Middletown in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)
Middletown
Photographed by Michael Herrick, August 17, 2013
1. Middletown Marker
Inscription.
Middletown. .
Middletown. The area known as Mattabesett, home of the Wangunk Indian tribe, was settled by English colonists from Hartford and Wethersfield in 1650. Situated at the big bend in the Connecticut River, it was named Middletown because it lay halfway between Saybrook and Windsor. Its location on the “Great Tidal River” led to a prosperous shipping economy during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. From Middletown, ships sailed to ports along the East Coast and in the West Indies. Crafts and trades such as pewter making and shipbuilding flourished, as did agriculture in the surrounding countryside. During the Revolutionary War, Middletown became a center of resistance to the British Crown. Many of its citizens, including such men as Jabez Hamlin; Nehemiah and Elijah Hubbard; Titus Hosmer, Esquire; General Comfort Sage; Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs; and Colonel John Sumner, played important roles in the struggle for American independence. ( back ) The town was incorporated as a city in 1784, one of the first five in Connecticut. Commodore Thomas Macdonough, an outstanding naval officer in the War of 18 12 against Great Britain, made his home in Middletown and was buried here in Riverside cemetery. Long the seat of the Court of Middlesex County, Middletown became the site of Wesleyan University in 1831. General Joseph K. F. Mansfield, killed in action at the Battle of Antietam in 1862, and numerous other Middletown men served bravely in the 1861-1865 war to preserve the Union of the North American States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, immigrants arrived from Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Italy, but most notably from the Sicilian town of Melilli. These later arrivals helped to enrich the fabric of the community and, together with others who followed, gave to the City the diverse and cosmopolitan quality it has today. Erected by The City of Middletown The Middlesex County Historical Society The Connecticut Historical Commission 1981
Middletown
The area known as Mattabesett, home of the Wangunk Indian tribe, was settled by English colonists from Hartford and Wethersfield in 1650. Situated at the big bend in the Connecticut River, it was named Middletown because it lay halfway between Saybrook and Windsor. Its location on the “Great Tidal River” led to a prosperous shipping economy during the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. From Middletown, ships sailed to ports along the East Coast and in the West Indies. Crafts and trades such as pewter making and shipbuilding flourished, as did agriculture in the surrounding countryside. During the Revolutionary War, Middletown became a center of resistance to the British Crown. Many of its citizens, including such men as Jabez Hamlin; Nehemiah and Elijah Hubbard; Titus Hosmer, Esquire; General Comfort Sage; Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs; and Colonel John Sumner, played important roles in the struggle for American independence.
( back )
The town was incorporated as a city in 1784, one of the first five in Connecticut. Commodore Thomas Macdonough, an outstanding naval officer in the War of 1812 against Great Britain, made his home in Middletown and was buried here in Riverside cemetery. Long the seat of the Court of Middlesex County, Middletown became the site of Wesleyan
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University in 1831. General Joseph K. F. Mansfield, killed in action at the Battle of Antietam in 1862, and numerous other Middletown men served bravely in the 1861-1865 war to preserve the Union of the North American States. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, immigrants arrived from Ireland, Sweden, Germany, Poland, and Italy, but most notably from the Sicilian town of Melilli. These later arrivals helped to enrich the fabric of the community and, together with others who followed, gave to the City the diverse and cosmopolitan quality it has today.
Erected by The City of Middletown
The Middlesex County Historical Society
The Connecticut Historical Commission
1981
Erected 1981.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Colonial Era • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1650.
Location. 41° 33.407′ N, 72° 38.857′ W. Marker is in Middletown in Lower Connecticut River Valley Region, Connecticut. It is at the intersection of Main Street and Pleasant Street, on the right when traveling south on Main Street. Located in Union Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Middletown CT 06457, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in the Connecticut River Valley and on the Connecticut Shoreline. It is also in the American Northeast and in New England. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once Middlesex County and also one of the original Thirteen Colonies.
Also see . . . 1. Middletown, Connecticut. (Submitted on August 17, 2013, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.) 2. Middletown, Connecticut on Wikipedia. (Submitted on August 17, 2013, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.)
Photographed by Michael Herrick, August 17, 2013
3. Middletown Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on May 19, 2026. It was originally submitted on August 17, 2013, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 1,092 times since then and 38 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on August 17, 2013, by Michael Herrick of Southbury, Connecticut.
