Cedar Hill, Connecticut

Cedar Hill is a neighborhood in New Haven, Connecticut. It includes portions of the city-designated neighborhoods of East Rock, Quinnipiac Meadows, and Mill River.

Cedar Hill was named for cedar trees that were once plentiful there in 1665. The area was divided from the local surroundings by the construction of I-91 in the 1950s.

Cedar Hill's boundary runs from James Street, up the Mill River, to Rice Field, over Indian Head Rock, to the Hamden town line, across to Middletown Avenue, to the Eastern side of State Street, back up to James Street.

David Atwater was one of the earliest European settlers recorded living in Cedar Hill (at that time called the East Farm). David Atwater, who died October 5, 1692, was the first of the New Haven Colony who was sworn a freeman of the united colony. A farm was assigned to him in the "Neck", the tract between the Mill and Quinnipiac Rivers.

Prior to the mid-19th century, the Cedar Hill district remained one of the most undeveloped portions of New Haven. The earliest significant settlement of the district does not appear to have taken place until the mid or late 1840s. An 1851 map shows that only about a dozen scattered houses and shops were standing in the area by that time. Virtually all of the buildings stood along or close to the area's two principal streets The Road to Wallingford (now known as upper State Street) and the Middletown Turnpike (now known as Middletown Avenue).

The few residents of the area during this period included M. Atwater, J. Matlby, R. Atwater and R. Augur. Major Lyman Atwater (Lyman Street was named after him) and son Lyman Hotchkiss Atwater also were born and lived in Cedar hill. Elias B. Bishop married the Major's daughter Grace (Grace Street in Cedar Hill is named after her; at one time it was the road around the bottom of East Rock and is now partly called Rock Street and English Drive) and bought the Atwater House on State Street, Cedar Hill from the Major when he moved to Vermont. Henry Eld had lived in the area now known as View Street, but when it started becoming more populated he relocated. Charles A. Warren President of the State Street House Railroad Company took over the property his office was at 82G Grand Street, Atwater building.

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