Dixwell Congregational Church

The Dixwell Congregational Church was the first black congregational church in America. It all started when black members of the Center Church on the Green weren't able to sit on the ground floor; they had to sit in the balcolny. So the black members of the Center Church decided to create their own church, the Dixwell Congregational Church.

Simeon Jocelyn was the founding pastor of the African American Congregational Chuch (Dixwell Avenue Congregational Church). He attended Yale brielfy in 1823, and then tried -- unsuccessfully -- to create a Negro College in New Haven.

When the church was founded, it was much smaller than it is now. Around 1900, photographs show that the church was a brick building covered with ivy. In 1968, as part of urban renewal of the neighborhood, they remodeled the church into a larger modern building made out of concrete bricks.

Monterey Place

In 1989, the city of New Haven began rebuilding Elm Haven, which was a decaying housing project, as Monterey Place. Monterey Place is located near Dixwell Avenue in New Haven. In 1993, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded the city of New Haven $45 million to transform Elm Haven into Monterey Place. Monterey Place is a beautiful development of two-story town houses with tree-lined streets and grass borders. The apartments are priced as high as $1095 per month.

The Q House

The Dixwell Community House was founded in 1924. It is located at the heart of New Haven's oldest black neighborhood. The Q House was built as a palce for kids around the Dixwell neighborhood to go after school. The Dixwell Community House is not closed, as it ran into many problems. People around the Dixwell neighborhood continue to work to reopen it.

The Farmington Canal

The Farmington canal, which once passed through the Dixwell neighborhood, was first concieved of in 1821. Construction began in 1825, and was finished in 1835. The canal used to stretch 84 miles from New Haven to Northhampton, Massachusetts. The canal's boosters hoped that it would make New Haven a major commercial center. However, there were problems from the start; construction of the canal was poor and expensive, and a railroad line soon replaced it.

In the 1990's, an effort to turn the old canal into a walking trail finally came together. A paved walking and biking trail was constructed from Hamden and Cheshire, and another section was completed in Dixwell. As of now, half of the canal is paved for the walking and biking trail. Hopefully the other half of the canal will be paved to complete the trail.

- Sa'Quan Williams, Daevon Strickland, and Erin Braxton