Map of New Britain Connecticut
PublisherPublished by
Walker Lithograph and Publishing Company
(American, founded 1900)
Date1904-1912
MediumLithography; black printer's ink and watercolor on wove paper mounted on fabric
DimensionsPrimary Dimensions (image height x width): 47 1/4 x 38 1/4in. (120 x 97.2cm)
Sheet (height x width): 49 3/4 x 40 1/2in. (126.4 x 102.9cm)
ClassificationsGraphics
Credit LineConnecticut Museum of Culture and History collection
Object number2012.312.290
DescriptionMap of New Britain, Connecticut, with Farmington to the north, Newington to the east, Berlin to the south, and Plainville to the west. Streets are identified; many streets are shown with broken lines, suggesting that they are under construction. Ponds and large streams are colored blue. Parks and cemeteries are colored green. Elevation is not indicated. The New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad runs through town. Dotted lines running along major thoroughfares may indicate street railways. Public buildings, churches, and businesses are shown with their footprints. These include the State Normal School, New Britain General Hospital, the New Britain Institute, the Town Farm, the Russian Orthodox Church, the Greek Orthodox Church, the Sacred Heart of Jesus Polish Roman Catholic Church, Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church and School, the Swedish Lutheran Church, the Swedish Evangelical Bethany Church, Saint Matthew's German Lutheran Church, Saint John's German Lutheran Church, Stanley Works, Corbin Manufacturing Company, Corbin Motor Vehicle Company, North and Judd Manufacturing Company, Russell and Irwin Manufacturing Company, and Landers, Frary and Clark. Private houses are not shown.
Label TextPerhaps the most striking thinig about this early twentieth-century map of the booming industrial city of New Britain is the extreme ethnic diversity of the residents, as revealed by the large number of churches catering to distinct national groups. These include a Russian Orthodox Church, a Greek Orthodox Church, a Polish Roman Catholic Church, a Swedish Lutheran Church, a Swedish Evangelical Bethany Church, and two German Lutheran Churches. Most of the people who attended these churches would have been recent immigrants and would have worked in New Britain's factories. This diverse and colorful population is a far cry from the Connecticut of one hundred years earlier, when most citizens were of English descent and the Congregational Church was still the established church.
NotesCartographic Note: One inch equals 500 feetDate Note: The Corbin Motor Vehicle Company, which appears on the map, was in business from 1904 to 1912. It might be possible to further refine the date of the map by determining the dates of some of the other, smaller businesses.
Status
Not on view
