Fair Haven Heights - History

History

It was founded in the 18th century as a fishing and oystering village called Dragon. Dragon was initially located at the point where the present day Ferry Street Bridge crosses the Quinnipiac River. Early Native American settlements existed in the same location. According to some, the name Dragon originated with stories told by suitors of seals (sea dragons) that would sun themselves on this sandy point of land. According to others, it was called Dragon by the early white settlers because the Native American word for those harbor seals sounded like "dragon" to their ear.

From the time of the Quinnipiac (in their language, “long-water-land”) Indians, the oyster was not only an available food source but a major industry of the community, which was to influence the prosperity of the neighborhood during the 19th century.

Dragon in time came to include the eastern side of the river that belonged to East Haven, and came to be known as the Heights (because the bulk of that area is set on a huge, heavily wooded hill). Together both the neighborhood across the River (called Neck at the time) and Dragon became Fair Haven in the 19th century (1824). In 1870 the Neck became part of New Haven. It was not until 1881 that the Heights incorporated with New Haven, after an affiliation with the town of East Haven.

In the nineteenth century, a number of brownstone quarries existed along Russell Street in the Heights. This rocky, wooded area behind the Friends Meeting House is now part of Quarry Park.