SUBSTANCE ABUSE TREATMENT PROGRAM IN West Haven

West Haven

West Haven is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, located on the coast of Long Island Sound. The city is part of the South Central Connecticut Planning Region. At the 2020 census, the population of the city was 55,584. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11 square miles, of which 10.75 square miles are land. West Haven has 3.5 miles of publicly accessible beaches, which is one-quarter of all publicly accessible beaches in Connecticut. The city is bound on the southwest by the Oyster River, northwest by Orange, north and northeast by New Haven, with New Haven Harbor to the east and Long Island Sound to the south.

The Quinnipiac, Pequot, and Mohegan Native American tribes spent summers near the West Haven green and Morse Park, and as far inland as Maltby Lakes. Before New Haven was colonized in 1638 by five hundred settlers following Reverend John Davenport from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Dutch trader Adriaen Block noted the high mounds of oyster shells along the shoreline while exploring in 1614. Settled in 1648, West Haven, then known as West Farms, was a part of the original New Haven Colony. In 1719, it became the separate parish of West Haven, but was still officially a part of New Haven until 1822. Colonists built both a Congregational meeting house and, in the early 18th century, Christ Episcopal Church, one of the first Episcopal churches in New England.

West Haven and North Milford joined to become Orange, incorporated as a town in 1822. In 1921, West Haven split from Orange to become a separate town. It was incorporated as a city in 1961 and is known as “Connecticut’s Youngest City,” although it is also one of the state’s oldest settlements. British Redcoats, commanded by Major General William Tryon, sacked the town on July 5, 1779. Thomas Painter, a militiaman watching for British ships from atop Savin Rock, is depicted on the city seal.

From colonial times until at least World War II, West Haven was heavily involved in shipping. Ships from West Haven sailed to the West Indies and South America for spices, silks, rum, and sugar in return for local timber. Industry was also a major part of the local economy, starting with the West Haven and American Buckle Shops, which produced buckles, buttons, clips, and braces during the American Civil War. In 1927, Lender’s Beigel Bakery was founded in the city by Polish immigrant Harry Lender. His sons Murray and Marvin later ran the business, specializing in “flash-frozen” bagels, a process that allowed the bagels to be sold nationwide. The business had grown to 600 employees by 1984, when it was sold to Kraft Foods.

The Savin Rock section of West Haven was the site of the Savin Rock Amusement Park, which began in the late 19th century as a regionally renowned seaside resort. It evolved into a general amusement park in the 20th century and eventually closed in the 1960s. In June 2014, the “Where Angels Play” playground opened next to Sea Bluff Beach in West Haven, built in honor of Charlotte Bacon, a victim of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The racial makeup of the city was 46.7% White, 20.7% African American, 4.7% Asian American, 3.4% multiracial, and 23.7% Hispanic or Latino of any race. The median household income is $74,382 and the median age is 35.8 years. West Haven is the 16th most populated city in the state of Connecticut out of 169 cities.

The University of New Haven, founded in 1920, is located in the city. The hilly Allingtown district is home to the University of New Haven. Yale University is approximately four miles away, and Southern Connecticut State University is about five miles away, making West Haven part of a broader higher education corridor in the New Haven region.

West Haven has a Mayor/City Council form of government with 10 voting districts. Dorinda Keenan Borer has served as mayor of West Haven since 2023. Borer is the 13th mayor of West Haven. Born and raised in West Haven, she previously served as a Democratic member of the Connecticut House of Representatives, representing District 115, and was a former member of the West Haven Board of Education.

West Haven’s city motto is “Nil desperandum,” a Latin phrase meaning “never despair.” Notable people from West Haven include Marian Bergeron, Miss America 1933 and the youngest holder and only woman from New England to win that title; Samuel Johnson, the first president of the Anglican King’s College, later Columbia University; and Pfc. William A. Soderman, a Medal of Honor recipient from World War II.

City of West Haven