History Willimantic, Connecticut

1 history

1.1 name
1.2 history
1.3 city history
1.4 later history
1.5 gallery

history
name

willimantic algonquian term land of swift running water .

early history

prior 1821, village known willimantic falls, home twenty families , single school district. in 1822, charles lee erected factory on main street made of stone quarried willimantic river. although small shops , manufacturers had been built on banks of willimantic before, beginning of industrialized willimantic. in 1825, 3 jillson brothers built factory along willimantic river, , in 1827, built second building. 1828, there 6 cotton factories in willimantic, built within seven-year span. willimantic became known thread city because american thread company had mill on banks of willimantic river, , @ 1 time largest employer in state 1 of largest producers of thread in world. factory first in world use electric lighting. in 1833, willimantic borough of windham; in 1893, become city.

city history

from end of civil war outbreak of world war ii, willimantic center production of silk , cotton thread. immigrants europe arrived work in mills—irish, italians, poles, germans , french canadians. later, estonian, ukrainian, latvian, lithuanian, , puerto rican immigrants moved town in search of mill jobs.

railroads added growth of willimantic; town 1 of handful of stops between boston , new york on high-speed white train of 1890s. in 20th century, between 50 , 100 trains ran through willimantic daily. more 800 ornate victorian homes multiplied in town s prospect hill section, listed on national register of historic places. town prospered, growing population of less 5,000 in 1860 more 12,100 1910.

later history

but hard times followed; american thread moved north carolina in 1985 , without it, town s economy floundered. in 1983, city , town consolidated , became 1 town again. unemployment rate in windham, town contains willimantic, 7.8% of december 2014. in 2002, hartford courant ran investigative series called heroin town describing rampant heroin use in willimantic, disproportionate town s small size. articles roiled local residents; task force appointed state study issue. in addition, hotel hooker, once known drug use , prostitution, has been repurposed transitional living facility called seth chauncy hotel. hotel later renamed windham house, , has been closed.

today, several projects aiming revitalize town underway. willimantic whitewater partnership plans reclaim town s riverfront developing whitewater park , research facility. of town s distressed factory buildings have been turned residential space artists artspace. efforts attract high-tech businesses area have turned other former factory buildings space small technology startups.

gallery