Middletown, a city, port of entry, and one of the shire towns of Middlesex co., Connecticut, on the right bank of the Connecticut river, 30 in. above its mouth, 24 m. N. E. of New Haven, and 15 m. S. of Hartford; pop. of the city in 1870, 6,923, exclusive of 4,203 in the town. It is situated at the intersection of a branch of the New York, New Haven, and Hartford railroad with the Connecticut Valley and the New Haven, Middletown, and Willimantic lines. The city has a gradual ascent from the river, with which the principal streets run parallel, crossed at right angles by others; it is well built, chiefly of brick, and has many fine situations and elegant mansions in the environs. It has a custom house built of Portland freestone, and a court house. The wharves have 10 ft. of water, and can accommodate such vessels as can cross the bar. During the year ending June 30, 1873, there were 229 entrances, tonnage 231,075, and 7 clearances, tonnage 72o, all coastwise. There "were belonging in the district 115 sailing vessels of 11,008 tons, 25 steamers of 5,815 tons, and 7 barges of 1,234 tons.

There are four national banks, with an aggregate capital of $969,300, two savings banks with more than $8,000,000 of deposits, and important manufactures, embracing cottons, foundery products, britannia ware, hardware, silver-plated ware, rules, chisels, sewing machines, pumps, webbing, tape, guns, screws, leather, etc. The city has a daily and two weekly newspapers, and a bi-weekly, a high school and six other public schools,"and 15 churches. It is the seat of the insane asv-lum. the state industrial school for girls, Wes-leyan university (see Wesleyan University), and Berkeley divinity school (Episcopalian). The last named institution was established in 18.54, and in 1873-'4 had 5 professors, 34 students, and a library of 14,000 volumes.

Middletown #1

Middletown, a village of Orange co., New York. at the intersection of the Erie, the New York and Oswego Midland, and the New Jersey Midland railroads, 21 m. W. by S. of Newburgh, and 55 m. N. N. W. of New York; pop. in 1870, 6,049. It is in the midst of a wide undulating plain, partly between and partly upon several gradually sloping hills. The view to the north and south is unbroken, while on the west it is bounded by the Shawangunk mountains and on the east by the Highlands along the Hudson and the mountains beyond. In the S. W. part of the village is Hillside cemetery, containing 50 acres, handsomely laid out and adorned. The streets are broad, clean, well shaded, sewered, lighted with gas, and bordered with flagged sidewalks. Water is supplied from a reservoir of 80 acres, 2 m. from the village, elevated from 100 to 200 ft. above its level. It has a tire department, a police force, and a board of health. There are many substantial business blocks, a fine masonic hall, neat cottages, and handsome residences. The state homoeopathic asylum for the insane occupies a building capable of accommodating from 80 to 100 patients, with a wing in course of construction (1874) designed to accommodate 175 more.

Middletown is surrounded by a rich dairy and stock-raising district, from which it derives a large and profitable trade. It has manufactories of saws, files, hats, furnaces, carpet bags, agricultural implements, lawn mowers, gloves, blankets, patent medicines, flavoring extracts, etc. There are several hotels, an opera house seating 1,000 persons, public halls, two national banks, a savings bank, five brick school houses with a system of graded schools, a female seminary, several private schools, a library and reading room, a daily and three weekly newspapers, and nine churches.