Hamden Historical Society

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The Hamden Historical Society is very pleased to announce that payments for new memberships, renewals of memberships, and donations of any kind may now be made through PayPal.
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CLICK on the PayPal logo button at left to view our new "Join - Renew - Support Us" webpage that has PayPal buttons to meet any need.

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Our History Room Volunteers - CLICK to enlarge
Al Gorman History Room
at Miller Library - Top Floor
2901 Dixwell Avenue
Regular Hours:  Tuesday 10 AM to 2 PM

The Al Gorman History Room is back open by appointment only,
which can be done by contacting us at hhs@hamdenlibrary.org.


Last updated
April 28, 2022


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Mayor Lucian A. DiMeo (1974)
Former Hamden Mayor Lucian A. DiMeo Passes Away
Served as Hamden's third mayor from 1973 to 1979
 
HAMDEN, CT, April 26 - Former Hamden Mayor Lucian A. DiMeo passed away last Saturday, April 23rd, at Connecticut Hospice in Branford.  Mr. DiMeo, a Republican, served as Hamden's third mayor from 1973-1979.  He also served in the Connecticut House of Representatives from 1971 to 1973 and again from 1984 to 1988.
 
Mayor DiMeo had a strong sense of community service. He was a board director at St. Raphael’s Hospital, and traveled to Haiti twice as a missionary to help with the construction of an outpatient clinic for tuberculosis at the Albert Schweitzer Hospital. Mayor DiMeo served in the Army and was an active member of Rotary. He was named Citizen of the Year in 1985 by the Hamden Chamber of Commerce.
 
Born March 30, 1930, son of the late James and Mary Aiello DiMeo, he was the brother of Candida Simeone and Louise Carloni (Anthony). Father of Denise Kelly (Brett Kippur), Catherine Craige (Sandy), Lucien DiMeo (Susan); grandfather of Sarah Nesheiwat (Sharif), Caitlin Pinard (John Markus), Daisy Koltov (Michael), Nicole Harilik (Justin), Lucien DiMeo (Sarah), Amanda Matthewson (Craige), David Craige (Sophia), Rose Craige, James DiMeo (Rebecca), William DiMeo; 16 great grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.
 
Please keep the DiMeo family in your thoughts and prayers at this sad time.

Lucian A. DiMeo complete obituary - CLICK HERE  - New Haven Register
  
Message from Mayor Lauren Garrett - CLICK HERE


Revised 4/28/2022

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CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE IT
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Hamden Pastor Authored Famous Lenten Hymn

With Ash Wednesday ushering in the 2022 Lenten Season this past week, Paul Saubestre contributes this wonderful bit of Hamden history previously known to only a few.  CLICK HERE to learn more about Hamden minister Charles Everest and the beautiful hymn that was his brainchild.


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Paul Saubestre
Presidents' Day 2022
 
Presidential Streets in Hamden
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A favorite project of Hamden Historical Society Researcher Paul Saubestre is researching the origins of Hamden's street names.  During a recent revision of his original article, Paul updated information on the origins of those streets with the same names as former U.S. presidents.  CLICK HERE.


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Whitneyville Congregational Church, built c. 1833
Generous gift honoring Nancy Farnan received
from Whitneyville United Church of Christ
 
Organized in 1797 and later known as simply "the Whitneyville Congregational Church," members the Whitneyville United Church of Christ recently decided to dissolve their 225-year old congregation and donate the church's assets to other non-profit organizations.
 
In addition to the many of the church's records, the Hamden Historical Society received the church's very generous monetary gift, with the following noted in a cover letter from their board of directors, "The members of WUCC are grateful to the Hamden Historical Society for maintaining its records and making them accessible to the public and researchers.  It is hoped that this donation will help the Hamden Historical Society to continue its important work on behalf of WUCC and the larger community."
 
The letter continued, "This donation is made in honor of Nancy Farnan, the WUCC Historian and valued member."
 
The Hamden Historical Society is deeply grateful to the Whitneyville United Church of Christ for these donations.  The funds will help us to continue to preserve the church's history, ensuring proper and adequate storage of the church's historical documents for the benefit of the public and future researchers.  Thank you.
Posted 1/26/2022

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Richard and Lorraince DeNicola and HHS Archivist Kathy Lindbeck
Recently, a large cache of local political memorabilia was donated to the Hamden Historical Society by Richard and Lorraine DeNicola.  Richard "Dick" DeNicola is the son of Hamden's first mayor, John DeNicola Sr., and brother of Hamden's 6th and 9th mayors John DeNicola Jr. and Barbara DeNicola.
 
The items came from the Dante Place home of the DeNicola family since 1939, when the elder John DeNicola was just getting his feet wet in Hamden politics.  The home was last occupied by Barbara DeNicola, who passed away last year. 
 
Included were dozens of 8x10 newspaper "glossies" from the New Haven Journal-Courier and Register. There also were several large bound scrapbooks of articles from the aforementioned newspapers as well as The Hamden Chronicle.
 
One surprise donation was the shovel used at the 1961 ground breaking for Section B of the Hamden Mart (below).
 
Once these items are catalogued and the photos scanned, we hope to make them available to researchers.  Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. DeNicola, for this gift of Hamden history.
Posted 1/24/2022

CLICK TO ENLARGE - Hamden Mart "Section B" Ground-Breaking Ceremonial Shovel - Dated March 16, 1961
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CLICK on this image to go to the article
Tony Griego has written another terrific article about the David Atwater House (c.1646-1905) on State Street, believed to be the first dwelling built in what is now the town of Hamden.
 
Tony's article, "The First Settler on Hamden Land," was included in the third issue of Hamden Magazine, dated "Holiday 2021."
 
Posted 1/18/2022

 
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Vera!
 
Hamden Town Clerk since 1995, Vera Morrison handed over the keys to the office to her successor Karimah Mickenson on Sunday, November 28th, following a remarkable 26-year stint that hasn't been equalled since 1904.
 
On her last working day, Vera sat down with the Town Historian and reflected on her career as Hamden Town Clerk.
 
CHECK IT OUT

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Dickerman Family 19th Century Stereoscope Donated

Joan Lyke, 4th great-granddaughter of Jonathan Dickerman II, recently donated this beautiful 19th century stereoscope viewer and several stereo slides to the Hamden Historical Society.
 
CLICK HERE for more photos, including two views of other Dickerman family items that Mrs. Lyke plans to donate to the Society.  The slide in the photo appears to be an 1890s 3D view of Spruce Bank Road.

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Hamden Historical Society
P.O. Box 5512
Hamden, CT  06518-0512
hhs@hamdenlibrary.org