The city of Hartford, located in Hartford County and a part of central Connecticut, is the state’s capital and often goes by the nickname the Insurance Capital of the World. First settled in 1636 by Thomas Hooker, John Haynes, and a group of 100 followers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony, it is one of the oldest towns in the state. Over time, Hartford grew to be one of the most prosperous cities in the nation, and by the late-19th century, was the wealthiest city in the country. Today, Hartford is known for the Colt Manufacturing Company, the city’s ties to Mark Twain and the Stowe family, and for its critical role in the evolution of the state.
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Chick Austin Modernizes a Connecticut Institution
Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin Jr., director of the Wadsworth Atheneum from 1927 to 1944, put Hartford on the cultural map. …[more]
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Websites
Housatonic Heritage. “African American Heritage Trail,” n.d. Link.
“First Company Governor’s Foot Guard,” 2016. Link.
Places
Connecticut Freedom Trail. “Boce W. Barlow Jr. House,” 2016. Link.
“Bushnell Park,” 2017. Link.
CT Landmarks. “Butler-McCook House & Garden,” 2016. Link.
“Cedar Hill Cemetery,” 2016. Link.
“Connecticut State Capitol Tours,” 2017. Link.
“Connecticut’s Old State House,” 2017. Link.
“Elizabeth Park,” 2016. Link.
“Harriet Beecher Stowe Center,” 2017. Link.
Hartford Public Library. “Hartford History Center,” n.d. Link
CT Landmarks. “Isham-Terry House,” 2016. Link.
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. “Katharine Seymour Day House,” 2016. Link.
Connecticut Freedom Trail. “Marietta Canty House,” 2016. Link.
“Mark Twain House & Museum,” 2017. Link.
Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art. “The Amistad Center for Art & Culture,” 2016. Link.
“The Ancient Burying Ground,” 2016. Link.
Connecticut State Library. “The Museum of Connecticut History,” n.d. Link.
“The Wadsworth Atheneum,” 2017. Link.
Documents
O.H. Bailey & Company, and C.H. Vogt & Company. “City of Hartford, Connecticut. 1877.” Bird’s-eye. Boston: O.H. Bailey & Company, 1877. Connecticut History Illustrated, Connecticut Historical Society. Link.
Google News Archive. “Digitized Historic Newspaper - Hartford Weekly Times (1847-1895),” 2017. Link.
Google News Archive. “Digitized Historic Newspaper - The Catholic Press,” 2016. Link.
Connecticut State Library Digital Collections. “Hartford - WPA Architectural Survey,” 2016. Link.
“Hartford Collection.” Connecticut Digital Archive, n.d. Link.
Connecticut Historical Society, and William S. Porter. “Historical Notices of Connecticut Published Under the Patronage of the Connecticut Historical Society - Containing Hartford and West Hartford.” Elihu Geer’s Press, 1842. Library of Congress. Link.
James and Ruth, Goldie. “Map of Pioneer Hartford: Founded 1636, Incorporated 1784, Showing Early Landmarks and the Locations of Historical Events.” 1927. University of Connecticut Libraries, Map and Geographic Information Center - MAGIC. Link.
“Pocket Book Guide to the City of Hartford, June 1, 1885.” C. H. R. Miller, June 1885. Link.
Books
Faude, Wilson. Hartford. Dover, NH: Berwick Publishing, 1994.
Twitchell, Willis, ed. Hartford in History. A Series of Papers by Resident Authors. Hartford, CT: The Plimpton Manufacturing Company, 1907. Link.
Drury, David. Hartford in World War I. Charleston, SC: History Press, 2015.
Hartford Chamber of Commerce. Hartford, Conn., as a Manufacturing, Business and Commercial Center with Brief Sketches of Its History, Attractions, Leading Industries, and Institutions. Hartford: Hartford Board of Trade, 1889. Link.
Weaver, Glenn. Hartford, Connecticut’s Capital: An Illustrated History. Sun Valley, CA: American Historical Press, 2003.
Faude, Wilson. Lost Hartford. Charleston, SC: Arcadia, 2000.
Boynton, Cynthia Wolfe. Remarkable Women of Hartford. Charleson, SC: The History Press, 2014.
Connecticut Historical Society, and Ellsworth Grant. The City of Hartford, 1784-1984: An Illustrated History. Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 1986.
Trumbull, J. Hammond, ed. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, County, Town and City. Vol. 1. Boston: Edward L. Osgood Publisher, 1886. Link.
Trumbull, J. Hammond, ed. The Memorial History of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Town Histories. Vol. 2. Boston, MA: Edward L. Osgood Publisher, 1886. Link.
Sterner, Daniel. Vanished Downtown Hartford. Charleston, SC: The History Press, 2013.