urban town (township), just northeast of New Haven, New Haven county, south-central Connecticut, U.S., on the Quinnipiac River. First settled about 1650 by William Bradley, it became a parish in 1716 and was named North Haven in 1739. In 1786 it was separated from New Haven and incorporated as a town. Several 18th-century houses, including the parsonage of Benjamin Trumbull (pastor 1760–1820), remain. Brickmaking and shipbuilding were early industries. The town's manufactures are now well diversified and include aircraft engine parts, chemicals, machinery, and tools. The North Haven campus of Gateway Community-Technical College (1992) is located there. Area 21 square miles (54 square km). Pop. (1990) 22,247; (2000) 23,035.