West Haven

West Haven

West Haven, city, coextensive with the town (township) of West Haven, New Haven county, southwestern Connecticut, U.S. It lies on New Haven Harbor and across the West River from New Haven. Early settlement began in the 1640s, when the area was called West Farms. Additional land was divided among veterans of King Philip’s War (1675–76). The parish of West Haven, organized about 1720, became part of the town of Orange (incorporated 1822) and was created a borough in 1873. In 1921 it was separated and incorporated as a town. The industrial city of West Haven was chartered and consolidated with the town in 1961. Historic saltbox buildings in West Haven include the Ward Heitman House (1684). British Redcoats, commanded by Major General William Tryon, sacked the town on July 5, 1779. Early industries were fishing, blacksmithing, milling, and boatbuilding. Buckles have been made in West Haven since 1853. Manufacturing is now well diversified. Savin Rock on Long Island Sound, with its White City theme park, was a popular early 20th-century resort; it closed in the early 1960s. The University of New Haven (founded 1920) is in the city. Pop. (2000) 52,360; (2010) 55,564.