Willimantic is named for the Willimantic River which passes through it. The word was first attested in English writing as Waramanticut in 1684, and later as Wallamanticuk, Wewemantic and Weammantuck before being standardized as Willimantic. The word is of Algonquian origin, either Mohegan-Pequot or Narragansett. It is commonly translated as 'land of the swift running water', but the word more likely means 'place near the evergreen swamp'. The town of Willimantic, Maine, is named after Willimantic, Connecticut.
Passages that mention Willimantic, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A Modern History of Windham County, Connecticut1920 · page 1763Read the page →
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By his second marriage Ansel Arnold had two sons: William A., an attorney of Willimantic and Hartford and for ten years judge of the police court of the city of Willimantic; and Louis H., who is in the insurance business in Willimantic. William Ansel Arnold, son of Ansel Arnold, mentioned above, was born in Willimantic, Connecticut, May 5, 1874. He attended the public schools and was graduated from the Willimantic high school in the class of 1890 and from Williston Seminary at Easthampton, Massachusetts, in 1892. He then entered Yale College and won the Bachelor of Arts degree upon graduation with the class of 1896, while in 1899 he
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A Modern History of Windham County, Connecticut1920 · page 1764Read the page →
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Willimantic, he was a prime mover in obtaining a charter for and in constructing a street railway from Willimantic to Baltic, connecting there with the Norwich Street Railway. The railroad was built by the Willimantic Traction Company, of which Judge Clark was vice president and Mr. Arnold secretary.
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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut1920 · page 104Read the page →
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By A. B. Cunningham A quarter of a century after the first settlement of Windham, in April, 1717, Samuel Ashley purchased a tract of land of 200 acres from John Fitch and became the first settler of Willimantic. It is probable that one Jonathan Babcock, who was the common ancestor of the Coventry and Mansfield families of that name, became the second settler of Willimantic, his house being near where the present cemetery is located.
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A modern history of Windham county, Connecticut1920 · page 124Read the page →
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In 1896 the Town of Windham erected the Town Building at the corner of Main and High streets, and by a lease arrangement the City of Willimantic was provided with quarters; the police station and police court room, the city clerk's office, with ample vaults for city records, common council chamber, and mayor's office. The building also contains the town clerk's office, with ample vaults for all town records, selectmen's room, tax collector's office, and judge of probate's office. A fine hall for public assemblies, a library with ample room for its 10,000 volumes and space to grow; also Grand Army rooms, which is a
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Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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Willimantic, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
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Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the Library of Congress (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1897
1901–1907
1901–1907