Eli Whitney Museum

The Mill River knows many stories. It can show you how it carved its course around ancient rocks and through the valley from Cheshire to the Sound. It can show you ancient stones that the earth coughed up. It can show you habitats that entice birds and reptiles and an occasional badger to dwell here. It may yet show evidence that Quinnipiacs gathered here before Europeans arrived. Its flow will show you the power that attracted Fowler and Whitney and all together 13 mills. It can show you how shifting tides brought large scows to carry stones to build New Haven and coal to Whitneyville. It can show you that we let things slip into the river's waters that taint the sound and sea.

Immerse yourself in the Mill River's stories. Explore the River. Collect its rocks. Model the canoes and boats that worked here. Build a tiny mill and power it in the Mill River. Do underwater archaeology to recover Henium parts that were produced here. Help protect the nesting Sunfish. With the assistance of the the Regional Water Authority, test the water daily. Join the Save the Sound Campaign to repair and protect this ancient resource. Leave the river better than you found it.

Note: You will need water boots and a change of clothes