Welcome
Welcome to the New Haven and Connecticut research guide. These pages cover key resources for research in the history of New Haven and Connecticut. In this guide, you will find information on:
Historical newspapers and magazines
City directories
Archival materials drawn from Yale's special collections and beyond
Census data
Legal records
Whether you are working on a senior essay, research paper for a class, dissertation, or any other project, this guide provides a starting point for finding materials in all formats, both at Yale and elsewhere, to support your research.
Library Contact
James Kessenides, Kaplanoff Librarian for American History
Top resources
Links to some best bets for getting started on your research. Be sure to check the remaining pages on this guide for more resources and suggestions.
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Douglas Rae's City: Urbanism and Its EndA 2003 case study of New Haven. The author's papers can be found in Manuscripts and Archives in Sterling Memorial Library (and the link to the finding aid is on the "Archives" page of this guide).
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New Haven Register (1988-present)Via the database, Access World News. Earlier years are available on microfilm and listed on the "Newspapers & Magazines" page of this guide. Nineteenth-century issues can be found through the database, America's Historical Newspapers, on the "Newspapers & Magazines" page of this guide.
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Hartford Courant (1991-present)Via Access World News. A long run from the start of publication in the late 18th century to the early 21st century is available through the database, ProQuest News and Newspapers, on the "Newspapers & Magazines" page of this guide.
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New Haven Free Public Library (NHFPL) - Local History ResourcesYou will find a wide variety of materials here, including links to digitized materials, information on municipal documents, resources for doing neighborhood research, and a collection of maps of New Haven and Connecticut.
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Here are direct links to guides to two of the collections that are available at the NHFPL:
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City of New Haven Municipal Documents - Collection Guide from NHFPLThis is a wide-ranging list of city documents arranged by topic that are available in the Local History Room of the New Haven Free Public Library.
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Selected Resources for Researching New Haven's NeighborhoodsThis document provides an overview of census data, books and other publications, and municipal documents that can be consulted in the NHFPL's Local History Room.
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Collection highlight
David Plowden, Former New York, New Haven Hartford Railroad Depot. Canaan, Connecticut, 1963, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library