Meriden, Connecticut

Meriden(/ˈmɛərədɪn/MAIR-ə-din) is a city inNew Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located halfway between the regional cities ofNew HavenandHartford. The city is part of theSouth Central Connecticut Planning Region. In 2020, the population of the city was 60,850.
Meriden was originally a part of the neighboring town ofWallingford. It was granted a separate meetinghouse in 1727, became atownin 1806 with over 1,000 residents. Meriden was incorporated as a city in 1867, with just under 9,000 residents. It was once proposed as the Connecticut state capital.It was named for the village ofMeriden, West Midlands, England, near Birmingham.
The oldest house in town still standing, built by Solomon Goffe in 1711, became a museum in 1986. The building is theSolomon Goffe House.
The grave of Winston Churchill's great-great-great maternal grandfather, Timothy Jerome, can be seen today at what is now called "Burying Ground 1720" (Google Maps:41°31′22″N72°47′16″W﻿ / ﻿41.522877°N 72.787707°W﻿ /41.522877; -72.787707) at the juncture of Dexter Avenue and Lydale Place. At the time the location was known as "Buckwheat Hill", and overlooked the salt-making estate for which Jerome had received a royal grant.Timothy Jerome's son, Samuel, is the great-great-grandfather ofJennie Jerome,Winston Churchill's mother.
In the second half of the 1800s, Meriden became a manufacturing center of note, with several companies forming, or relocating to the city, involved in the production of mainly silver, lamps and metalware, glassware, guns, and musical instruments. A substantial number of design and technology patents were secured.
For silver, the numerous companies included theMeriden Britannia Company(a predecessor of theInternational Silver Companywith corporate HQ in Meriden),Meriden earned the nickname "Silver City", due to the large number of silver manufacturers, and the International Silver Co. continued production until the early 1980s. Along with the silver companies, other producers of cutlery included the Meriden Cutlery Co. and Miller Bros. Cutlery.
In 1876, the Meriden Britannia Company made significant efforts at theCentennial Expositionin Philadelphia, and won the First place medal for plated wares. According to the Sotheby's auction house, "The publicity of the award and the impression the firm made on the fair's 8 million visitors was continued by the catalogues and other intensive marketing; by the end of the 1870s Meriden Britannia Co. was considered the largest silverware company in the world."A key design attributed to launching the company and the town's international name was theBuffalo Huntwith a smaller edition in the White House collection, Washington, DC. For some time the originalBuffalo Huntsculpture went missing, and in a shocking report by Bailey Wright in 2018, it was learned that it was recently 'missing' actually in Meriden.
For lamps and metalware, the companies with national and international markets included theEdward Miller & Co/ Miller Company (1844–stopped manufacturing lightingc.1980),theCharles Parker Company,Handel Company,and theBradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company(1852–1940), which also was widely known for producing metal-based products like decorative tables and andirons.
For glassware, the companies included the C.F. Monroe Company (1892–1916).and the Meriden Flint Glass Company (1876–1892),
Manning, Bowman & Co.(1849–1945) centered its production in Meriden, and into the early 20th century became a nationally known producer of small electrical appliances and chrome ware.Meriden was also the site of the production ofParker Brothers (guns), widely-known and traded by firearms enthusiasts. From 1905 to 1918, theMeriden Firearms Co.manufactured small arms from 1905 to 1918. The stock was owned bySears, Roebuck & Company.
Internationally known companies Wilcox and White and theAeolian Companywere involved in the production of musical instruments north of the downtown area at Tremont and Cambridge Streets.The Aeolian Company grew quickly forming production sites in other places and developed a music hall in New York. (The largest holder today of instruments and music rolls by the two companies is the Pianola Museum in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.)
Meriden also was an important site for graphic arts innovation. In 1888, theMeriden Gravure Company(in Meriden 1888–1989) was founded by Charles Parker and James F. Allen, and continued a previous printing operation by Parker. The company developed an expertise in high quality image reproduction, which initially was driven by the needs of the silver industry.
With the wealth of entrepreneurs during this time, several mansions and houses of note were built, particularly on Broad Street.
Of political and historical note, on March 7, 1860, Abraham Lincoln spoke in Meriden seeking the Republican presidential nomination.
For public places,Hubbard Parkin theHanging Hillswas financed by Walter Hubbard (of the Bradley & Hubbard company). The design for the park was originally conceived by Hubbard in consultation with the Olmsted Brothers, sons ofFrederick Law Olmsted, America's foremost landscape architect. In 1900,Castle Craigon a peak was dedicated in the park.In 1903, theCurtis Memorial Library, across from Meriden's city hall, was opened.
From 1937 until 1947, theInternational Silver Companysponsored theSilver Theater, a national radio program broadcast via CBS in Hollywood. The radio program featured many Hollywood actors and actresses of the time like Jimmy Stewart and Rosalind Russell. Over 200 programs were produced.Inc.1937–1945, several Hollywood stars, includingJudy Garland,Ginger RogersandBarbara Stanwyck, endorsed the company's 1847 Rogers Bros. silverware in print advertisements in LIFE magazine.
After World War II, in 1949–1950,The Silver Theatrewas brought to television and broadcast on CBS, also with the International Silver Company as the sponsor. Guest stars includedEva Gabor,Kim Hunter, andBurgess Meredith.
A few thousand designs from this manufacturing era from Meriden are in museums and historical societies across the United States and into Europe, Australia and New Zealand.Design objects from this era from Meriden have also been included in over 200 national and international exhibitions and expositions since the 1850s.The 1930s tea urn byEliel Saarinenfor theWilcox Silver Plate Co./International Silver Company, Meriden, is the one design exhibited most and most published in design books as an international Modern design icon.
Some comparatively recent examples of Meriden designs in exhibitions includeIn pursuit of Beauty: Americans and the Aesthetic Movementat theMetropolitan Museum of Artin New York (1986–1987),and more recently,Modernism in American Silver: 20th century design(2005–2006) in Dallas, Miami Beach, and Washington, DC, which highlighted downtown Meriden and the area's role as an important center of Modernist silver production.In19th century Modern(2011–2012) in Brooklyn, designs by the International Silver Company and theNapier Company, another Meriden manufacturer, were exhibited.In November 2016 – November 2017, the city's iconic Napier penguin cocktail shaker was in an exhibition at the Dallas Museum of Art; the Napier penguin was the lead image of the show.
In summer 2017 alone, historical Meriden area design was exhibited in museum shows in at least Dallas, Newark, at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Cooper-Hewitt Smithsonian Museum in New York, the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague, The Netherlands, and the KunstHalle in Berlin, Germany.
With this level of attention, some special design objects from the era have become sought-after collectors items also at auction, sometimes due to their association with the commission or commissioner, or the status of the design, or being in the sought-after Modernism style. For example, a painted glass and metal table lamp by Bradley and Hubbard, (c.1920) sold for US$14,950, doubling its estimate, atChristie'sauction house in New York in 1999.Later, a 14-inch, International Silver Company cocktail shaker (c.1927) sold for US$21,600 tripling its estimate, at Christie's in New York in 2005.A Parker gun made for a Russian czar before World War I, but never delivered, was reported to have been sold for US$287,500 in 2007.In 2008, a rare Handel lamp sold for US$85,000.On March 5–6, 2014 at Sotheby's in London, "Al Capone's cocktail shaker" made by the Meriden International Sterling Company (c.1932) achieved over 33 times its estimate with a sale price of GBP50,000 (US$83,250 on the day).Lastly, in 2014, at Sotheby's New York, a rare Paul Lobel-designed coffee service (c.1934–1935) produced by the Wilcox Silver Plate Co. / International Silver Company sold for US$377,000.
In 1939,Edwin Howard Armstrong, a network radio pioneer who inventedFM radio, used West Peak in 1939 for the location of one of the first FM radio broadcasts. His original 70-foot-tall (21 m) radio mast still stands on the peak.Currently West Peak is home to six FM broadcast stations, including WNPR,WWYZ, WKSS, WDRC-FM, WMRQ-FMand WHCN.
During World War II, factories in Meriden worked three shifts (24 hours/day). On March 8, 1944, the War Manpower Commission gave Meriden the designation as "National Ideal War Community", andJimmy DuranteandGlenn Millerentertained those at the ceremony.
In addition to manufacturers that continued operations after World War II, starting in the later 1940s, the Miller Company, Burton Tremaine, Sr. andEmily Hall Tremainefirmly put Meriden on the international, 20th century art/design map. In December 1947, Meriden became known once again as a site of design innovation, now with Modern art, via theMiller Company Collection of Abstract Artand the organization of aPainting toward architectureexhibition which opened at Hartford'sWadsworth Atheneumand later travelled to venues in 27 venues across the United States (1947–52). Substantial national media coverage reported on the exhibition.Painting toward architectureis considered one of the important art-design-architecture crossover exhibitions of the 20th century, tabling European influences for usage in the Post-World War II United States.In the 1950s, theMiller Company Collection of Abstract Artwas privatized to "Mr & Mrs Burton Tremaine, Meriden, CT" and numerous artworks were lent to hundreds of exhibitions nationally and internationally into the 1970s with this designation.
In 1965, the Miller Company addition on Center Street was completed. The black-and-white Modernist facade was designed by influential American architectPhilip Johnson.
On April 27, 1976,Jimmy Cartercampaigned at city hall and the Latin American Society for the nomination of theDemocratic Partyfor President of the United States.
In 1981, theKu Klux Klanwas present in Meriden, holding various rallies in the first half of the year. At these rallies,Connecticut State Policewould protect the KKK from anti-KKK protestors.At a March 21, 1981, rally, where the KKK was showing support for a police officer who killed a Black person, protestors threw rocks at the KKK. Two protesters were injured.
In 1987, theEmily Hall Tremaine Foundationwas founded by the noted art collector that partly worked in Meriden, before her death, with three focus areas: learning disabilities, the arts, and the environment.The offices were located in downtown Meriden.Inc.2010, the foundation offices were relocated to New Haven, near Yale University.
TheFranciscan Sisters of the Eucharisthave their mother house in Meriden, as do theFranciscan Brothers of the Eucharist. The headquarters ofEastern Mountain Sportsis located in Meriden.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.1 square miles (62.5 km), of which 23.8 square miles (61.5 km) is land and 0.4 square miles (1.0 km), or 1.66%, is water.
Meriden is a showcase for a number of prominent peaks of theMetacomet Ridge, a mountainoustrap rockridgeline that stretches fromLong Island Soundto nearly theVermontborder. Notable peaks in Meriden include theHanging Hills(West Peak,East Peak,South Mountain, andCathole Mountain);Lamentation Mountain,Chauncey Peak, andBesek Mountain.Castle Craig, a city landmark for over a century, was constructed among the Hanging Hills inHubbard Park.
TheQuinnipiac Rivercourses through the southwest quadrant of the city, known to area residents as "South Meriden", where it meanders through a gorge lined with several exposedsandstoneandbrownstonecliffs. Harbor Brook (originally named Pilgrim Harbor Brook) cuts through the town from the northeast to the southwest before emptying into Hanover Pond, an impoundment on the Quinnipiac River in South Meriden.
As of the 2010 census, there were 60,868 people in Meriden, with a population density of 2558 persons per square mile. There were 23,922 households (2009–2013). The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.10. Husband-wife households account for 41% of all households. The population under 5 years (2010) was 6.7%, under 18 years (2010) was 23.9%, and 65 years and over was 12.9%. The female population was 51.6% compared to the male population at 48.4% (2010).
The racial makeup of the city in 2010 was 73.5%White, 9.7%BlackorAfrican American, 0.5%Native American, 2.1%Asian, 0.1%Pacific Islander, 10.7% fromother races, and 3.5% from two or more races.HispanicorLatinoof any race were 28.9% of the population. In 2009–2013, 9.7% of the population was foreign-born.
For 2009–2013, the median household income was $52,590. The per capita income for the city was $26,941. The median value of owner-occupied housing units was $188,400. The home ownership rate was 61.8%. The high school graduation or higher rate was 83.6% (age 25+) and the bachelor's degree or higher rate was 19.1% (age 25+), and 14.4% of people were below the poverty line.
Until 1980, the city had a Mayor-Council ("strong mayor") structure. The last full-time strong mayor was Walter Evilia, a Republican and a former State Representative. Dana Miller was appointed the first city manager.The City Charter was last amended in 1994, giving the then largely ceremonial position of mayor more influence over city governance, including appointments to all boards and commissions and other positions within the appointing power of the City Council,as well as line-item veto over city budgets.
The current mayor, Kevin Scarpati, became the youngest popularly-elected mayor in the city's history, winning the 2015 election race by 78 votes against mayor Manny Santos, who had been the first Republican elected as mayor in nearly 30 years (the last being Walter Evilia). In 2018, Manny Santos ran an unsuccessful election for U.S. Congress in the5th Congressional House District.
The city gained notoriety in government and political circles when in 2014, at the urging of newly elected mayor, Manny Santos, plaintiffs sued to remove appointees of boards and commissions and corporation counsel.Ultimately, the ruling by the state Supreme Court to vacate the appointments followed that of a lower court order. The appointments had been made by former mayor, Michael Rohde. In its ruling, the court noted, per the city charter, that the city council can appoint a corporation counsel, but only on the recommendation of the mayor, who at the time was Manny Santos.
The Meriden Board of Education operates several public schools:
Other schools in the area include the Catholic high schoolsXavier High School(boys) andMercy High School(girls) in neighboring Middletown. The private schoolsCheshire AcademyandChoate Rosemary Hallare in adjacent Cheshire and Wallingford respectively.
The former St. Stanislaus Catholic K–8 School, established in 1897 bypeople who immigrated from Poland,closed in 2015.
At one timeThe Meriden Daily Journalserved as the community newspaper. Currently theMeriden Record Journalserves the communities of Meriden, Wallingford,Cheshire, andSouthingtonand is located on South Broad Street by the Wallingford town line.
The city of Meriden is located onInterstate 91, which provides access toHartford,Springfield, andNew Haven.Interstate 691provides access toInterstate 84and connects to points west likeWaterbury. TheWilbur Cross Parkway(Connecticut Route 15) travels in a southwestern direction connecting to towns and cities likeWallingford,New Haven, and towards New York City. The parkway becomes theBerlin Turnpike(also Connecticut Route 15) on the northern end of Meriden.U.S. Route 5passes through the city as North and South Broad Street.
Meriden Transit Centeris located in downtown Meriden on theNew Haven–Springfield Line, which runs between cities ofNew HavenandSpringfieldviaHartford. It is served byCT RailHartford Linecommuter rail service, as well asAmtrakHartford Line,Northeast Regional,Valley Flyer, andVermonterinter-city rail service.
TheMeriden, Waterbury and Connecticut River Railroadopened betweenCromwellandWaterburyvia Meriden in 1888–89. Passenger service west of Meriden to Waterbury ended in 1917, whileConnecticut Companystreetcars used the line between Meriden andMiddletownuntil 1931. A portion of the line in Meriden remained in use for freight until 1976.
Beginning in 1784, Meriden had a stop on the New Haven-Hartford Stage Coachon Route 5 near the intersection of East Main Street. Years later, the same stop served as the bus stop forGreyhoundandPeter Panbuses. Meriden had four daily departures to/from Hartford/Boston, and four daily departures to/from New Haven/New York City daily from the 1970s through 2007, when intercity bus service ceased serving Meriden.
Meriden is linked to theConnecticut TransitSystem, Connecticut's extensive public transit bus network. Three bus lines loop throughout the city of Meriden once per hour. The "B" bus route departs the Meriden railroad station for the southern terminus of Kohls Plaza, connecting for New Haven; the "A" bus route departs the rail station for the northern terminus of Meriden Square with connections toNew Britainand Hartford; and the east/west "C" bus travels along East Main and West Main Streets, with a handful of departures to Middletown and Waterbury.
Meriden Markham Municipal Airportis the city-owned airport, located 3 miles (4.8 km) south of the city center on the border of South Meriden andYalesville, and serves private and charter planes.Bradley International Airport(BDL) inWindsor LocksandTweed New Haven Airport(HVN) inEast Havenare the closest commercial airports to Meriden.
Since 1975, the Meriden Hall of Fame organization has issued recognitions. In the Meriden City Hall, plaques pay tribute to the inductees.