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While Middlesex County is one of the most historic communities in the nation, some of its past is little known. Researchers found dinosaur tracks in Middlefield that date back 200 million years. The author of Dr. Dolittle, Hugh Lofting, lived in Killingworth, and a young Dr. Seuss spent summers in Clinton. Constance Baker Motley, the first female African American federal judge, resided in Chester. A Portland lake has water levels that fluctuate for no apparent reason. An Essex blacksmith shop was America's oldest continuously run family business. Local authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal these and many other unforgettable stories.
Although the town benefits from a position on a major navigable waterway, Middletown's success is primarily due to the energy, creativity, and diversity of its people. These include James Riley, whose autobiography detailing his trials as a white slave in Northern Africa showed millions of Americans the evils of slavery; Max Corvo, who helped the World War II Italian underground defeat the fascist regime; and Christie Ellen McLeod, longtime chief pathologist at Middlesex Memorial Hospital. Middletown can boast of athletes such as Helen "Babe" Carlson, a tremendously strong competitor who participated on men's baseball teams; Willie Pep, who, while going for the world featherweight title, had a record of 134 wins and only one loss; and Corny Thompson, who sparked the University of Connecticut basketball program's rise to national prominence. More notables include Allie Wrubel, a prolific songwriter and Academy Award winner for his song "Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah;" Vivian McRae Wesley, a teacher, reading director, and leader of Middletown's African American community; and Francesco Lentini, who was born with three legs and appeared in every major circus and carnival.
In 1650, Middletown earned its name due to its location halfway between the mouth of the Connecticut River and the first Connecticut settlement of Windsor. The town grew from a key Native American village to become a major seaport and the wealthiest town in Connecticut by the mid-1700s. In the early 1800s, as international disputes adversely affected Middletown's seafaring trade, manufacturing prospered. Factories turned out everything from ship hardware and textiles to sleigh bells and sidearms for Union army officers. Trolleys encouraged suburban expansion while railroads and highways greatly influenced commercial development. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, many immigrants from Europe made Middletown their home. Today Middletown is perhaps best known as the location of top-ranked Wesleyan University.
The celebrated history of New Haven often overshadows its fascinating and forgotten past. The Elm City was home to America's first woman dentist, an architect who designed the tallest twin towers in the world and a medical student who used toy parts to create an artificial heart pump. A city noted as the home of one of the top universities in the world, New Haven is also home to the third-oldest independent school in the United States, the first African American to receive a PhD degree and the founding of what would become the largest Catholic fraternal benefit society in the world. The city's share of disasters includes Connecticut's worst aviation crash, a zookeeper who was mauled to death and a fire at the Rialto Theater. Local authors Robert and Kathleen Hubbard reveal the rich and fascinating cultural legacies of one of New England's most treasured cities.
Emily Dickinson, probably the most loved and certainly the greatest of American poets, continues to be seen as the most elusive. 'My Wars Are Laid Away in Books' shows how she could be both a woman of her era and a timeless creator.
The Connecticut River from the Air is a collection of extraordinary aerial images and an adventure chronicled by historian Jerry Roberts and photographed by Tom Walsh. The book provides an intimate perspective, exploring New England’s greatest river from Long Island Sound, where its waters mingle with the salty brine of the Atlantic Ocean, to its source 410 miles to the north, just yards from the Canadian border. Amazing and wonderful sights appear along the River that can only be seen and appreciated from small, low-flying aircraft. Beauty and wonder can be found in historic canals and bridges as well as twists and bends in the River, ship wrecks, rock formations, and even sand patterns on the River bottom. From naturally formed ox-bows to cornfield mazes, hidden valleys, quaint villages, industrial cities and sweeping vistas, these Wonders of the River are the true treasures of this amazing waterway and its surrounding landscapes.