New Britain, Connecticut
Encyclopedia
New Britain is a city in Hartford County
Hartford County, Connecticut
Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the US state of Connecticut. The 2010 Census records show that the county population is at 894,014 making it the second most populated county in Connecticut....

, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. It is located approximately 9 miles (14 km) southwest of Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

. According to 2006 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 71,254.

The city's official nickname is the "Hardware City" because of its history as a manufacturing center and as the headquarters of Stanley Black & Decker. Because of its large Polish population, the city is playfully referred to as "New Britski".

History

New Britain was settled in 1687 and then was incorporated as a new parish under the name New Britain Society in 1754. Chartered in 1850 as a township and in 1871 as a city, New Britain was separated from the nearby town of Berlin
Berlin, Connecticut
Berlin is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 19,866 at the 2010 census. It was incorporated in 1785. The geographic center of Connecticut is located in the town. Berlin is residential and industrial, and served by the Amtrak station of the same name...

, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

. A consolidation charter was adopted in 1905.

During the early part of the 20th century, New Britain was known as the "Hardware Capital of the World", as well as "Hardware City". Major manufacturers, such as The Stanley Works
Stanley Works
Stanley Black & Decker , formerly known as The Stanley Works, is a manufacturer of tools and hardware and provider of security products and locks headquartered in New Britain, Connecticut...

, the P&F Corbin Company
Philip Corbin (manufacturer)
Philip Corbin was an early manufacturer, businessman, and politician in New Britain, Connecticut and was instrumental to Connecticut’s industrial success.- Early Life :...

 (later Corbin Locks), and North & Judd, were headquartered in the city.

In 1843 Frederick Trent Stanley
Frederick Trent Stanley
Frederick Trent Stanley was an American industrialist.He founded Stanley's Bolt Manufactory of New Britain, Connecticut in 1843 to manufacture door bolts and other hardware from wrought iron...

 established Stanley's Bolt Manufactory in New Britain to make door bolts and other wrought-iron hardware. In 1857 his cousin Henry Stanley founded The Stanley Rule and Level Company in the city. Planes invented by Leonard Bailey
Leonard Bailey (inventor)
Leonard Bailey was a toolmaker/inventor from Massachusetts, USA, who in the mid-to-late nineteenth century patented several features of woodworking equipment. Most prominent of those patents were the planes manufactured by the Stanley Rule & Level Co. of New Britain, Connecticut...

 and manufactured by the Stanley Rule and Level Company, known as "Stanley/Bailey" planes, were prized by woodworkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and remain popular among wood craftsmen today. The two companies merged in 1920, and the Stanley Rule and Level Company became the Hand Tools Division of Stanley Works.

The wire coat hanger
Clothes hanger
A clothes hanger, coat hanger or coathanger, is a device in the shape of:* Human shoulders designed to facilitate the hanging of a coat, jacket, sweater, shirt, blouse or dress in a manner that prevents wrinkles, with a lower bar for the hanging of trousers or skirts.* Clamp for the hanging of...

 was invented in 1869 by O. A. North of New Britain, Connecticut.

In 1895, the basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 technique of dribbling
Dribbling
In sports, dribbling refers to the maneuvering of a ball around a defender through short skillful taps or kicks with either the legs , hands , stick or swimming strokes...

 was developed at the New Britain YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...

. In 1938, New Britain High School competed in the high school football national championship game in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. 1954 saw the development of racquetball
Racquetball
For other sports often called "paddleball", see Paddleball .Racquetball is a racquet sport played with a hollow rubber ball in an indoor or outdoor court...

, also at the YMCA.

Geography and topography

According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...

, the city has a total area of 13.4 square miles (34.7 km²), of which, 13.3 square miles (34.6 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.52%) is water.

New Britain's terrain is mostly made up of soft, rolling hills and young Connecticut forest. The many parks are populated with trees, and in small, undeveloped areas, there is also brushy woods. New Britain's streets also have many trees lining the sides of the roads. Many front yards in the northern half of the city have at least one tree. One or two streams flow through New Britain, undisturbed by the development.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...

of 2000, there were 71,538 people, 28,558 households, and 16,934 families residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...

 was 5,364.0 people per square mile (2,070.5/km²). There were 31,164 housing units at an average density of 2,336.7 per square mile (902.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 69.38% White, 10.89% African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

, 0.37% Native American, 2.36% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 13.12% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...

, and 3.81% from two or more races. 26.75% of the population were Hispanic
Hispanic
Hispanic is a term that originally denoted a relationship to Hispania, which is to say the Iberian Peninsula: Andorra, Gibraltar, Portugal and Spain. During the Modern Era, Hispanic sometimes takes on a more limited meaning, particularly in the United States, where the term means a person of ...

 or Latino
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...

 of any race.

There were 28,558 households out of which 28.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.6% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...

 living together, 17.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.7% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.40 and the average family size was 3.08.

In the city the population was spread out with 24.2% under the age of 18, 12.5% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 18.6% from 45 to 64, and 15.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 91.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,185, and the median income for a family was $41,056. Males had a median income of $34,848 versus $26,873 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...

 for the city was $18,404. About 13.3% of families and 16.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.9% of those under age 18 and 8.9% of those age 65 or over.

Ancestries: Polish (19.9%), Italian (12.9%), Irish (7.8%), French (5.6%), German (4.3%), English (3.7%).
Voter Registration and Party Enrollment as of October 25, 2005
Party Active Voters Inactive Voters Total Voters Percentage
Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

16,116 1,176 17,292 54.50%
Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

3,862 324 4,186 13.19%
Unaffiliated 10,200 27 10,227 32.23%
Minor Parties 19 4 23 0.07%
Total 30,197 1,531 31,728 100%

Polish community

New Britain has the largest Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 population of any city in Connecticut, and by 1930 a quarter of the city was ethnically Polish. Also referred to as "Little Poland", the neighborhood has been home to a considerable number of Polish businesses and families since 1890. On September 23, 2008, through the urging of the Polonia Business Association, the New Britain City Council unanimously passed a resolution officially designating New Britain's Broad Street area as "Little Poland." In recent years, the Polish community has been credited with revitalizing the area both culturally and economically. Media is served by three Polish language newspapers and a television station, and many businesses and civil agencies are bi-lingual.

Notable visitors to the Polish district have included Presidents
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....

 Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...

 and Ronald Reagan
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan was the 40th President of the United States , the 33rd Governor of California and, prior to that, a radio, film and television actor....

 on July 8, 1987. In 1969, as then-Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...

 John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...

 gave a mass at Sacred Heart Church. A statue was erected in his honor in 2007.

The Polish influence could be in part responsible for some vowel qualities of the so-called New Britain accent, such as nasalization of reduced vowels before /n/, though a more characteristic feature of the central Connecticut dialect is distinguished by systematic substitution of the glottal stop
Glottal stop
The glottal stop, or more fully, the voiceless glottal plosive, is a type of consonantal sound used in many spoken languages. In English, the feature is represented, for example, by the hyphen in uh-oh! and by the apostrophe or [[ʻokina]] in Hawaii among those using a preservative pronunciation of...

 in place of [t] for an unreleased /t/ word-finally and before syllabic consonants (e.g. "eight" is pronounced [ɛɪʔ] instead of [eɪt]). Thus the shibboleth
Shibboleth
A shibboleth is a custom, principle, or belief distinguishing a particular class or group of people, especially a long-standing one regarded as outmoded or no longer important...

 pronunciation of New Britain, [nuˈbɹɪʔɨː̃n] instead of [nuˈbɹɪtn̩].

Top employers

According to the City's 2009 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
# Employer # of Employees
1 The Hospital of Central Connecticut 3,600
2 State of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...

2,811
3 City of New Britain 2,226
4 Hospital for Special Care 1,396
5 Stanley Black & Decker 780
6 Tilcon Connecticut 735
7 Grove Hill Medical Center 430
8 DATTCO 409
9 Celebration Foods 400
10 Moore Medical 350

Sites of interest

  • Central Connecticut State University
  • New Britain Little League
  • New Britain Museum of American Art
    New Britain Museum of American Art
    The New Britain Museum of American Art is an art museum in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1903, it is the first museum in the country dedicated to American art....

     — the oldest art museum in the United States devoted to American Art. It contains a famous and comprehensive art collection from the 18th century to the present.
  • Mountain Laurel Sudbury School
    Sudbury school
    A Sudbury school is a school that practices a form of democratic education in which students individually decide what to do with their time, and learn as a by-product of ordinary experience rather than adopting a descriptive educational syllabus or standardized instruction by classes following a...

     - an independent alternative school
  • New Britain Industrial Museum
  • The Hospital of Central Connecticut is the city's largest employer.
  • Walnut Hill Park
  • Walnut Hill Rose Garden, the recently restored landmark with over 800 roses
  • Hole in the Wall Theater
  • New Britain Youth Museum has children's artifacts and exhibits on regional culture.
  • Capitol Lunch—a hot dog institution in New England. The "Cappie Dog" is well known to New Britain visitors for its unique and secret chili sauce.
  • Stag Arms
    Stag Arms
    Stag Arms is a firearms manufacturer founded in May 2003 and located in New Britain, Connecticut. Stag Arms is a manufacturer of the AR-15 type rifle, marketed as Stag-15 rifles. Stag advertises that all their weapons and accessories are made in the United States...

    , a firearm
    Firearm
    A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

    s manufacturer is located in New Britain.
  • The Polish District or "Little Poland": Located primarily in the vicinity of Broad Street, visitors can find unique amber jewelry, handcrafted items, blown glass, Christmas ornaments carved chess sets, as well as eat their fill of Polish food.

Sports

  • New Britain Rock Cats
    New Britain Rock Cats
    The New Britain Rock Cats are the Double-A minor league baseball affiliate of the Minnesota Twins Major League Baseball club. They compete in the Eastern League and play their home games at New Britain Stadium in New Britain, Connecticut.-History:...

    , minor league professional baseball team playing in New Britain Stadium
    New Britain Stadium
    New Britain Stadium is the home of the New Britain Rock Cats, the AA affiliate of the Minnesota Twins major league baseball team. Opened in 1996, it seats 6,146 fans....

    .


New Britain is also home to New Britain Little League (NBLL, previously known as Walicki - A.W. Stanley Little League), a youth baseball and softball organization that serves the children of New Britain who are between the ages of 4 and 16. New Britain Little League has been in existence for over 50 years and operates year round- offering winter clinics, a spring season, a summer tourney season, and a developmental fall ball program. NBLL plays at A.W. Stanley Park and Stanley Quarter Park, and serves over 700 children annually.

Colleges and universities

The city is home to Central Connecticut State University
Central Connecticut State University
Central Connecticut State University is a state university in New Britain, Connecticut, United States.The school was moved to its present campus in 1922...

 and Charter Oak State College
Charter Oak State College
Charter Oak State College is a public liberal arts college in New Britain, Connecticut and is named for Connecticut's famous Charter Oak. The college is located across Paul Manafort Drive from Central Connecticut State University...

.

Primary and secondary schools

New Britain Public Schools
New Britain Public Schools
The Consolidated School District of New Britain, CT, also known as New Britain Public Schools, is a school district headquartered in New Britain, Connecticut.-Middle schools:* Pulaski Middle School* Roosevelt Middle School* Louis P...

 operates public schools. The local high school is New Britain High School
New Britain High School
New Britain High School is a public high school in New Britain, Connecticut. It is a part of New Britain Public Schools. The school's teams go by the name of "Golden Hurricanes"...

. New Britain is also home to the Mountain Laurel Sudbury School
Sudbury school
A Sudbury school is a school that practices a form of democratic education in which students individually decide what to do with their time, and learn as a by-product of ordinary experience rather than adopting a descriptive educational syllabus or standardized instruction by classes following a...

.

Transportation

Connecticut Route 9 is the city's main expressway connecting traffic between Hartford (via I-84 and I-91) and Old Saybrook and Middletown
Middletown, Connecticut
Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, 16 miles south of Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated as a town under its original Indian name, Mattabeseck. It received its present name in 1653. In 1784, the central...

. I-84 itself clips the northwestern corner of the city. Public transportation is provided by Connecticut Transit
Connecticut Transit
Connecticut Transit is a bus system serving much of the U.S. state of Connecticut and is a division of that state's Department of Transportation. CT Transit provides bus service via contract providers for seven different metropolitan areas in the state, mostly concentrated in Hartford and New...

.

New Britain may also serve as the terminus of the proposed Hartford–New Britain busway
Busway
Busway may refer to several things:Transport technology* Bus rapid transit, bus systems including some elements of trams or metro systems* Guided busway, concrete tracks exclusively for modified busesTransport systems...

.

A nine mile long dedicated BRT system with 11 stations starting from downtown New Britain has been proposed, terminating at Union Station in Hartford. This would be constructed along an existing/abandoned Right of Way which links the two cities.

New Britain has a nearby Amtrak station in adjacent Berlin. The Vermonter (once daily) and Shuttle
Shuttle (Amtrak)
Amtrak runs Shuttles between Springfield, Massachusetts and New Haven, Connecticut along Amtrak's New Haven–Springfield Line. These shuttles connect with Northeast Regional service at the New Haven station, usually a cross-platform or same platform transfer....

(multiple daily arrivals/departures) provide service to destinations throughout the northeastern United States. There are also plans underway for a Springfield - Hartford - New Haven commuter rail, which would have Berlin as one of its stations.

Notable residents

  • Willie Hall
    Willie Hall (American football)
    Willie Charles Hall is a retired American football linebacker. He played in the National Football League for the New Orleans Saints and the Oakland Raiders ....

    —Pulaski High School, USC, Oakland Raiders Linebacker for the Super Bowl XI
    Super Bowl XI
    Super Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1976 regular season...

     Champion Raiders
  • Velvet Sky
    Velvet Sky
    Jamie Szantyr is an American professional wrestler currently working for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling under the ring name Velvet Sky. She is a former TNA Women's Knockout Champion and TNA Knockouts Tag Team Champion with her former Beautiful People partners Madison Rayne and Lacey Von Erich...

    , professional wrestler with Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
    Total Nonstop Action Wrestling
    Total Nonstop Action Wrestling is a privately held professional wrestling promotion founded by Jeff Jarrett and Jerry Jarrett. The company broadcasts its events on television and the Internet fifty two weeks a year with over a million weekly viewers on its primary television program, Impact...

    .
  • April Forrest born and raised in New Britain,Ct. April is signed to Universal Motown records division of UMRG.
  • John T. Downey
    John T. Downey
    John T. 'Jack' Downey was a CIA operative who was held captive in China for twenty years.-Early life:Originally from New Britain, Connecticut, Downey graduated from The Choate School and in 1951 Yale University....

    , CIA agent who was held captive in China for twenty years.
  • Carl Pavano
    Carl Pavano
    Carl Anthony Pavano is an American Major League Baseball right-handed pitcher currently with the Minnesota Twins.-Early career:...

    , Major League Baseball pitcher born in New Britain.

Sister cities

Atsugi, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

 Pułtusk, Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

 Rastatt
Rastatt
Rastatt is a city and baroque residence in the District of Rastatt, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on the Murg river, above its junction with the Rhine and has a population of around 50'000...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 Giannitsa
Giannitsa
Giannitsa is the largest town and a former municipality in Pella regional unit, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Pella, of which it is a municipal unit...

, Greece
Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

 Solarino
Solarino
Solarino is a comune in the Province of Syracuse, Sicily . It's located about 190 km southeast of Palermo and about 15 km west of Syracuse...

, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...


Further reading

  • History of New Britain by Camp, (New Britain, 1889)
  • A Walk Around Walnut Hill, 1975, by Kenneth Larson
  • New Britain, by Alfred Andrews, 1867
  • A History of New Britain, by Herbert E. Fowler, 1960
  • The Story of New Britain, by Lillian Hart Tryon, 1925
  • Images of America, New Britain, by Arlene Palmer, 1995
  • New Britain, The City of Invention, by Patrick Thibodeau and Arlene Palmer

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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