Middlesex County, Connecticut
Shire towns—Middletown and Haddam. This county is bounded N. by Hartford county, E. by Hartford and New London counties, S. by Long Island Sound, and W. by New Haven county. The general surface of the county is uneven. The soil is generally good, particularly adjacent to Connecticut river. There are many small streams which afford mill privileges, fertilizing the soil and giving beauty to the county. The waters of the Connecticut afford it an important business in navigation, especially in the coasting trade. The tonnage of the district of Middletown, in 1837, was 13,133 tons. There are numerous manufacturing establishments in the county; large quantities of freestone are quarried and carried to market; and the shad fishery gives employment to many of its people.
Middlesex county contains an area of 342 square miles. Population, 1820, 22,405; 1830, 24,845, containing a population of 73 inhabitants to a square mile. Considerable amounts of the productions of the soil are exported, and in 1837, there were in the county 12,401 sheep.
