Mill Community Record New Britain
FIND ‘MILL COMMUNITIES’- Community Name (Common)
- White Oaks – Federal Defense Worker Housing
- Address or Location
- 48 Pennsylvania Avenue, New Britain
- Specific Location
- In the vicinity of Pennsylvania Avenue’s intersection with New Hampshire Drive, including along Pennsylvania Avenue, New Hampshire Drive, Warren Street, and Texas Drive.
- County
- Hartford
- Historic Designation
-
n/a
- Associated Mill Complexes
- n/a
- Architectural and Historical Information
Number of Existing Buildings
One hundred twelve.
Dates of Construction
1942
Housing Types
Brief Description
Known as White Oaks, this development was built as defense worker housing by the United States Government during the Second World War. The development comprised 300 of roughly 950 permanent and demountable housing units built in New Britain during the war and originally included 155 wood-frame or red brick and wood-frame one- and two-family two-story residences that were of several standardized Colonial Revival designs, as well as a community center and administration building. After the war’s conclusion, moves to sell off the units to private owners were delayed by the outbreak of the Korean War, however, privatization eventually took place in 1955. Forty-three of the original 155 residences were demolished in order to clear a route for the widening of CT Route 72 in 1969. The community center and recreation building was demolished around the same time and has since been replaced by apartments.
