Hamden Wedding

Hamden is a town in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States.

Hamden was originally settled by Puritans as part of the town of New Haven. The land was purchased by Theophilus Eaton and Reverend John Davenport in 1638 from the local Quinnipiack Native American tribe. It remained a part of New Haven until 1786 when local residents incorporated themselves as a separate town. It is named after the English statesman John Hampden.

Hamden was largely developed as a nodal collection of village-like settlements. These include Mount Carmel, Whitneyville, Spring Glen, and Highwood. It has a long-standing industrial history having been the site of many workshops of Eli Whitney, as well as Charles Goodyear. The major thoroughfare through town has been named Whitney Avenue in Eli Whitney's honor, and it runs past Whitney's old factory, now the Eli Whitney Museum, at the border with New Haven where a waterfall provided a good source of power.

During the 19th and early 20th centuries, Hamden received a steady influx of immigrants, most notably from Italy and Ireland. To this day, Hamden is an essential part of New Haven's Italian-American community.