Willimantic

Willimantic may refer to:

Willimantic, Connecticut

Willimantic is a village and census-designated place located in the town of Windham in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. The population was at 17,737 at the 2010 census. It is home to Eastern Connecticut State University, as well as the Windham Textile and History Museum. Willimantic was incorporated as a city in 1893; the city was superseded in 1983 by the Willimantic Special Services District. It is also the birthplace of former U.S Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut.

History

Willimantic is an Algonquian term for "land of the swift running water". Prior to 1821, the village was known as Willimantic Falls, home to about twenty families and a single school district. In 1822, Charles Lee erected a factory on Main Street made of stone quarried from the Willimantic River. Although small shops and manufacturers had been built on the banks of the Willimantic before, this was the beginning of industrialized Willimantic. In 1825, the three Jillson brothers built a factory along the Willimantic, and in 1827, they built a second building. By 1828, there were six cotton factories in Willimantic, all built within a seven year span. Willimantic became known as "Thread City" because American Thread Company had a mill on the banks of the Willimantic River, and was at one time the largest employer in the state as well as one of the largest producers of thread in the world. Its factory was the first in the world to use electric lighting. In 1833, Willimantic was a borough of Windham; in 1893, it would become a city.