[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 62 (Monday, May 6, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E594-E595]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CELEBRATING THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN ON THE OCCASION OF ITS 375TH 
                              ANNIVERSARY

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 6, 2013

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pride and much 
appreciation that I rise today to join my hometown of New Haven, 
Connecticut in commemoration of the City's 375th Anniversary--a 
remarkable milestone for a very special community. Today, hundreds are 
gathered not only to pay tribute to our past but to celebrate the 
unique blend of cultures, traditions, and history that has made our 
City so strong.
  The story of New Haven is the story of America. It was on April 24, 
1638, that a group of five hundred English Puritans, led by Reverend 
John Davenport and Theophilus Eaton and in search of a place where 
``the word of God shall be the only rule,'' sailed into the harbor. 
Upon their arrival they soon met with a local Native American tribe, 
the Quinnpiack, whose leader, Momauguin, agreed to sell the tribe's 
land in exchange for the settlers' protection from neighboring raiding 
bands and the use of the lands east of the harbor. In just two short 
years a government had been established and the settlement, based on a 
grid of nine squares with the central square as the public common or 
Green, was flourishing. In 1784, New Haven was incorporated as a city 
and Roger Sherman, one of the signers of the Declaration of 
Independence was elected its first mayor.
  The history of New Haven is in fact a reflection of our nation's 
great history. It was in New Haven in 1775, the day after Lexington and 
Concord, or as we call it Powder House Day, that Benedict Arnold 
demanded the keys to the local powder house so that patriots could use 
it in defense of the colonies. It was in New Haven, that Eli Whitney 
developed the cotton gin and interchangeable parts revolutionizing the 
manufacturing industry and revitalizing the American economy. It was in 
New Haven that a group of African Mendi Warriors, led by Cinque Pieh 
and marooned aboard the Spanish schooner Amistad, won a court battle 
and were able to return to their homeland--an important triumph of the 
anti-slavery movement. In the 19th century, New Haven was the center of 
the carriage industry as well as the oyster capitol of the world. New 
Haven is home to the prestigious Yale University--an institution that 
has educated three of our last four presidents and three of our current 
Supreme Court justices.
  New Haven, like so many other communities across our nation, also has 
a rich immigrant story--the story of the American dream. Our City may 
be most well known for its Italian and fish communities, but we have 
also become home to a number of other immigrant groups including those 
from Eastern Europe and Ecuador. As is the same story in so many other 
communities, these immigrant groups faced all kinds of challenges and 
obstacles. Through those struggles they stuck together, they 
established organizations to help re-create a little bit of the Old 
Country, and to honor the values of family and community we all hold 
dear--they made New Haven their home.
  With such a rich history, the bonds of our community are strong. Born 
and raised in the Wooster Square neighborhood, wherever I go in this 
world, it is always with me. That is New Haven--and that is why I am so 
proud to rise today to say Happy 375th Birthday New Haven.

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