diff --git a/src/ConnectionPool.jl b/src/ConnectionPool.jl
index a87ae5ffa..efbaf10bb 100644
--- a/src/ConnectionPool.jl
+++ b/src/ConnectionPool.jl
@@ -10,7 +10,7 @@ Methods are provided for `eof`, `readavailable`,
 This allows the `Connection` object to act as a proxy for the
 `TCPSocket` or `SSLContext` that it wraps.
 
-The [`POOL`](@ref) is used to manage connection pooling. Connections
+[`POOLS`](@ref) are used to manage connection pooling. Connections
 are identified by their host, port, whether they require
 ssl verification, and whether they are a client or server connection.
 If a subsequent request matches these properties of a previous connection
@@ -39,7 +39,7 @@ using .ConnectionPools
 """
     Connection
 
-A `TCPSocket` or `SSLContext` connection to a HTTP `host` and `port`.
+A `Sockets.TCPSocket`, `MbedTLS.SSLContext` or `OpenSSL.SSLStream` connection to a HTTP `host` and `port`.
 
 Fields:
 - `host::String`
@@ -49,7 +49,7 @@ Fields:
 - `peerip`, remote IP adress (used for debug/log messages).
 - `peerport`, remote TCP port number (used for debug/log messages).
 - `localport`, local TCP port number (used for debug messages).
-- `io::T`, the `TCPSocket` or `SSLContext.
+- `io::T`, the `Sockets.TCPSocket`, `MbedTLS.SSLContext` or `OpenSSL.SSLStream`.
 - `clientconnection::Bool`, whether the Connection was created from client code (as opposed to server code)
 - `buffer::IOBuffer`, left over bytes read from the connection after
    the end of a response header (or chunksize). These bytes are usually
@@ -58,7 +58,7 @@ Fields:
 - `readable`, whether the Connection object is readable
 - `writable`, whether the Connection object is writable
 """
-mutable struct Connection <: IO
+mutable struct Connection{IO_t <: IO} <: IO
     host::String
     port::String
     idle_timeout::Int
@@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ mutable struct Connection <: IO
     peerip::IPAddr # for debugging/logging
     peerport::UInt16 # for debugging/logging
     localport::UInt16 # debug only
-    io::IO
+    io::IO_t
     clientconnection::Bool
     buffer::IOBuffer
     timestamp::Float64
@@ -89,8 +89,8 @@ connectionkey(x::Connection) = (typeof(x.io), x.host, x.port, x.require_ssl_veri
 
 Connection(host::AbstractString, port::AbstractString,
            idle_timeout::Int,
-           require_ssl_verification::Bool, io::IO, client=true) =
-    Connection(host, port, idle_timeout,
+           require_ssl_verification::Bool, io::T, client=true) where {T}=
+    Connection{T}(host, port, idle_timeout,
                 require_ssl_verification,
                 safe_getpeername(io)..., localport(io),
                 io, client, PipeBuffer(), time(), false, false, IOBuffer(), nothing)
@@ -325,22 +325,35 @@ function purge(c::Connection)
     @ensure bytesavailable(c) == 0
 end
 
+const TCP_POOL = Pool(Connection{Sockets.TCPSocket})
+const MbedTLS_SSL_POOL = Pool(Connection{MbedTLS.SSLContext})
+const OpenSSL_SSL_POOL = Pool(Connection{OpenSSL.SSLStream})
 """
-    closeall()
+    POOLS
 
-Close all connections in`pool`.
+A dict of global connection pools keeping track of active connections, split by their IO type.
 """
-function closeall()
-    ConnectionPools.reset!(POOL)
-    return
+const POOLS = Dict{DataType,Pool}(
+    Sockets.TCPSocket => TCP_POOL,
+    MbedTLS.SSLContext => MbedTLS_SSL_POOL,
+    OpenSSL.SSLStream => OpenSSL_SSL_POOL,
+)
+getpool(::Type{Sockets.TCPSocket}) = TCP_POOL
+getpool(::Type{MbedTLS.SSLContext}) = MbedTLS_SSL_POOL
+getpool(::Type{OpenSSL.SSLStream}) = OpenSSL_SSL_POOL
+# Fallback for custom connection io types
+# to opt out from locking, define your own `Pool` and add a `getpool` method for your IO type
+const POOLS_LOCK = Threads.ReentrantLock()
+function getpool(::Type{T}) where {T}
+    Base.@lock POOLS_LOCK get!(() -> Pool(Connection{T}), POOLS, T)::Pool{Connection{T}}
 end
 
 """
-    POOL
+    closeall()
 
-Global connection pool keeping track of active connections.
+Close all connections in `POOLS`.
 """
-const POOL = Pool(Connection)
+closeall() = foreach(ConnectionPools.reset!, values(POOLS))
 
 """
     newconnection(type, host, port) -> Connection
@@ -355,9 +368,9 @@ function newconnection(::Type{T},
                        forcenew::Bool=false,
                        idle_timeout=typemax(Int),
                        require_ssl_verification::Bool=NetworkOptions.verify_host(host, "SSL"),
-                       kw...)::Connection where {T <: IO}
+                       kw...) where {T <: IO}
     return acquire(
-            POOL,
+            getpool(T),
             (T, host, port, require_ssl_verification, true);
             max_concurrent_connections=Int(connection_limit),
             forcenew=forcenew,
@@ -370,8 +383,8 @@ function newconnection(::Type{T},
     end
 end
 
-releaseconnection(c::Connection, reuse) =
-    release(POOL, connectionkey(c), c; return_for_reuse=reuse)
+releaseconnection(c::Connection{T}, reuse) where {T} =
+    release(getpool(T), connectionkey(c), c; return_for_reuse=reuse)
 
 function keepalive!(tcp)
     @debugv 2 "setting keepalive on tcp socket"
@@ -524,7 +537,7 @@ function sslupgrade(::Type{IOType}, c::Connection,
                     host::AbstractString;
                     require_ssl_verification::Bool=NetworkOptions.verify_host(host, "SSL"),
                     readtimeout::Int=0,
-                    kw...)::Connection where {IOType}
+                    kw...)::Connection{IOType} where {IOType}
     # initiate the upgrade to SSL
     # if the upgrade fails, an error will be thrown and the original c will be closed
     # in ConnectionRequest
@@ -538,9 +551,9 @@ function sslupgrade(::Type{IOType}, c::Connection,
     # success, now we turn it into a new Connection
     conn = Connection(host, "", 0, require_ssl_verification, tls)
     # release the "old" one, but don't allow reuse since we're hijacking the socket
-    release(POOL, connectionkey(c), c; return_for_reuse=false)
+    release(getpool(IOType), connectionkey(c), c; return_for_reuse=false)
     # and return the new one
-    return acquire(POOL, connectionkey(conn), conn)
+    return acquire(getpool(IOType), connectionkey(conn), conn)
 end
 
 function Base.show(io::IO, c::Connection)