Connecticut Real Estate & Relocation Guide

New Britain, Connecticut

Population: 71,538

Located in Hartford County

At the geographic center of Connecticut, New Britain is just a two hour drive from either New York or Boston. The recently completed Route 9 expansion and its intersection with Route 72 in the center of downtown provides direct access to Interstates 91 and 84, putting New Britain on the beltway between the state's major north/south and east/west interstates. This un-congested highway network allows local businesses to tap a large area labor force, sell goods to a prosperous retail area, and conveniently distribute products anywhere within the northeastern United States. New Britain also is served by interstate, intercity and local bus service from the center of the city, as well as freight train service, completing a well-rounded transportation system that links New Britain to the whole northeast market.

New Britain was born in 1754 when a group of settlers broke away from the Town of Berlin and built their own meetinghouse. Their action bespoke the desire for control of their own destiny that has been the resonant theme of nearly all immigrants, and defining New Britain's economic life from that day forward. By 1800, the rapidly growing community boasted carpenters and shoemakers, sawmills, grist mills and blacksmith shops. One of the nation's first tinsmiths was producing plates and other goods for the new nation.

But that was just the beginning. Frederick Stanley incorporated The Stanley Works less than a hundred years after the city's inception. And over the next 50 years, many other major manufacturers would join them in what quickly became known as The Hardware City. By 1903, New Britain manufacturers were producing more than 300 kinds of products and the city had become America's largest hardware manufacturing center.

Serving this abundant industry was a growing population of immigrants. Between 1880 and 1930, New Britain's population soared from 13,979 to 68,128 as pilgrims arrived from all over the world. In New Britain's burgeoning factories they found jobs and hope. And to New Britain, they brought a rich tapestry of lifestyles and values. They built new churches. They opened new businesses. They dug in, married, raised families and adopted New Britain as their new home.

Courtesy of the New Britain Chamber of Commerce