New Haven County, Connecticut
Chief town, New Haven. New Haven county is bounded N. by Litchfield and Hartford counties, E. by Middlesex county, S. by Long Island Sound, and West by Litchfield county and the Housatonic river, which separates it from Fairfield county. Its average length from east to west is about 26 miles, and its width from north to south 21 miles; containing 540 square miles, or 345,000 acres. This county, lying on Long Island Sound, has a very extensive maritime border, but its foreign trade is chiefly confined to New Haven harbor. It fisheries of oysters and clams, and other fish, are valuable. It is intersected by several streams, none of them of very large size, but of some value for their water power and fish. Of these the principal are the Pomperaug and Naugatuc, on the west; Quinnipiac, Menunkatuc, West and Mill rivers, on the east. The Quinnipiac is the largest, and passes through extensive meadows. The county is intersected centrally by the New Haven and Northampton canal, which passes through this county from north to south. There is a great variety of soil in this county, as well as of native vegetation and mineral productions. The range of secondary country which extends along Connecticut river as far as Middletown, there leaves that stream, crosses into this county, and terminates at New Haven. This intersection of the primitive formation by a secondary ridge affords a great variety of minerals, and materials for different soils.
The population of this county in 1820, was 39,616; 1830, 43,847:—81 inhabitants to a square mile. The manufacturing business is quite extensive in the county, and in 1837 it contained 23,895 sheep.
