Incorporated in 1806, Meriden was once proposed as the state capital. Although the plan was not implemented, the rural village quickly burgeoned into a major manufacturing center with the advent of the industrial revolution. Meriden advanced to become renowned as the �Silver City.� International Silver Company and other key businesses, such as Parker Gun, Manning Bowman, Wilcox and White, and Handel Lamp, made Meriden a familiar name. Home to Gov. Abiram Chamberlain, Arctic explorer Hugh Johnson Lee, opera diva Rosa Ponselle, and baseball�s Connie Mack, the city has also long been enlivened by a diverse mixture of immigrants and newcomers. Bordered on the north by dramatic traprock ridges, Meriden has a larger percentage of parklands than any other town in Connecticut, with Hubbard Park its crowning jewel.
