www.gardenclubofnewhaven.org
You are invited to visit the Garden Club’s
website to purchase a copy of a DVD
documentary about the history of the New
Haven Green and to make a donation for
the continuing planting and care of the trees
on the Green.
Sponsored by The Garden Club of New Haven and the Committee of
the Proprietors of the Common and Undivided Lands in New Haven
The trees are marked from A – O .
The historic sites are marked
from #1 – 11.
This brochure and its map offer a guide to
the trees on the Green and to the historical
events that have taken place here. You may
use the brochure on its own, or you may use it
in tandem with a free audio walking tour that
addresses the rich history of the Green and its
surroundings.
Dial 203-672-4384 on your cell phone
to access the 30-minute audio walking tour
with your personal guide, Jim Andreassi.
Consult the map inside to locate the starting
point for the audio tour, beginning with #1.
The New Haven Green is a National Historic
Landmark that has been at the center of life
in New Haven since its boundaries were
established in 1640.
History
and Trees
of its
Tour
A walking
The Historic
l co m e to
e
W
Historic Locations on The Green that
correspond to the audio walking tour.
For more detailed historic information, Dial (203) 67 2-4384
on your cell phone to access the free audio tour.
Overall Layout of the
Green – The Puritans founded
New Haven Colony in 1638,
and in 1640 surveyor John Brockett laid out a 9 square
city plan to the specifications of the founders. This
central 16-acre public square was originally a communal
marketplace and pasture and has been called the New
Haven Green since 1779. In 1784, Temple Street was
cut through the Green, creating two sections.
1
Center Church and the Founding
Leaders – The founders of New Haven were
two Englishmen, John Davenport, pastor of the
first church, and Theophilus Eaton, a
wealthy merchant. This building
is Center Church, also known as
First Church. Built between 18121815 by Ithiel Town based upon
design plans by Asher Benjamin,
it is the fourth church built on
this site. In the crypt beneath the
church, there are 137 gravestones of
New Haven’s earliest settlers, preserved when the current church was
built over a small portion of the first burying ground.
Behind the church are a plaque honoring Eaton, information about the English Judges John Dixwell, William Goffe
and Edward Whalley, and a few remaining tombstones. In
1821, thousands of other tombstones of those buried on
the Green were moved to the Grove Street Cemetery. The
remains were not removed from the Green.
2
3
United Church – United
Church was built at the same time
as Center Church, between
1812-1815. It is the second church
erected on this site. Ebenezer Johnson,
a shoemaker, conceived of the initial
design, and David Hoadley, a master
builder, completed the plans and built
the church. It has a Federal style interior with a shallow
dome and original chandelier. The original members of
this congregation were devoted abolitionists, prominent
in the struggle against slavery.
4
Corner of Elm and Temple
Streets – Across Elm Street is the New
Haven Free Public Library, and to its right
is the white marble New Haven County Courthouse.
The courthouse is on the National Register of Historic
Places. To the right, this section of the Lower Green has
long been the site of political speeches and gatherings,
and more recently, cultural events.
5
Church Street – Across Church Street
from the Green is New Haven’s City Hall,
identifiable by its distinctive clock tower.
Designed by Henry Austin in 1861, it is one of the
country’s oldest examples of High Victorian Gothic
style. The Amistad Memorial is located to the left of
the City Hall entrance. Further along Church Street
toward Chapel Street is the United States Post Office
and Courthouse, completed in 1919 and now used only
as a courthouse. It was designed by James Gamble
Rogers. Both buildings are on the National Register
of Historic Places.
6
Bennett Memorial Fountain –
The fountain commemorates
the original public source of
fresh water for New Haven Colony. New
Haven’s first public market was held near
this site and extended to the center of
the Green.
7
Ulmus americana
The Garden Club of New Haven, Inc. was
founded in 1924 for the purpose of creating
interest in and promoting knowledge of
gardening, preserving natural resources, and
civic horticultural work in the Greater New
Haven area. The Club has been actively
involved in the planting and care of the trees
on the New Haven Green since the 1950s.
The Committee of the Proprietors of the
Common and Undivided Lands in New
Haven was established in 1805, when the
descendants of the original settlers of New
Haven Colony became too numerous to
effectively govern the Green and other lands
they owned in common. The Proprietors
are a self- perpetuating governing body of
five individuals who manage the Green for
the benefit of the people of New Haven.
that you will visit again soon!
of the New Haven Green and
We hope you enjoyed your tour
Corner of College and Elm
Streets – On College Street, directly
opposite this corner is Yale’s Battell Chapel,
built between 1874-76. From the Revolutionary period
to the Civil War, the section of Elm Street facing the
Green between College and Church Streets was known
as “Quality Row.” Prominent New Haven residents
built their homes here, and many of these structures
remain between College and Temple Streets, including
the Yale Visitor Center which was built in 1767.
Other disease-resistant elm species are also present
on the Green, including Homestead elms which are
native to Europe and North Africa, Siberian elms
which are native to Central Asia, eastern Siberia,
Mongolia, Tibet, northern China, India and Korea,
and English elms which in spite of the name are
widely believed to be from Italy or possibly Turkey.
Elms can achieve heights of 70-100 feet, and they
still hold center stage in New Haven.
With its grand and
majestic vase-like shape, this native
species was formerly widely planted as a
street tree, especially in New Haven. By the 1950s
Dutch elm disease, a fungal affliction of Asian origin
spread by bark beetles and through root grafts
between adjacent trees, had killed most of the
American elms across the country. On the Green
there are surviving mature American elms, as well
as disease-resistant cultivars, including Liberty and
Princeton American elms.
A
American Elm
The first elms were planted on
the Green in 1686 as gifts from a
parishioner to the Reverend James
Pierpont, who was the second pastor
of the congregational church now known as Center
Church. A century later in 1784, James Hillhouse,
a large landowner and civic leader, began the first
public tree-planting program in America. Using his
own funds, he systematically planted American elms
on the Green and throughout New Haven. Ever since,
New Haven has been known as “The Elm City.”
The Green now appears essentially as it did in 1889,
with American elm trees planted on both the upper
and lower portions of the Green along the entire
perimeter and lining both sides of Temple Street.
Many other specimen hardwood trees are planted on
the Upper Green, and they are marked on the map
and described inside this brochure.
in New Haven
American Elms
Soldiers Memorial Flagpole
Monument – Located on the site
of the Liberty Pole which was
erected in 1774, the Monument was built
in 1928 and designed by Douglas Orr. It is
the only war memorial on the Green. The
fountain was added in 2003. The Green
was used as a military training and parade
ground during the 17th, 18th, 19th and
20th centuries.
8
Trinity Church –
Trinity Church (Episcopal)
was built between 18121816. It was designed by Ithiel Town,
who also built Center Church. It
stands out from the other churches
on the Green because of its Gothic
Revival style and because, until 1812,
only Congregational churches had
been allowed on the Green.
9
Powder House Day – Benedict
Arnold, Commander of the Second Company
Governor’s Foot Guard and its members
walked along this path on April 22, 1775. From the
Selectman, they demanded the keys to the Powder
House to get ammunition to take with them to join the
battle in Cambridge, MA. “Powder House Day” is reenacted on the Green every April.
10
Yale College and Hopkins
Grammar School, and Corner
of Chapel and College Streets –
Along with religion, education was extremely important
to the original settlers of New Haven, and in 1643, the
first schoolhouse was built on the Green. In 1660, John
Davenport founded Hopkins Grammar School. Hopkins
is one of only three independent schools founded in the
U.S. in the 17th century still operating today. Across
College Street is Yale University’s Old Campus. The
Reverend James Pierpont, the second pastor of Center
Church, was instrumental in fulfilling Davenport’s vision
for a college by helping to found the Collegiate School
in 1701. Originally located in Clinton, CT and then
Old Saybrook, CT, the Collegiate School moved to
New Haven in 1716 when New Haven offered the land
along College Street and the first college building. In
1718, Elihu Yale donated funds to complete the building,
which led to its being renamed Yale College. The
Green served as playing fields for Yale undergraduates.
11
TREES on the New Haven Green
B
E
Cornus florida
This is considered
by many to be our best native
ornamental flowering tree. It is
tolerant of partial shade, is an
understory tree, and achieves
heights of 20-30 feet. Showy
blooms appear in mid-May, and shiny red clusters
of fruit in Sept.-Oct. provide fruit for birds. Leaves
turn a rich red-brown in fall.
C
H
Ginkgo Ginkgo biloba
Native to Eastern China,
this is a tough and adaptable tree. The ancient species
is known from the fossil record as early as
200 million years ago, representing one of the oldest
distinct lineages of woody plants, and is unrelated to
any other living tree. The female trees bear fruit-like
fleshy seeds with a highly disagreeable odor, so only
male trees should be planted in urban settings. The
medicinal properties of the fan-shaped leaves have
been appreciated for centuries and they turn radiant
yellow in the fall. The tree reaches 50-80 feet.
White Flowering
Dogwood
American Sweetgum
Liquidambar
styraciflua
London Planetree
F
This is an adaptable
native species with fine multiple
colored leaves in the fall. It makes a very
good street tree on larger sites, reaching heights of
80-100 feet. Once used to make chewing gum,
its name is derived from the pleasant odor of the
sap. The spiny round fruit capsule falls from Nov.April, creating messy lawn maintenance.
Platanus x
acerifolia
This versatile urban
tree was discovered at the
Oxford Botanical Gardens
in England in the 1600s and
became the favorite street tree
in London. It is not a true species
but a hybrid tree that was produced by crossing the
American Sycamore and the Oriental Planetree. Its
distinctive exfoliating camouflage-like bark can be
seen from a distance and is often used to identify the
tree, which can reach heights of 60-80 feet.
Sugar Maple Acer saccharum
Native to the eastern U.S., this is the
quintessential New England shade
tree, offering spectacular fall leaf color
ranging from bright yellow to orange to florescent
red-orange. The trees are tapped in late winter
to early spring to ensure good sap
flow. It takes 30-40 gallons of
crude tree sap to produce
one gallon of maple syrup.
Reaching heights of 60-75
feet, the trees are not usually
recommended for urban
plantings. They are highly
prized for parks and larger yards.
D
The Upper Green
A
English Oak Quercus robur
Native to northern Europe,
English Oaks can grow to be
over 100 feet tall with a spread
of 75 feet and may live 800 years. They
are encountered in parks where they can
be afforded the space required to develop
their broad-spreading crowns.
COLLEGE STREET
H
M
E
J
A
D
C
L
10
K
B
A
1 2
A
4
TEMPLE STREET
5
The Lower Green
A
Zelkova Zelkova serrate
Native to Japan and a
close relative of the elm,
this species is often planted in an
attempt to replace our lost American elms. It grows
well in urban environments, is an excellent street tree
choice, and is not susceptible to disease. It grows to
50-70 feet in height, and its leaves turn from yellow
to orange in the fall.
F
ELM STREET
CHAPEL STREET
G
I
M
9
L
3
N
J
Red Oak Quercus rubra
A common native urban
tree throughout the eastern
and midwestern U.S., it is fast
growing, and its wood is commercially
valuable. It reaches heights of 60-80 feet,
and its acorns are eaten by wildlife.
N
O
A
8
7
A
6
CHURCH STREET
The historic sites are
marked from #1 – 11.
Horsechestnut Aesculus hippocastanum
Native to southeastern Europe, this
species is closely related to the
American buckeye. It grows well in
urban conditions, but the foliage is
susceptible to anthracnose blight.
The bottle-brush shaped white
flowers bloom in May, and the fruit
occurs in Sept.-Oct. in a thorny husk.
The nuts are poisonous and should not
be confused with edible chestnuts.
The tree reaches heights of 50-70 feet.
K
One of the fastest
growing oak trees,
it is among the most widely
planted and common street
trees, growing to 60-70 feet
tall. This native is highly tolerant
of compacted urban soils and
pollution. Providing good fall
leaf color, its leaves turn bronze.
O
I
Flowering Crabapple Malus spp.
“Crabapple” is a catchall term for
wild or small-fruited apples of various
species. This non-native, showy flowering tree
blooms in April to early May and grows to 15-20 feet
in height. It is prone to insect infestation and disease
and should be well-placed in the landscape, because
the fruit can litter the ground and become messy.
Birds, wildlife, flies and yellow jackets are attracted to
the fruit which occur in late summer.
Quercus palustris
The New Haven Green
11
White Oak Quercus alba
A fine specimen tree for parks
and large yards, this native
is durable and slow-growing and
reaches an average height of 60-80 feet. Native
Americans made flour from the acorns, and the wood
is the traditional material for wooden shipbuilding.
Oak barrel staves were among the principal exports
of Connecticut during the colonial period. The
acorns provide food for wildlife, and of all trees, oaks
support the greatest number of Lepidoptera, a large
order of insects that includes butterflies and moths.
Pin Oak
G
A
Swamp White Oak Quercus bicolor
Like the Pin Oak, this is naturally
a wetland species but has inherent drought resistance. It shows
great promise as a street tree due to its
tolerance of pollution and compacted urban
soils. Its unique bark peels into ragged curls,
and its leaves are light-colored and velvety on
the underside. It reaches heights of 50-60 feet.
The trees are marked from A – O .
Littleleaf Linden
Tilia cordata
A native of northern
Europe, it produces delicate white to
light yellow fragrant flowers in the late
summer that attract honeybees. The tree
is widely used in the urban landscape because of its
dependable pyramidal form, dark green foliage and
tolerance of difficult growing conditions. Avoid using
it over driveways or terraces – the excretion from
aphids feeding on leaves results in sooty mold on all
surfaces below. It reaches heights of 60-80 feet.
Other hardwood specimen trees located on the Upper
Green include American Hackberry, Crimean Linden,
Crimson Maple, Green Mountain Maple, Norway
Maple, and Bur Oak.