Tell Us Your Story!
The New Haven Free Public Library (NHFPL) is initiating an oral history project that will allow individuals to be interviewed and document their experiences for the Library’s archives, with the potential for these stories to be made available online.
New Haven’s Historic Freddy Fixer Parade
Written by SCSU Intern Isaac Rivera | June 2026 This year the 61st annual Freddy Fixer Parade was held on June 7! Learn more about its beginnings and the people that brought it to life. History The original Freddy Fixer parade wasn’t a parade at all—it wasn’t even named Freddy Fixer yet. It was a Dixwell and Newhallville neighborhood cleanup that … Continued
New Haven’s 1970 May Day Protest
Protesters in the streets. National Guard troops deployed against U.S. citizens. Sounds like scenes ripped from recent headlines, but these events date back to May Day, 1970, when New Haven became a flashpoint in a nationwide struggle. Let us peer back through the mists of history and vagaries of memory to a time that seems so different than our own yet is all too familiar in many respects. The sixties were a time … Continued
Learn more about Women from NHFPL’s History!
This March, the New Haven Free Public Library is recognizing just a few women who have made a significant impact on our organization.
How New Haven Helped Build a Nation
New Haven turns 242 this week – during our nation’s 250th year!
We’re thrilled to partner with the City of New Haven’s America 250 Commission to offer residents a year packe
Celebrating Notable Women from New Haven
March is a time to recognize the many accomplishments and contributions of women throughout history. This Women’s History Month we would like to highlight a few of the remarkable women who have been important to our City’s history. Sarah Boone was born into slavery in North Carolina in 1832. Eventually she married a free black … Continued
The New Haven Heroes at Pearl Harbor
Many New Haveners served at Pearl Harbor on the day of the attack. Perhaps the most widely known was the New Haven Naval Reserve Unit, which had been called to duty in May that year and assigned to the USS Solace, a hospital ship.