The city struck fortune in the late 18th century with the inventions and industrial activity of Eli Whitney, a Yale graduate who remained in New Haven to develop the cotton gin and establish a gun-manufacturing factory in the northern part of the city near the Hamden town line.
A cidade alcanzou a fortuna a finais do século XVIII coas invencións e a actividade industrial de Eli Whitney, un graduado de Yale que permaneceu en New Haven para desenvolver a desementadora de algodón e establecer unha fábrica de armas no norte, preto do límite con Hamden.