“ Shipbuilding and commerce became the principal sources of wealth. In the middle of the nineteenth century Middletown was one of the leading cities of Connecticut, and as late as 1886 it was a port of entry ”

“ Women were first admitted in 1872, but coeducation was later discontinued,” and the last freshman class of women students under the old system entered in 1909. The university offers classical and scientific courses, and in 1908–1909 had 36 instructors, 322 students (30 being women) , and a library of 79,000 volumes. ”