New Haven

History

New Haven was platted in 1839 by Henry Burgess, who named it after New Haven, Connecticut. It was incorporated as a town under Indiana law in 1865. It became incorporated as a city in 1963. Several homes built by the Burgess family remain in New Haven. A Burgess home on Summit Street is the oldest brick structure in Jefferson Township. Henry Burgess' son-in-law, E.W. Green built a large frame Greek Revival house on the hill above what is now Schnelker Park and the former New Haven Elementary School building. Another Burgess structure remains at the corner of Summit and Eben Streets. In the 1850s the Swiss Amish arrived in the region, and what makes them distinct is that they speak an Alsatian German Language. The Fort Wayne Railroad Historical Society operates east of New Haven on Edgerton Road. The society has restored Nickel Plate 765 built by the Lima Locomotive Works of Lima, Ohio and restored the Craigville Depot, which are housed at the New Haven site. The French settlement of Besançon, a historic settlement in New Haven, is on the eastern edge of the town along the Lincoln Highway. Saint Louis Catholic Church at Besançon is now on the National Register of Historic Places. Also listed is the Wabash Railroad Depot. New Haven was the home of a weekly newspaper, Allen County Times, until the summer of 2002. The paper served New Haven, Leo-Cedarville, Grabill, Harlan, Woodburn, Hoagland, and Monroeville.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, New Haven has a total area of , of which (or 99.95%) is land and (or 0.05%) is water. New Haven was the westernmost point of prehistoric glacial Lake Maumee which was an extension of Lake Erie. The bed of Lake Maumee then became the Great Black Swamp, which covered an area between New Haven and present-day Toledo, Ohio. The route of the old Lincoln Highway east of New Haven follows the southern lakebank of glacial Lake Maumee, a notable geological feature.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  6,250
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  6,108
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,364
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,204
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,815
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,713
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,632
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,260

Most recent

• M 2.9 — 2024-12-29
  1 km SSE of Hicksville, Ohio
• M 2.6 — 2015-06-12
  6 km NW of Convoy, Ohio
• M 3 — 2012-01-26
  5 km NE of Topeka, Indiana
• M 2.8 — 2008-09-30
  5 km SW of Kettlersville, Ohio
• M 2.5 — 2006-08-15
  3 km NE of Fort Shawnee, Ohio
• M 2.8 — 2006-05-12
  2 km E of Lima, Ohio