Introduction to Newington, Connecticut
Newington, Connecticut, in Hartford county, is 3 miles NE of New Britain, Connecticut and 93 miles NE of New York, New York. The town benefits from easy access to the nearby cities and towns that it shares the Hartford metropolitan area with.
Newington History
The history of Newington goes back more than 335 years, when it was a part of Wethersfield. Woodcutters from this town were sent to Newington in the 1600s to harvest timber. The area was favored by settlers as it had a level land that was rich with glacial deposits. The community was legally named Newington by the General Assembly in 1721. This name, according to some sources, meant the "new town in the meadow." It was officially incorporated as a town in 1871.
Newington’s first settlers were from Wethersfield, Connecticut. Sometime before 1665 the Wethersfield colonists bought a parcel of Wethersfield land, which now comprises Wethersfield, Glastonbury, Newington, Rocky Hill and a part of Berlin.
In 1677 granted four men the right to build a sawmill on the pond (Mill Pond), making use of the natural waterfall for the purpose of manufacturing pipe (barrel) staves, and also granting each man twenty acres of land. Here Newington, as a part of Wethersfield, had it’s start. The wood was very good for making pipe staves and this first industry in Newington lasted about one hundred years until the wood dwindled and caused its demise.
In 1708 the settlers petitioned for a separate parish. Two years later the Town Meeting allowed them the right to worship by themselves from December through March because of the difficulties in traveling across the mountain from Newington to Wethersfield in the winter months. Again in 1712 they petitioned to be a separate parish and have their own minister. This time it was granted.
Travel between Newington and its parent community remained a difficult task through the eighteenth century and until the establishment of the Hartford-New Haven Turnpike around 1800, no direct route to Hartford existed. Thus Newington continued to grow in relative isolation, forming the strong family and community bonds that are still evident today
Things To Do In Newington
While in Newington, one can visit the Kellogg Eddy House and Museum and the Jefferson House Gerontology Resource Center. The Newington Plaza Shopping Center, the Newington Theater Plaza Shopping Center, the Northwood Shopping Plaza Shopping Center and Fenn Road Plaza Shopping Center are ideal destination for those who love to shop.
