock
Welton St. One of the main Streets to the Cedar Hill Rail Yards
Whitney Ave. Eli Whitney previously Long Ln.
Willow St. Willow trees on the river bank

References

  1. ↑ East Rock (PDF) (Map). New Haven City Plan Department. Retrieved 2009-02-06.
  2. ↑ The Great New Haven Real Estate Hunt (Map). Yale Law School. Retrieved 2013-07-14.
  3. ↑ http://books.google.com/books?id=JJANAQAAIAAJ&pg=PA104&dq=cedar+hill,+new+haven&hl=en&ei=tt8OTNP0IsSclgeLntWACg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CDgQ6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=cedar%20hill&f=false Papers of the New Haven Colony Historical Society, Volume 5 By New Haven Colony Historical Society pg 90

Bibliography

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