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MacArthur Drive – River Rd. S, SW, W to Garvin Rd.; Mount Carmel; on 1954 plat
John MacArthur died in World War II.
Magee Drive – Bear Path Rd. N, NW, SW to end; Mix District; on 1957 plat
George Magee died in World War II.
Maher Avenue – Harding St. NE and N to Willard St.; Centerville; on 1923 plat
John Maher (1807-1878) is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Main Street – Wintergreen Av. W and N to junction of Mountain Rd. and Chauncey Rd.; Dunbar Hill; on 1852 map
The Main Street of most cities is so named for being a principal thoroughfare, but this is clearly not the case in Hamden. Although over two miles long, it does not have a single traffic light or commercial building, and mostly borders a large state park, West Rock Ridge. It is unlikely it was ever a major street. No early maps show any concentration of houses on it, nor did it ever extend much beyond its present length, making it a highway connecting it to other towns. The topography of the ridge would make an extension impractical.
It is therefore most likely this street was named for a person, but none of the few houses shown on it on old maps have the name Main. Elias Main (1792-1840) and Jerusha Main (1807-1890) are listed as buried in Whitneyville Cemetery, but no census records show them ever living in Hamden. Jerusha is listed in the 1870 and 1880 censuses as being a domestic or boarder in the house of George N. Bates, a mason, builder in stone and brick, living in the Fair Haven section of New Haven. Perhaps Bates built some houses on Main Street.
The possibility of Main Street being the principal street of a small village was considered because there are other cases of such a street being absorbed into a larger city, where it is no longer a major thoroughfare. This actually happened three times in New Haven, where Westville, Fair Haven, and the Annex each had a Main Street. When these areas were absorbed by New Haven, the first became Whalley Avenue, the second retained its name, and the last became Main Street Annex.
Malcolm Street – Benham St. S to end past Roosevelt St.; Hamden Plains; on 1929 plat
Elizabeth S. Malcom Hunter (1841-1893) is buried in Whitneyville Cemetery. Originally named Roseville St.
Manila Avenue – Oregon Av. N to Treadwell St.; Hamden Plains; on 1900 plat
Manila Bay was the site of a battle in the Spanish-American War. See Bagley Av., which it parallels.
Manor Street – Mather St. SW to Treadwell St.; Whitneyville; on 1920 plat
It was part of the Lakewood Manor development, with Lake and Wood streets.
Mansion Road – South Turnpike Rd. in Wallingford NW, SW, NW to Tuttle Av. in Wallingford opposite Old Lane Rd. in Cheshire; Wallingford; on 1852 map
There may have been a notable mansion on it. The road is entirely in Wallingford but some houses in Hamden are on it and Squire Ln. in Hamden can only be accessed from it. Even house numbers are on the right side in the direction of increasing numbers, as specified, reverse of usual practice in Hamden and Wallingford.
Mansur Road – Building Brook Rd. W to Main St.; Dunbar Hill; on 1852 map
S. Manser (different spelling) and E.A. Manser had houses on it on the 1868 map. The book Historic Hamden lists a Samuel Mansor house (1825) on it. Samuel Manser (1784-1871), Sarah Alling his wife (1784-1817), and Eliza Manser likely second wife (d. 1876), are buried in Hamden Plains Cemetery.
Maple Crest Lane – Shepard Av. W, S, W to end; Mix District; on 2004 plat
It leads up to the crest of a ridge that may have had maple trees. Houses have consecutive odd and even numbers although they are much more widely spaced than the standard 20-foot increment.
Maple Street – Craft St. N to Olds St; East Side; on 1927 map
Possibly named for maple trees, in keeping with the tradition of naming streets for trees.
Maplewood Terrace – Dixwell Av. W to Battis Rd.; Hamden Plains; on 1910 plat
It may have been in a deeply wooded area of maple trees. It does not align exactly as it crosses Lakeview Av. and the portion west of it is labeled Maplewood Ter. Ext. on the tax assessor map. Numbering is continuous with the eastern part, which was named Herbert St. on the 1910 plat.
Marietta Street – Dixwell Av. E to end; Hamden Plains; on 1898 plat
Marietta Benham Miller (1837-1910) was the daughter of Sackett G. Benham (1807-1871) who is buried in Hamden Plains Cemetery. The street originally intersected Victor and Hobson streets but was severed from them by Wilbur Cross Pkwy.
Marion Avenue – Monroe St. N to Briarcliff Rd.; Mount Carmel; on 1923 plat
Anna Marion Nolan (1890-1951) lived nearby on James St. in 1930 and is buried in St. Mary's Cemetery.
Marlboro Street – Winchester Av. W to Shelton Av.; Whitneyville, Highwood; on 1910 plat
Origin uncertain, perhaps for any of several places named Marlboro or Marlborough including a town in Connecticut. It was on land owned by the Federal Realty Co.
Marne Street – Treadwell St. N to Haig St.; Hamden Plains; in 1920 directory
The Marne is a region in northeastern France where two World War I battles were fought. See entries for intersecting Foch St. and Pershing St.
Marshall Road – Davis St. N to end; Private; Whitneyville; in 1928 directory
Rush P. Marshall Jr. (1891-1973) lived nearby at 44 Pickwick Rd. in 1940. He was a forest pathologist with a Ph.D. from Yale. He is buried in Central Burying Ground [findagrave].
Martin Terrace - Mather St. SW to Treadwell St.; Whitneyville; on 1932 plat
Martin Schaefler (1906-1928), buried in Mishkan Israel Cemetery in New Haven, was the son of Sigmund & Antoinette Schaefler, developers of the street. The subdivision was named Martin Terrace on the plat with the street itself called Martin St.
Maryknoll Road – Woodin St. N, E, N to end; Pine Rock; on 1967 plat
It was the only street of the Maryknoll development by James Dadio of DiMeo Realty, possibly named for a hill with that name in Westchester County, NY, where there is the headquarters of three Catholic missionary organizations.
Mather Street – Whitney Av. NW and W to Dixwell Av.; Whitneyville, Hamden Plains; on 1852 map
William H. Mather (1800-1875) is buried in Hamden Plains Cemetery. The 1868 map shows the house of H.W. Mather on its corner with Dixwell.
Mattes Road – Rentell Rd. S to Phelps Dr.; Mix District; on 1958 plat
Merwin Mattes died in World War II.
McDermott Circle – Russo Dr. W, N, NE to Russo Dr.; West Woods; on 1957 plat
John McDermott died in World War I.
Meadow Road – End at Hamden Plains Cemetery N to Village Cir.; Hamden Plains; on 1959 plat
A meadow was in the area [Chronicle 1999].
Meadowbrook Road – Glen Pkwy. NE to North Haven line, continuing N to Ridgewood Av.; Spring Glen, North Haven, on 1920 plat
It was in a meadow with a brook running through it. The brook is now underground, with a bit of it visible where it flows into another brook on the south side of the Glen Pkwy. intersection.
Megin Drive – Benham St. N to Cooper Ln.; Dunbar Hill; on 1947 plat
Richard Megin died in the Korean War. It was in the Rosehurst Acres subdivision developed by his father, Ralph Megin.
Melrose Avenue – Briarcliff Rd. S to Cromwell St. opposite Melrose Dr.; Mount Carmel; on 1922 plat
Melrose Court – Melrose Dr. W to end; Mount Carmel; on 1973 plat
Melrose Drive – Cromwell St. opposite Melrose Av. S to end; Mount Carmel; on 1973 plat
Melrose is a neighborhood in the borough of the Bronx in New York City. It has a stop on the Metro-North Harlem line. The street is next to Pelham Av., named for a stop on the M-N New Haven line. Melrose Dr. continues the numbering of Melrose Av. The five houses on Melrose Ct. are all around its cul-de-sac, with two on the right side having even numbers, reverse of usual practice.
Merrimac Street – Carrington St. N to Saint James St.; Hamden Plains; on 1900 plat
The Merrimack (sometimes misspelled Merrimac) was a U.S. Navy warship named for the Merrimack River in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. It was burned and sunk to prevent capture during the Civil War, but raised and rebuilt by the Confederate navy, then fought the Union's Monitor in the first battle of iron-clad ships. Intersecting Carrington St. bears the name of a Civil War general.
Merritt Street – State St. E to Welton St.; East Side; on 1919 plat
Schuyler Merritt was a congressman from Connecticut (1917-1931 and 1933-1837). The Merritt Parkway runs through his district, which did not include Hamden. The street was called Division St. on a 1911 map of New Haven, renamed perhaps to avoid confusion with the Division St. in the Newhallville neighborhood of the city.
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