Celebrating the City of New Haven on the Occasion of its 375th Anniversary

Floor Speech

Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride and much appreciation that I rise today to join my hometown of New Haven, Connecticut in commemoration of the City's 375th Anniversary--a remarkable milestone for a very special community. Today, hundreds are gathered not only to pay tribute to our past but to celebrate the unique blend of cultures, traditions, and history that has made our City so strong.

The story of New Haven is the story of America. It was on April 24, 1638, that a group of five hundred English Puritans, led by Reverend John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton and in search of a place where ``the word of God shall be the only rule,'' sailed into the harbor. Upon their arrival they soon met with a local Native American tribe, the Quinnpiack, whose leader, Momauguin, agreed to sell the tribe's land in exchange for the settlers' protection from neighboring raiding bands and the use of the lands east of the harbor. In just two short years a government had been established and the settlement, based on a grid of nine squares with the central square as the public common or Green, was flourishing. In 1784, New Haven was incorporated as a city and Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence was elected its first mayor.

The history of New Haven is in fact a reflection of our nation's great history. It was in New Haven in 1775, the day after Lexington and Concord, or as we call it Powder House Day, that Benedict Arnold demanded the keys to the local powder house so that patriots could use it in defense of the colonies. It was in New Haven, that Eli Whitney developed the cotton gin and interchangeable parts revolutionizing the manufacturing industry and revitalizing the American economy. It was in New Haven that a group of African Mendi Warriors, led by Cinque Pieh and marooned aboard the Spanish schooner Amistad, won a court battle and were able to return to their homeland--an important triumph of the anti-slavery movement. In the 19th century, New Haven was the center of the carriage industry as well as the oyster capitol of the world. New Haven is home to the prestigious Yale University--an institution that has educated three of our last four presidents and three of our current Supreme Court justices.

New Haven, like so many other communities across our nation, also has a rich immigrant story--the story of the American dream. Our City may be most well known for its Italian and fish communities, but we have also become home to a number of other immigrant groups including those from Eastern Europe and Ecuador. As is the same story in so many other communities, these immigrant groups faced all kinds of challenges and obstacles. Through those struggles they stuck together, they established organizations to help re-create a little bit of the Old Country, and to honor the values of family and community we all hold dear--they made New Haven their home.

With such a rich history, the bonds of our community are strong. Born and raised in the Wooster Square neighborhood, wherever I go in this world, it is always with me. That is New Haven--and that is why I am so proud to rise today to say Happy 375th Birthday New Haven.

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