The Town of Haddam or Thirty Mile Island Plantation, as it was originally called, is located in Middlesex County which is in the south central part of Connecticut. The town is bounded on the north by Middletown and East Hampton, on the east by East Haddam, on the south by Chester and Killingworth, and on the west by Killingworth and Durham. The town is divided into 12 historic districts; Haddam Center, Haddam Neck, Higganum West, Brainerd Hill, Candlewood Hill, Ponsett, Little City, Burr, Beaver Meadow, Turkey Hill, Shailerville, and Tylerville. The population of Haddam, according to the 1990 census, was 6,980 and the town covers 46.7 sq. miles. Haddam is the only town in the state of Connecticut that is bisected by the Connecticut River with Middle Haddam, Pine Brook, and Haddam Neck located on the eastern side of the Connecticut River. The present towns of Haddam and East Haddam were purchased from the Indians for a trifling amount by a committee of the Connecticut Colonial Legislature in May of 1662 and the Town of Haddam was incorporated a few years later in 1668. Two settlements were originally formed called the Town Plot and the Lower Plantation. The town's unique position on the Connecticut River has determined most of its development. Water power was utilized as early as 1668, when the first gristmill was built, and shortly thereafter sizable textile, tannery, and distillery businesses lined the river with four ferries servicing the area. The area was also noted for the large yearly shad run.
Rev. Dr. David Dudley Field's History of Haddam and East Haddam
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02/09/2005