New Britain

History

New Britain was settled in 1687. It was incorporated as a new parish as the New Britain Society in 1754. Chartered in 1850 as a township and in 1871 as a city, New Britain had separated from the nearby towns of Farmington and Berlin, Connecticut. A consolidation charter was adopted in 1905. New Britain Normal School trained teachers. It relocated in 1922 to its current location on Stanley Street. It became Teachers College of Connecticut in 1933. It was renamed again in 1959 as Central Connecticut State College and in 1983 became Central Connecticut State University. Major manufacturers, such as The Stanley Works, the P&F Corbin Company (founded 1848, later Corbin Locks), Landers, Frary & Clark (LF&C) founded 1842, Union Manufacturing Company, founded in 1866 and North & Judd, were headquartered in the city. During the early part of the 20th century, New Britain was known as the "Hardware Capital of the World", as well as "Hardware City". In 1843 Frederick Trent Stanley established Stanley's Bolt Manufactory in New Britain to make door bolts and other wrought-iron hardware. In 1857 his cousin Henry Stanley founded The Stanley Rule and Level Company in the city. Planes invented by Leonard Bailey and manufactured by the Stanley Rule and Level Company, known as "Stanley/Bailey" planes, were prized by woodworkers of the late 19th and early 20th centuries and remain popular among wood craftsmen today. The two companies merged in 1920, and the Stanley Rule and Level Company became the Hand Tools Division of Stanley Works. The wire coat hanger was invented in 1869 by O. A. North of New Britain. In 1895, the basketball technique of dribbling was developed at the New Britain YMCA. In 1900, a monument to veterans of the American Civil War was dedicated. In 1938, New…

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• New Britain High School
  High · New Britain · 2,331 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Southington High School
  High · Southington · 1,945 students · 13:1 ratio
• Conard High School
  High · West Hartford · 1,418 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Hall High School
  High · West Hartford · 1,408 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• Newington High School
  High · Newington · 1,327 students · 14.4:1 ratio
• Farmington High School
  High · Farmington · 1,263 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Wethersfield High School
  High · Wethersfield · 1,151 students · 13.4:1 ratio
• Achievement First Hartford Academy
  Other · Hartford · 1,041 students · 12.1:1 ratio