Mill River (Connecticut)

Not to be confused with the Mill River (Fairfield, Connecticut) or the Rippowam River in Stamford, Connecticut

Mill River, Hamden, Connecticut. Sleeping Giant Mountain in background. Photo by Geoff Fox.

Map showing the Mill River and other rivers draining to New Haven Harbor, with their combined watersheds.

The Mill River is a river in the U.S. state of Connecticut.^[1]

The river starts in the town of Cheshire, flows through Hamden and New Haven, and discharges into New Haven Harbor on Long Island Sound. The river's length is 17.4 miles (28.0 km).^[2] The river is dammed in southern Hamden to form Lake Whitney, which is operated as a reservoir by the South Central Connecticut Regional Water Authority.

A mill for grinding corn was built on a Quinnipiack ford near East Rock in 1642. By 1780 there were eight mills. In time the river provided power for Eli Whitney's gun factory, now the Eli Whitney Museum.

Mill River passes through Sleeping Giant State Park in northern Hamden and East Rock Park below Lake Whitney in Hamden. These are among the river's reaches that remain undeveloped and are popular spots for fishing and hiking.

English Station, an abandoned power plant, lies on Ball Island in the New Haven terminus of the river.

References

1. ^ Mill River Basin: 01196620 Mill River near Hamden, page 168 in U.S. Geological Survey Water Resources Data, Connecticut, Water Year 2005
2. ^ U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline data. The National Map, accessed April 1, 2011

Further reading

• 1998. The Streets of New Haven - The Origin of Their Names, (2nd ed.) ISBN 0-943143-02-0

Coordinates: 41°25′15″N 72°54′12″W / 41.42083°N 72.90333°W / 41.42083; -72.90333