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Site Lines: Connecticut’s Freedom Trail

…disparities. Sites Along the Trail Approximately 10% of the Connecticut Freedom Trail’s sites are individual gravesites, and nearly the same number of sites are cemeteries with multiple African American burials….

Leroy Anderson Composed Iconic Music in Woodbury

…German and Scandinavian languages at Harvard while also teaching music theory at Radcliffe College. Soon after, he took a position as the director of the Harvard University band and caught…

The Connecticut Town Green

…town’s most distinctive feature. It was never landscaped as a park. Since Lebanon lacks a formal commercial district, community life centers on the green. Three of the town’s churches, the…

Mohegan Sacred Sites: Moshup’s Rock

…sites within this spiritual landscape is Moshup’s Rock. This site, negatively referenced by Christian missionaries as the “Devil’s Footprint,” is a rock embedded with the footprint of the giant named…

Site Lines: Monuments to Connecticut’s Lost County Government

…buildings, inspection of weights and measures, adjustment of road disputes, administration of certain trust funds (such as cemetery trust funds), appropriation of funds for agricultural extension services, and fighting forest…

Site Lines: The Mysterious Blue Lights

…members saw, or did not see, on that dark December night in 1813, and what Elizabeth Stewart and other loyalists in New London did, or did not do, remain the…

Overland Travel in Connecticut, from Footpaths to Interstates

…goods we produce. By overcoming the limitation of distance, transportation makes possible the many economic and social interactions that allow a community, a people, an entire culture, to thrive. Regardless…

The Who, What, Where, When and Why of Archives: How to Use Them

by Brian Stevens – Connecticut Archives Online, Western Connecticut State University The Who and What: You could probably guess what archives might be, but think you have never seen one,…

Bird’s-eye Views of Rockville Chart Textile Industry’s Growth

…History Online Kate Steinway, former Executive Director of the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) in Hartford, curated the traveling exhibition, Hamlets & Hubs; Bird’s-Eye Views of Connecticut Towns, 1849-1908 (1987-88), from…

Site Lines: Fortresses of Faith, Agents of Change

…worship, discuss issues, and hold meetings. Issues of great importance to these congregations throughout the 19th and 20th centuries included suffrage, lynching, the Ku Klux Klan, and access to fair…

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Brass City/Grass Roots: What Makes a Farm a Farm? Other Sites of Food Production in Waterbury

This article is part of the digital exhibit Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut. Use the arrows at the bottom of the page to navigate to…

Cornfield Point: Old Saybrook’s Forgotten Scenic Alcove

…significance to the Pequot War. Fewer state residents realize that another key historical location exists on the opposite end of the coastline just a short ride down the street. Cornfield…

Site Lines: Silas Deane

…forged with the illustrious Benjamin Franklin. When Franklin nominated Deane to serve abroad as America’s first diplomat, Deane, who did not speak French and was unaccustomed to travel, accepted with…

Notorious New-Gate Prison

…tourist attraction and a national historic landmark. Frequently referred to as either New Gate or New-Gate, the site operated as a prison from 1773 to 1827 and could accommodate more…

Tavern Signs Mark Changes in Travel, Innkeeping, and Artistic Practice

…than name bands, affixed directly to building façades and painted on one side only. Images disappeared, supplanted by an array of ornamental typefaces disseminated in published sign painting manuals. By…

The Industrial Might of Connecticut Pegmatite

…1600s became the first new mineral discovered in the United States, were discovered in Connecticut pegmatite rocks. Pegmatite was first mined in Connecticut sometime before 1825, when the first feldspar…

Instruction by Mail: The Famous Artists School

…students (when FAS only had 150). With instructors no longer working on site, FAS moved its operations to Wilton, but distance learning and art instruction became readily available online, and…

A Hip Road Trip

…Berlin Turnpike is complete without a stop at one of its two streamlined, silver diners: the Olympia Diner (circa 1950) in Newington at the southern end and the Makris Diner…

Waste Not, Want Not: The Colonial Era Midden

…Archaeological excavations at a number of 18th-century house sites in Connecticut have revealed that colonial families had remarkably diverse household economies and that the frugality that is considered one of…

Breaking the Myth of the Unmanaged Landscape

…Indians’ customary fishing and hunting practices and discounted their communally cleared and planted fields. In their minds, these efforts did not meet the definition of “improvement,” nor did they appreciate…

I-95 Reaches New London

…the patriot spy taught from 1774 to 1775, had to be moved from a site on Crystal Avenue (not its original location) to a more accessible site downtown. The rectory…

Metal Homes for the Atomic Age

…enamel cabinetry and light fixtures and offered a pass-through that allowed for easy serving into the dining area. One of the strangest features was a combination clothes washer and dishwasher…

East Haven was Home to Connecticut’s First Iron Works

…high-quality iron. What is usually overlooked in these discussions, however, is that the roots of Connecticut’s iron industry lie far away from Salisbury, in East Haven. Furnace Sited Near Saltonstall…

“Outcasts” Build Their Own Village in 18th-Century Barkhamsted

…Village Now Lighthouse Archaeological Site James Chaugham died in 1790, but Molly, who historians speculate lived to be well over 100, survived him for approximately another 30 years. Despite the…

Bradley International Airport Transforms Windsor Locks into Regional Gateway

…state purchased 1,700 acres of tobacco farmland in Windsor Locks and leased the site to the federal government. Soon an army air base was constructed on the site, named in…

Connecticut Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home

…Civil War. Closed in 1875 and sold soon after, the former orphanage became the site of Storrs Agricultural School (now the University of Connecticut) in 1881. According to university historian…

Chamberlin Mill: A Woodstock Survivor

…mill structures that have occupied the Still River site since the 18th century (when Manasseh Hosmer was granted a deed for a grist mill and saw mill). For over two…

Hartford Retreat for the Insane Advanced Improved Standards of Care

By Michael Sturges In the early national period, following the Revolutionary War’s end in 1783, dependant adults, such as the elderly, disabled, or unemployed, would be cared for by their…

When Bozrah Provided Comfort to the Nation

…ca. 1880-1910 – Archives & Special Collections of the University of Connecticut Libraries, and Connecticut History Online By 1928, the company was in a position to enjoy much of the…

Dynamic Tensions: Conservation and Development up to the 1920s

…Connecticut Light and Power Company harnessed four major waterpower sites on the Housatonic River to generate electricity. Such industries built dams to divert and store water, but they helped deplete…

The Prospect Green as a Historical Narrative

…of 2000, the Prospect Green Historic District contains 16 buildings, sites, and objects that include churches as well as a police station, volunteer fire station, grange, and Civil War monument….

L.D. Brown and Son Silk Mill: A Staple in Middletown’s South Farms District

…a record 150 workers, many of Irish American descent. By 1903, L. D. Brown & Son Mill faced difficulties. That year, employees—under the direction of Richard Dempsey—formed a short-lived branch…

The “Welcoming Beacon” of Sheffield Island Lighthouse

…privately owned or used for birdwatching or camping, the second largest, Sheffield Island, is home to one of Connecticut’s historic lighthouses—a stone structure with a celebrated past dating back two…

The Hartford Circus Fire

Thursday July 6, 1944, was a miserably hot day in Connecticut. In a field on Barbour Street in Hartford, between six- and eight-thousand patrons sought distraction from the summer heat…

The Colt Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company

…displays of Western heroism, and also by designing rich ornamental pieces for display at international fairs. It was a strategy that proved very successful. Elizabeth Colt Takes Charge By the…

Gallows Lane and the Execution of Barnett Davenport

…name implies, served as an execution site. In 1768, a Native American named John Jacob had been hanged there for the murder of another American Indian. In 1785, Thomas Goss…

Dinosaur Tracks Found – Today in History: August 23

…the area and in turn, the park has one of the largest on-site displays of dinosaur tracks in the world. The site was named Dinosaur State Park and designated as…

Trumbull’s Parlor Rock Park: A Premier Amusement Center of the Late 19th Century

…ice cream, and slices of watermelon. The promenade also included a photo gallery—offering people the opportunity to take a tintype photograph—and a steam-powered carousel measuring 50 feet in diameter. As…

Saving Sessions Woods

…summer camp for children. Eight secluded campsites featured accommodations in covered wagons, teepees, and hogans—each contained a fireplace, water, and a dining area. The goal was to provide boys and…

Putting History on the Map

…celebration of Connecticut’s Tercentenary, shows the sites of important events associated with the Battle of Ridgefield during the Revolutionary War, including the sites of the first and second engagements, the…

A Public Responsibility: Conservation and Development in the 20th Century

…In some cases, private citizens’ groups worked to achieve state protection for valuable recreational sites. For example, the Sleeping Giant Park Association successfully lobbied to protect the Mount Carmel site…

Discovered Dinosaur Tracks Re-Route Highway and Lead to State Park

…walks, lectures, and slide presentations. Life-sized model of Dilophosaurus donated by Friends of Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum The group significantly improved the information available onsite through donated displays of…

Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language

…in Benedict Arnold’s old house). Concerned that two Americans had already authored dictionaries, Webster began working on his own dictionary. In 1806 he published the 40,600-word A Compendious Dictionary of…

Portland Puts Its Stamp on an Architectural Era

…did not end in Portland, however. In Connecticut, Hartford’s Old State House and numerous buildings on the campus of Wesleyan University utilized brownstone from the area, as did the Soldiers…

The Decorative Arts of Connecticut

…they acquired new forms for specialized purposes, such as dining (dining tables), entertaining (card tables), or study (desks and bookcases). Newly popular matching sets of glassware, ceramics, and silver replaced…

A New Source of Farm Labor Crops Up in Wartime

…for him than his previous all-male staff ever did. Connecticut Women’s Land Army, 1943 – Thomas J. Dodd Research Center, University of Connecticut Libraries and Connecticut History Online The achievements…

Exploring Early Connecticut Mapmaking

…He did not survey most of these maps; they were adaptations of the works of others. Thus, although he “made” maps, he usually did not create them from original research….

Stagecoach Sustained Commerce and Communication in 1800s

…College, in 1794 on the line operated by Pease gives a sense of both the adventure and discomfort posed by this early form of public transportation: Stagecoach, Broad Brook to…

Capital Punishment in Connecticut: Changing Views

…in the late 1700s. Sometimes tens of thousands of spectators showed up to watch the condemned die. Local merchants took advantage of the large crowds by selling souvenirs and alcohol…

The League of American Wheelmen and Hartford’s Albert Pope Champion the Good Roads Movement

…years earlier. Despite the difficulties of riding a cycling machine with a front wheel 54 inches in diameter and rear wheel less than half that size, Pope was determined to…

Hall of Flags: Memorial to Connecticut’s Civil War Colors

…and torn, blackened and grimed with the smoke and powder of battle, but they bring us no word of flight or dishonor. They speak to us of the many displays…

An Uncommonly Ingenious Mechanic: Abel Buell of Connecticut

…maps will be added to eMuseum, the CHS online museum catalog, and to Connecticut History Illustrated, a collaborative online digital library of primary and secondary resources relating to Connecticut History….

A Separate Place: The New Haven Colony, 1638-1665

By Nancy Finlay Political boundaries can be arbitrary things, accidents of history that might have turned out differently if a certain sequence of historical events had a different outcome. Even…

The 1961 Hartford Hospital Fire

…of the hospital, did not empty directly into an incinerator. Instead, refuse sat in large cans in the basement until removed. The trash chute where the fire originated. Source: The…

Diamonds of the Past: Hartford’s Lost Ball Parks

…whole, glows. The grass is greener, the dirt looks clean and the foul lines sharp. The cries of the concession dealers mingle with the excited murmur of the crowd. There…

Maritime History: The Founding of the United States Coast Guard Academy

…rivaling the size of some countries’ navies—but it did not begin that way. The Revenue Marine and Subsequent Titles US Coast Guard Academy – US Coast Guard Academy, Wikimedia Commons…

The Rise of the “Second Home” Community in Sharon – Who Knew?

…several older homes or built Colonial Revival-style mansions on the South Green. New residents included diplomat Paul Bonner, editor and architectural critic Montgomery Schuyler, financier C. Stanley Mitchell, and Dr….

Road Signs of the Air

…Marks State Buildings In 1931, Connecticut passed a law mandating the marking of state buildings. Connecticut Laws Governing Aeronautics dictated that all state institutions were required to “cause one building…

The Seth Wetmore House: A Storied Structure of 18th Century Middletown

…sits a structure built long before these 21st-century mainstays: the Seth Wetmore House. Dating to 1740s, this stately white Colonial is one of Middletown’s oldest homes and one of thirty-three…

Ferry Boats a Way of Life in Early Connecticut

…the cars from the ferry on the opposite shore. A rail ferry crossing excited some passengers, including Charles Dickens, who described his experience riding the Shore Line Railroad in 1868:…

Osborn Correctional Institution

…to rehabilitation. Prior to 1827, the infamous New-Gate prison site in East Granby had served the state. New-Gate had been in operation since before the Revolutionary War, but as Connecticut’s…

Connecticut Origins Shape New Light Luminary Jonathan Edwards

…College asked Edwards to deliver the commencement address hoping he would be similarly dismissive. Instead, his address, “The Distinguishing Marks of the Work of the Spirit of God,” criticized those…

Murder on the Map: The Mysterious Death of Captain George M. Colvocoresses

…the crime. The “murder map” is one of 800 maps in the collections of the Connecticut Historical Society that are being digitized and added to CHS’s online database, with generous…

World-renowned Maker of Axes: The Collins Company of Canton

…bayonets. Site of the former Collins Company, Canton – Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation In May of 1871, Samuel Collins died, having managed the daily operations of the company for…

Remembering Fredi Washington: Actress, Activist, and Journalist

By Nancy Finlay for Your Public Media Fredericka Carolyn “Fredi” Washington was born in Savannah, Georgia, in 1903 and died in Stamford, Connecticut, in 1994. Fredi began her career as…

Oystering in Connecticut, from Colonial Times to the 21st Century

…is cultivated in seeded beds in Long Island Sound by oyster farmers. Oysters, long a favored and dependable food source of the area’s native peoples, also became a diet staple…

Connecticut’s Naval Contributions to the Civil War

…Historical Society and Connecticut History Online At the start of the Civil War, the navy was in disarray, with much of its officer corps harboring Confederate sympathies and its ships…

Death and Mourning in the Civil War Era

…died during the war—and died far from home— the problems associated with properly laying the dead to rest and making sense of the unprecedented scale of human loss had a…

Norwich in Perspective

…H. Knecht, artist & lithographer, New York: Jacob Rau, 1861-62 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online The Scenic Becomes Civic A useful comparison can be made by considering…

Civil War Monuments and Memorials in and Around the State Capitol

…that lived in, or on the grounds of, our state capitol and pertained directly to the Civil War and to the Civil War era. The students dug through archives and…

A Unique Island Attraction in Bridgeport

…Harbor. The island, thanks to its promotion as a mysterious site tied to pirate folklore, became a popular tourist destination. It eventually became an amusement park known as Steeplechase Island…

Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy

…born in Litchfield in 1767. She never married and instead dedicated her life to educating young women. Pierce’s father died when Sarah was 16, and her brother, John Pierce Jr.,…

Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Captures the Gilded Age in Norwalk

…of Interstate 95 and Route 7 in Norwalk—a juxtaposition to the present-day busyness of Connecticut’s highways. This exquisite example of Victorian Era architecture provides a glimpse into the opulence of…

Map – Connecticut Landmarks of the Constitution

…England’s leaders to discuss protection against British attacks on coastal towns. Resenting what they thought was President Madison’s neglect of local needs, many delegates opposed the war. The convention’s final…

The Collapse of the L’Ambiance Plaza

By Patrick J. Mahoney Not long after lunch on April 23, 1987, workers returned to their normal routines at a construction site near Bridgeport’s central business district. The site was…

Peter Prudden: Milford’s First Minister

By Emily Clark In the early 1600s, many Europeans left their homeland to seek religious freedom in America as part of the Puritan migration. Not only did a good number…

Mary Townsend Seymour: Hartford’s Organizer, Activist, and Suffragist

…gravesite in Hartford’s Old North Cemetery on its list of sites. Emma Wiley is the Digital Humanities Assistant at CT Humanities and holds a B.A. in History from Vassar College….

Connecticut Yankee and Millstone: 48 Years of Nuclear Power

…decommissioned, a process that included dismantling the plant and constructing a facility for the long-term storage of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste. This project was completed in 2007….

Thomas Hooker: Connecticut’s Founding Father

…church councils. His book, A Survey of the Summe of Church-Discipline, is considered one of the best expositions of Puritan church doctrine. Sadly, Hooker did not live to see it…

Benedict Arnold Turns and Burns New London

…wife Lucretia became ill and died of fever. Due to the death of so many of Groton’s citizens, the Fort Griswold site almost immediately took on shrine-like status. A monument…

A Good Spot and a Healthy Place: A Short History of Charles Island

…did not disturb the other guests.) In addition to its lovely scenery, a further advantage of the hotel’s location was its ease of access. At low tide, a causeway negotiable…

And They’re Off!: Harness Racing at Charter Oak Park

…Oak Park was especially designed for harness racing, though in the early 1900s it was also the site of bicycle and automobile races. It was one of the best-known tracks…

Land Purchase Becomes Bushnell Park – Today in History: January 5

…because of the potential property tax loss, and the public could not imagine Bushnell’s proposed location—a site he himself termed as “hell without the fire”—as a lush, green park. The…

Bridgeport’s Catastrophic 1911 Train Wreck

…yards from the site of the 1911 wreck) and crashed into another Metro-North train traveling in the opposite direction. There were no fatalities but a number of people suffered serious…

Connecticut’s Black Governors

…blacks even donned white wigs—then popular among colonial magistrates and legislators. Gravesite of Boston Trowtrow, Old Burying Ground, Norwich, a site on the Freedom Trail. The inscription reads: “In Memory…

Rivers of Outrage

…caused diseases such as typhoid fever. That disease alone sickened thousands and killed 400-500 state residents of working age every year. For cities on Long Island Sound and on tidal…

Turnpikes and Transportation in Sharon

…trails and paths, often followed older Native American routes. As surveyors mapped new towns, they made allowance for roads between proprietary allotments, often in a rectilinear grid pattern (inevitably disrupted…

Nathan Hale Hanged in New York – Today in History: September 22

…was suspiciously burned in the Great New York Fire of 1776. After the fire, the British captured more than 200 American supporters. Hale, despite being disguised, was apprehended and questioned,…

Danbury Hangings: The Executions of Anthony and Amos

…Christ, and die “in a Christian temper.” After church, civil authorities took Anthony to the gallows erected on the Elm Street property of Samuel Dibble. A crowd of people gathered,…

Remembering Civil War Prisoners of War

…and Photographs Division Andersonville was not the only Civil War prison that had a high mortality rate. Fifty-six thousand men died at different prisoner of war camps during the Civil…

Hartford’s Nook Farm

…Its grand Victorian homes were open and accessible to each other on pathways winding through the broad estate. The residents would often dine together and enjoy fireside discussions until the…

The Old Leatherman Alive in Our Memories

…he did. Recorded accounts maintain that he seldom spoke to any of the many people he encountered over the years of his travels through Connecticut and New York. So, his…

Southbury Takes On the Nazis

…States did its part by not only avoiding military intervention in Europe but also by allowing the German-American Bund (the American wing of the Nazi party) to set up camps…

Designed to Heal: The Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane

…spatial organization, which recognized varying degrees and types of mental disturbance, stood in contrast to earlier approaches which did not always make such distinctions. Principal Plan of Part of Hospital,…

A Valley Flooded to Slake the Capital Region’s Thirst

…people used kerosene lamps. Little did residents know that their simple, bucolic life would soon come to an end. The Beginning of the End The Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) began…

The Amos Bull House and Sterling Opera House: The First Connecticut Listings on the National Register of Historic Places – Who Knew?

…National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 established the National Register of Historic Places to recognize significant historical, architectural, and archaeological sites, districts, and buildings. While individuals, organizations, or companies compile…

The Great Danbury State Fair & Early 20th-Century Outdoor Advertising

By Diane Hassan for the CTPost.com The origins of the Danbury Fair began in 1821 when the Fairfield Agricultural Society held gatherings in Elmwood Park on Main Street. The event…

Connecticut Yankee Brings Power to the People

…more costly choice for energy production. In 1996, the Board of Directors determined the Connecticut Yankee plant was no longer cost-effective and voted to end its 29-year operation. Decommissioning the…

Improving Sea Transportation: Guilford Goes About it the Light Way

…the island’s rocky shoals much as it did over 200 years ago. Prior to the construction of a lighthouse on its shores, Faulkner’s island was primarily a site for farming…

The Art of Burying the Dead: Exploring Connecticut’s Historic Cemeteries

By Mike Messina for Your Public Media The Ancient Burying Ground in Hartford is the city’s oldest historic site and was its only cemetery from the 1640s to the early…

The Sand Hogs Set the Foundation for the Bulkeley Bridge

…construction. Bulkeley Bridge Construction: Abutments and Temporary Iron Bridge, Hartford, 1906. 1967.96.6 – Connecticut Historical Society Discrimination Factored into Job Pay and Risk Digging the foundation of the bridge was…

Weir Farm the Result of a Trade – Who Knew?

…Carlsen, Childe Hassam, Theodore Robinson, Albert Pinkham Ryder, John Singer Sargent, and John Henry Twachtman. Designated a National Historic Site in 1990, the 60-acre Weir Farm National Historic Site includes…

Farmington’s Hospital Rock Dates Back to 18th-Century Smallpox Inoculation

…Rattlesnake Mountain Serves as Hospital Site Smallpox was a deadly virus that reappeared regularly throughout Connecticut for much of the 17th and 18th centuries. By the time Todd and Wadsworth…

The Steady Evolution of a Connecticut Family Business

…the factory to its present site on the west side of the Farmington River—and to dissolve the partnership with Bacon. He renamed the company Toy, Bickford & Co. “The spirit…

Understanding the Environmental Effects of Industry by Examining the Starr Mill

…Unidentified soldier in Union uniform holding 1818 Nathan Starr Contract cavalry saber – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division The Starr Mill relied on the flowing water of the…

When Old Saybrook Was a College Town

…to its first official site in Saybrook. Nathaniel Lynde deeded a building and 10 acres of land in Saybrook to the Collegiate School in 1707. Although the deed to the…

Dedication

…Fraser worked with Connecticut’s community foundations to bring the nationally-syndicated Motheread/Fatheread program for parents with young children to the state’s urban centers. Under his direction, the organization’s book discussion programs…

Salisbury Iron Forged Early Industry

…have dubbed the site the “Arsenal of the Revolution.” Building Blast Furnaces to Boost Iron Production In the Salisbury Iron District, blast furnaces were large stone stacks, ranging from 24…

Airborne Pioneers: Connecticut Takes Flight

…wind and weather. In the 1880s, the dirigible appeared. This innovation added a power source and a directional rudder to a cigar-shaped balloon to aid the craft’s pilot in controlling…

Hiram Bingham III: Machu Picchu Explorer and Politician

…adjunct professor of Latin American history at Yale University in 1907. Shortly thereafter, Bingham made one of the most famous discoveries in archeological history. Discovering Machu Picchu Photograph by Hiram…

Anson Dickinson: Milton’s Painter of Portrait Miniatures

…and returned to Connecticut in the early 1830s. Marker for the site of the Dickinson home, along Sawmill Road in Milton, Litchfield – Peter Vermilyea Dickinson died in Milton on…

Ridgefield

…from Norwalk and Milford, and then incorporated a year later, the town was mainly a farming community until wealthy New Yorkers discovered it and built summer cottages within its borders….

Hidden Nearby: John Brown’s Torrington Birthplace

…site became a part of the Connecticut African American Freedom Trail, and in 2000 the site was acquired by the Torrington Historical Society. Peter Vermilyea, who teaches history at Housatonic…

New England Society for Psychic Research: Connecticut Paranormal Investigators Leave Legacy of the Occult

…in Easton that is arguably the most well-known paranormal site in the state and home to the “White Lady.” Supposedly having died a tragic death, this ghost of a woman…

The Incident of the Stonington Schooner ‘Breakwater’: A View from Indian Country

…www.indianmarinersproject.com. For more on Moses Brushell, visit the Native Northeast Portal, here. Jason R. Mancini, PhD, is executive director of Connecticut Humanities, a former executive director of the Mashantucket Pequot…

Video: The Story of the Salisbury Iron District

YouTube – The story of the Salisbury Iron District. Sharon Historical Society https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qgPocrRQAak Traces of Connecticut’s iron age can still be found in the state’s northwest corner where its production…

Charles Goodyear

…In 1844, after establishing the Naugatuck India-Rubber Company, Goodyear patented his vulcanization process—a discovery that has made possible a range of indispensible commercial products, from car tires to sneaker treads….

Glastonbury

…the area was incorporated in 1693. Dating back to 1655, Glastonbury has the oldest continually operating ferry in the United States. It runs between South Glastonbury and Rocky Hill. During…

The Windsor Economy: A River Ran Through It

Windsor’s location on the Connecticut River shaped the area’s development dating back to its earliest recorded years. Native Americans utilized the river to facilitate trade and develop seasonal agriculture. In…

Maria Sánchez, State Representative and Community Advocate

…to meet and discuss their future and equality as a people within the city. As a central figure in the discussions, Maria helped solidify the community. In 1965 she helped…

Savin Rock Park: “Connecticut’s Coney Island”

…Island Sound that was capable of accommodating ferry service regardless of the height of the tides. With his transportation infrastructure in place, Kelsey began developing attractions to bring visitors to…

Laboring in the Shade

…faced competition from foreign-grown tobacco, yet increasing tariffs did little to protect them. When a thinner and superior cigar wrapper was imported from Indonesia, the challenge to the domestic cigar…

Fitch Soldiers’ Home Closes – Today in History: August 28

…residence was accommodating 1,000 veterans, which caused overcrowding and deteriorating conditions. Administrators began looking for a new, larger location. When the Home closed and the men were moved to the…

Sophie Tucker, The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas

…War Relief Campaign. Sophie Tucker – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Born in Russia in 1884, Sophie Kalish and her family immigrated to the United States and by…

The Answer Is Risom!

…earlier, the tiny village had been delivered a stunning blow when its only major employer, Cluett-Peabody, abruptly closed its textile mill, began liquidating its assets and left more than a…

The Bryan-Andrew House: Still Standing After All These Years

…the pristine nature of many of its original features, the Bryan-Andrew House also hints at the changing tastes and styles of New England dating back to its colonial roots. Bryan-Andrew…

Literacy Tests and the Right To Vote

…tests; this kept the door open to their use as instruments for intimidating or disenfranchising would-be voters. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called literacy tests vicious and undemocratic. Disputed Eligibility…

Bradley Field Enters the Jet Age

…it, they will come.” Slowly but surely “they” (the airlines and their passengers) did come, validating the State’s vision. The 1950s saw rapid advances in the size, speed, and luxury…

The Hartford Courant: The Oldest US Newspaper in Continuous Publication

…for over two and half centuries, but access to its well-preserved archival resources provides important insight into life in the United States dating back to its very conception. Founded prior…

Early 19th-Century Immigration in Connecticut

…accommodating a steadily increasing flow of English, Irish, Scottish, German, and Scandinavian arrivals. Advertisement from The Times and Hartford Advertiser, September, 1826, Hartford Irish, German, and Other Immigrants Power Early…

Child Labor vs. Schooling in 19th-century Naugatuck

…renowned educational reformer, who suggested consolidating Naugatuck’s numerous school districts into the Union Center School District, consisting of a new graded school and the town’s first high school. Unfortunately for…

The Storied History behind Connecticut’s Nicknames

…The Land of Steady Habits Though generous with supplies during the colonial period, Connecticut traditionally had residents who followed strict rules of moral character, dating back to the time of…

Derby’s Osbornedale Farms, Frances Kellogg, and the Dairy Industry

…Development of Osbornedale Farms Photograph of Frances Kellogg with one of her sires, circa 1934 – Joseph DiRienzo The Kelloggs expanded the farm by purchasing adjacent properties, consolidating about four…

Buckling Up For Auto Safety

By Edward T. Howe Connecticut joined several other states and the District of Columbia mandating seat belt usage for children and adults in automobiles in 1985. Subsequent changes in the…

Connecticut Turnpike Opens – Today in History: January 2

…country. Dating back to colonial times, the Boston Post Road served as the main overland route linking New York to Boston. Changes in transportation and the pressures of more modern…

Connecticut’s Loyal Subjects: Toryism and the American Revolution

…Tisdale, Judgment Day of Tories, engraving, ca. 1790s – New York Public Library Digital Collection Religion and Royal Allegiance Within colonial Connecticut, the roots of Toryism, and the specific localities…

Dr. Mary B. Moody Challenges Victorian Mores About Women in Medicine

By Lindsay S. Hannah Mary Moody was one of the first female physicians in New Haven, rejecting Victorian mores that dictated a married woman with children not seek a career…

Hard Times: Governor Wilbur Cross and the Great Depression in Connecticut

…winds and coastal flooding. The Connecticut River flooded once again, inundating Hartford and other towns along its course. Downed trees and wires littered the streets. During both disasters, Governor Cross…

A Connecticut Home That Dates Back to the 1600s!

The Thomas Lee House in East Lyme, Connecticut, is one of the oldest wood-frame houses in the state. Dating back to the mid-17th century, the little saltbox home began as…

Weston

…human use dating back some 5,000 years. Originally part of Fairfield, Weston incorporated in 1787. Where Paugussetts and other groups once hunted, early European settlers pursued lumbering and charcoal production….

Connecticut’s First Municipal Electric Utility

…Taxing District. Each taxing district retained ownership and operation of its electric plants. Since the Second Taxing District also retained ownership of its water facilities, it formed a new entity…

The Kewpies Buy A House in Westport

…Pre-dating the introduction of Mickey Mouse, the Kewpies promoted everything from Jell-O to Cologate and adorned licensed merchandise from salt and pepper shakers to baby rattles, making Rose O’Neill the…

The Land of Nod Farm, East Canaan, Connecticut

…of Iron The history of the Land of Nod farm began with the story of the “Iron Prince” himself, Samuel Forbes. Born in Simsbury, Connecticut, in 1729, Forbes directed iron…

100 Years of Workers’ Compensation

…state legislatures’ passing some form of Workers’ Compensation. Wisconsin led the way in 1911. While Connecticut did not enact its Workers’ Compensation Act until 1913, the topic was discussed among…

Paradise on the Sound: The Summer Colony at Fenwick

…flows into Long Island Sound. A light house, which was rebuilt in 1839, is visible in the distance. Fenwick today has two lighthouses—the Inner (situated at the tip of Lynde…

The Danbury Hatters

…Sturdevant wool hat factory, Beaver Brook (Danbury), CT, drawing ca. 1858 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In the early 1800s, Danbury produced mostly unfinished hats. Hatters softened…

Capital Community College Students Explore Hartford’s Immigrant History…In Their Own Words

…immigrants. America is known as a diverse country because it welcomes people from many different countries, races, and religion. ~Chandrika Reddy I came into the Capstone course simply as the…

A Different “Type” of Connecticut Industry

…that he began offering customized versions capable of typing in different styles and languages. Blickensderfer died in 1917 and the L.R. Roberts Typewriter Company of Stamford purchased his company just…

A Bird’s-eye View of New Britain

…accustomed to—their rapidly changing environments. H. Knecht, View of New Britain, Conn. NY: Jacob Rau, ca. 1862-68 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In this bird’s-eye view of…

Mighty, Mighty Hartford

In October of 1908, Hartford celebrated the opening of the Bulkeley Bridge with a three-day extravaganza jubilantly described as “The Grandest Combined Electrical Display, Historical Pageants, Military, Civil and Industrial…

Trinity College Students Call Attention to Histories of Inequality

…criteria for sound historical methodology, clarity of expression, and use of multi-media documentation to engage online audiences. Here’s what some of the 2012-13 authors had to say about how this…

Southington Industry: From Nuts to Bolts

…the house from Barns outright in 1820. The Frost-Rugg partnership did not last long, however, and the men parted ways early in their enterprising years—each going on to make their…

Plainville Has Been Flying High for Over 100 Years

…the next 30 years, Robertson increased the acreage of the airfield, refined landing strips, and built permanent hangar space for aircraft. As the airport’s capacity increased, so did its clientele….

Emily Holcombe Pioneered to Preserve Connecticut’s Colonial Past

…spent her summers back in Bristol. Holcombe’s Early Preservation Efforts Western end of Gold Street before widening, Hartford – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online The preservation efforts she…

A Bird’s-eye View of Moosup

…artist, lithographer & publisher – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Burleigh’s depiction of this Quinebaug Valley town and its satellite communities, Uniondale (left) and Almyville (right), records the…

News From Lexington: Contemporary Views of the Opening Battles of the American Revolution

…by Doolittle may be viewed in the CHS online catalog, eMuseum. Nancy Finlay, formerly Curator of Graphics at the Connecticut Historical Society, is the editor of Picturing Victorian America: Prints…

Disaster at Cold Harbor: Connecticut’s Second Volunteer Heavy Artillery Regiment

…for what most people thought was simply going to be a show of strength that would dissuade southerners from supporting secession. Colonel Elisha S. Kellogg, Second Connecticut Heavy Artillery. Photograph…

From Frontier Town to Capital City: Collection Traces Hartford’s Transformation

…The collection also includes commission and council reports, court records and legal disputes, cemetery maps, voting records, and voluminous paperwork that accompanied the construction of buildings, parks, and homes within…

Stanley Works for New Britain

…inventing the process for cold rolling steel. Line drawing of Stanley Works, New Britain, ca. 1879 – Hartford Public Library, Hartford History Center, Hartford Time Collection and Connecticut History Online…

Where Mr. Twain and Mrs. Stowe Built Their Dream Houses

…Photo Mrs. Stowe’s house, Hartford, ca. 1918-1920 – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division A Well-connected Community In 1853, Nook Farm was a 140-acre farm on the city’s western…

Combined Rail-and-Water System Makes Norwich a Key Travel Hub in Mid-1800s

…Inspires Railroad Company and Steamboat Line Mergers Steamer City of Norwich at wharf in Norwich, ca. 1870 – Mystic Seaport and Connecticut History Online The Norwich & Worcester railroad opened…

New Britain’s Yankee Peddlers Boost 18th-century Economy

…and the brothers began fixing baskets to horses so that they could travel further distances. This success caught the eye of many would-be entrepreneurs and soon an entire network of…

Raise a Glass to Winemaking in Connecticut

…the Grapes, 1822 – Connecticut Historical Society, Collection of Morgan B. Brainard and Connecticut History Online Although native grapes grew in abundance, early hopes of mass winegrowing disappeared partly because…

Selling Connecticut Products Abroad

…London, 1851 from Trials of an Inventor: Life and Discoveries of Charles Goodyear by Bradford K. Pierce Connecticut Goods Go Abroad Bristol clockmaker Chauncey Jerome, in his autobiographical History of…

Built on Innovation, Saved by Nostalgia: Hitchcock Chair Company

…chairs alongside cabinets, tables, and candle holders. John Warner Barber, West view of Hitchcocksville in Barkhamsted, ca. 1836, pen and ink – Connecticut Historical Society, and Connecticut History Online Chair-making…

The Hartford Insurance Investigator With the Action-Packed Expense Account

…of insurance executives around the country. Since Dollar was the best in the business, executives often called on him for especially difficult cases or in instances where other investigators had…

Ezra Stiles Captured 18th-Century Life on Paper

…preserved records fill 42 boxes and make up 22 reels of microfilm housed at the Yale University Library. Ongoing digitization efforts have also made materials from the collection accessible online….

John Howard Hale: Glastonbury’s Peach King

…trolley line to transport his peaches to Hartford, commissioning three special cars for the purpose. Peaches were notoriously difficult to keep fresh, but Hale discovered that through the use of…

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Saddles Fit For a Shah

…and the German Blitz, when the bobbies of England—who traditionally didn’t carry guns—were issued firearms, Smith-Worthington made the holsters. But the need for saddles in wartime was disappearing. Beyond the…

Louis’ Lunch and the Birth of the Hamburger

…whose local popularity would grow into a national phenomenon. Though the business has been housed in different structures and moved several times, the Lassen family continues to prepare hamburgers using…

Looking Back: the First “Aero Planes”

…ultimately lost out to other manufacturers. He died at his home in Yonkers, New york, in 1964. Charles K. Hamilton, ca. 1910 – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division…

Windsor Engineers Success

…of these passengers was legendary author Charles Dickens, who traveled from Springfield to Hartford on February 7, 1842. Dickens’s trip, however, came at a time when passenger travel on the…

Windsor Tobacco: Made in the Shade

…Online The World War II years brought further labor shortages, as did the passing of Connecticut’s 1947 Child Labor Bill, which set age and hourly restrictions on agricultural labor. Tobacco…

A Total Eclipse of the Sun – Today in History: January 24

…eclipses are no longer regarded, as by the ancients and savages, as auguries of war and disaster, but as opportunities for scientific research, fraught with the possibilities of new fields…

From Aprons to Lab Coats: The Art and Science of Home Economics

…body and their digestion and assimilation. The combination of food materials is discussed, especially those most easily obtained upon a farm. The food principles, taken in their natural sequences, are…

The Reader’s Feast: A Bookstore Ahead of Its Time

…with books that highlighted different points of view and diverse cultural perspectives. The bookstore offered a unique selection, including feminist, gay, lesbian, Spanish language, and progressive political literature. Half of…

Bridgeport’s WPKN: Going Strong After Half a Century

By Andy Piascik Ask regular listeners what they like about the Bridgeport radio station WPKN-FM and you will likely get many different answers. Many listen because of the wide array…

Colonial Revival Movement Sought Stability during Time of Change

…with the Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official world’s fair in the United States, held in Philadelphia, a city with its own rich colonial past. With displays of…

The Long, Ambiguous History of Connecticut’s Blue Laws

…however, attribute the term to Connecticut Episcopalians and other religious dissenters in the mid-18th century, or possibly those within the neighboring province of New York who voiced their disdain at…

Ellis Ruley: Art that Celebrated Life

…by permission of author, Glenn Palmedo-Smith, Discovering Ellis Ruley, Crown Publishing Dreamy, evocative, and poetic, Ruley’s paintings often expressed biblical and African folkloric themes in his distinctive, self-taught style. His…

Killingworth’s Automated Attraction – Who Knew?

…place on the Killingworth site until the early 1920s. Clark Coe died in 1919. Today, his work is held in the collections of the American Folk Art Museum in New…

The “Red Scare” in Connecticut

By Steve Thornton Eager newspaper reporters dubbed the gathering a “bombology class.” Federal agents targeted a nest of suspected radicals in South Manchester, Connecticut. The site was a small automotive…

Olin Library and The Debate About Open Space at Wesleyan University

…Library The largest, most eye-catching—and most environmentally disruptive—of all the proposed buildings eventually constructed was Olin Library. By 1923 Bacon’s plans for the library’s design were underway but he died…

Ernest Borgnine: Breaking the Hollywood Mold

…on Broadway in Harvey in 1949. Marty Brings Film Stardom It was in the 1950s that Borgnine made a number of film appearances that were as disparate as they were…

A Life Lived in a Rapidly Changing World: Samuel L. Clemens

…Susy was born‚ but their son‚ Langdon‚ died at the age of two from diphtheria. In 1873‚ Sam’s focus turned toward social criticism. He and Hartford Courant publisher Charles Dudley…

Boot Blacks and the Struggle to Survive in Hartford

…sometimes meant the difference between eating and going hungry. As a stocky, bearded man walked by on the deck, the boy asked him if he needed a shine. The man…

Florence Griswold’s Home: A Story of Perseverance and Community

…Florence Griswold Museum. Grandeur. Decline. Restoration. From a private home to a school for girls to an artist boardinghouse, the Florence Griswold House today celebrates a distinctive Old Lyme heritage….

Thomas Hooker

…founded a new colony on the site of modern-day Hartford, Connecticut. Two years later, one of Hooker’s sermons served as the inspiration for the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut which established…

Speaking under the Open Sky: Frederick Douglass in Connecticut

By Steve Thornton The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass had significant ties to Connecticut. He visited Hartford many times, spoke to appreciative crowds, and dined with elected officials. Douglass had his…

“Something to Show for Our Work”: Building Brainard Airport

…relief programs were still several years away. The popular theory was to make welfare as difficult to obtain as possible in order to discourage dependence. Handouts violated the American spirit…

One of the Honored Dead: General J. K. F. Mansfield

…later known as Fort Brown, that in May 1846 were the site of one of the first battles of the Mexican War. Mansfield received the rank of brevet major for…

“The Basque Game in Town”: The Heyday of Jai Alai in Connecticut

…flowing into the sport helped create a market for it in Connecticut, it led to a certain level of disdain between the players and spectators, who did not always appreciate…

The Importance of Being Puritan: Church and State in Colonial Connecticut

…incense and elaborate rituals. They wanted a more direct relationship with God, without the intervention of priest or Pope. English Puritans escaping to America. – New York Public Library Digital…

Hope for the West: The Life and Mission of Lyman Beecher

…who adopted an abolitionary stance felt discordance with the school’s faculty and board of directors, and withdrew to attend the newly founded Oberlin College. Harriet Beecher Stowe, Lyman Beecher, and…

Orville Platt Helps Define International Relations after the Spanish-American War

…the Senate Four Moulthrop & Williams, Orville H. Platt, 1862, cartes-de-visite – Connecticut State Library, Connecticut General Assembly Portraits, PG 540 In 1879, the legislature elected Platt to serve in…

Nathan Hale: The Man and the Legend

…on the site of an earlier house where their son Nathan had been born. Antiquarian George Dudley Seymour acquired the house in the early 20th century and restored it as…

Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: Connecticut Lessons from a Tragedy

…trolley car conductors—died in separate incidents around the state. Others became permanently disabled, like Bridgeport worker Thomas Gray whose leg required amputation after an accident during the repair of a…

The Language of the Unheard: Racial Unrest in 20th-Century Hartford

…months after the disappointing March 1965 meeting in Hartford, the Los Angeles neighborhood of Watts lay burning. On the warm night of August 17, 1965, NECAP director Charles Turner told…

Hartford and New Haven: A Tale of Two Capitals

…a new capitol building on the site. In the fall of 1873, Hartford emerged victorious, becoming Connecticut’s sole capital city, effective in 1875. Edward Williams Clay, State House, Hartford, Connecticut….

Carl Sandburg, Poet from the Grassroots, Reaches Connecticut Audiences

…in Washington, Connecticut, bought some of Sandburg’s herd. The goats—Babette, Coty, and Tenu—eventually returned to North Carolina when Sandburg’s home became a national historic site. Today, however, if the general…

Breaking the Mold: Tradition and Innovation in the Work of Elbert Weinberg

…location for it. Sites considered included the sidewalk in front of the Hartford Public Library, the Old State House, and various Hartford Parks. It was only after Weinberg’s death in…

The Old Brownstone Soldier

…including Antietam and Fredericksburg. He was discharged on June 1, 1863, five months after the Emancipation Proclamation. Three years later, Hartford business mogul James G. Batterson employed Charles Conrads as…

Intertwining Family Businesses

…known as Johnsonville. After Emory Johnson died in 1896, his son, E. Emory Johnson, took over the Neptune twine business. He oversaw a major overall of the mill property that…

Alse Young Executed for Witchcraft – Today in History: May 26

…Square in Hartford, now the site of the Old State House. Alse Young was not the only person in Connecticut executed for the crime of witchcraft. Mary Johnson of Wethersfield…

Wesleyan Hills Helps Redefine Suburbia

…like Levittown, were tracts of uniform homes on rectangular lots with minimal landscaping. These affordable homes gave the middle class access to the American Dream, though they left some dissatisfied….

Pope Park – Yesterday and Today

…and countless multi-family houses sprung up. Farmland disappeared and in its place came housing and streets, creating a 35-block neighborhood around the factory sites. Illustration of the “Park River and…

The Ku Klux Klan in Connecticut

…distribute pamphlets – © 2015 Associated Press, Photo by Bob Child Though the Klan’s public presence in Connecticut soon waned, it resurfaced at various times over the next three decades,…

A 1947 Movie Details the Unsolved Murder of a Bridgeport Priest

by Andy Piascik On the evening of February 4, 1924, Father Hubert Dahme walked in downtown Bridgeport (as he frequently did) when a man approached him from behind and fired…

Vietnam Protests in Connecticut

…Haven, for example, organized events at the Ingall’s Skating Rink protesting the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) program on the Yale campus. New Haven was also the site of events…

The Forlorn Soldier

…of the statue was that people rejected it because the right foot was mistakenly thrust forward, which is opposite of the traditional parade-rest military pose. This statue faced years of…

Mariann Wolcott and Ralph Earl – Opposites Come Together and Make History

…1789 brought them together. What did they talk about? Perhaps they did not talk at all. After all, the Loyalist was a painter, and the rebel was his portrait sitter….

The Minute Man, Westport CT

…H. Daniel Webster (1880-1912), The Minute Man is sited in the center of the intersection at Compo Road South and Compo Beach Road, said to be the exact spot of…

The Deplorable History of Hartford’s Seyms Street Jail

…through a revolving system of different structures until, in 1873, the city finally bought a large parcel of land on Seyms Street for $35,582 and made it the site of…

Julian Alden Weir: The “Heart” of American Impressionism

By Emily Clark Though he was born in West Point, educated in Europe, and died in New York City, artist Julian Alden Weir called rural Connecticut home. From the serenity…

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Rosamond Danielson: Windham County Suffragist and Community Leader

…site of many state and local suffrage events. Under her direction, the campaign in Windham County took off, with representatives from the area attending every state suffrage convention and delegations…

The Legend of the Charter Oak

…on Halloween in a Hartford meetinghouse that stood on the site that the Old State House occupies today. According to legend, the candles were blown out in the midst of…

The Wallingford Oneida Community

…spoons (silverware) in 1877. In the late 1870s, growing dissension over its beliefs resulted in the dissolution of both the Oneida and Wallingford communes in 1880. A joint-stock company, Oneida…

Marian Anderson

…outside the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. Anderson spent the later years of her life living in Danbury, Connecticut. Her studio there is now a site on the Connecticut Freedom…

The Rise and Fall of Manufacturing in Bridgeport: The Case of Bryant Electric

…their employment was directly linked to Bryant’s. Their concerns proved entirely justified when neighborhood mainstays Junior’s Restaurant, the Flyer Diner, and others went out of business not long after Bryant…

LGBTQ+ Mental Health Treatment in the 20th Century

…defining sexual and gender identity as a personality disorder. The earliest publication of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) listed homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance. Notes…

The Connecticut Houses that Ended Up in Massachusetts

…dismantled the structure piece by piece, carefully labeling each component to make sure they knew how to put it back together. The move was memorable—one local woman, who was eight…

Civic Center Roof Collapses – Today in History: January 18

…and diagonal beams that supported the two layers. Builders fabricated the 1,400-ton, 108,000-square-foot roof on site and raised it into place with temporary lift towers. They then built concrete support…

The Merger That Was Not Meant To Be: Yale University and Vassar College

…considering the merger and new opportunities. As more conversations occurred, however, the successful merging of institutions with different ideologies, policies, and courses of study grew increasingly difficult to imagine. Coeducation…

Banner Lodge: A Vacation Playground for an Excluded Population

…and chicken dinners. From the 1930s to the 1970s, Banner Lodge was one of the most popular vacation destinations in Connecticut. At first promoted as a “vacation paradise for adults,”…

James Merrill: Connecticut’s First Poet Laureate

…teaching for a year at Bard College, he spent time traveling through Europe on a journey of self-discovery. National Critical Acclaim James Merrill House in Stonington, CT – Wikimedia Commons,…

Derby Day on the Housatonic

By Joseph M. DiRienzo Early 20th century postcard of the Derby-Shelton Dam and Lake Housatonic viewed from the Shelton side of the river – Joseph DiRienzo A group of local…

Connecticut History Day 2024: Turning Points in History

…in New Haven became the site of the world’s first commercial telephone exchange, forever changing how communication and long-distance commercial operations worked. While Hartford’s Samuel Colt is known best for…

Connecticut College for Women: The State’s First All-Female Institution of Higher Learning

…it soon identified prospective sites across the state. After some debate, committee members chose a grassy hilltop and former dairy farm overlooking Long Island Sound and the Thames River in…

Charlton Publications: Song Lyric Printing Business to Major Player in the Comic Book Industry

…famous Hanna-Barbera television animation series including Yogi Bear, The Flintstones, and Rocky & Bullwinkle. Disaster and Recovery A selection of the comics Charlton published – Joe DiRienzo Two major hurricanes…

Middletown’s Beman Triangle: A Testament to Black Freedom and Resilience

…1921 after Wesleyan University purchased the original church site—remained as a direct link to the former property-owning, antislavery Black neighborhood. The Beman Triangle Today Today, a coalition of historians, historic…

A Connecticut Slave in George Washington’s Army

…successful businessman who diligently worked to emancipate his four children. His story is one that provides valuable insight into the legacy of slavery in Connecticut. As an enslaved person, Nero…

First New-Gate Prisoner – Today in History: December 22

…Connecticut chose the mine as a prison site because of its remote location and the security afforded by its two vertical shafts. The first, 25-feet deep, could be accessed only…

The Battle for Cockenoe Island

…Over the years, the twenty-odd-acre Cockenoe island served as a farm and also a whiskey distillery, but by the mid-20th century, it returned to an uninhabited strip of sand and…

Prudence Crandall

…left the state but remained committed to social reform. Today, the Prudence Crandall Museum is a site on the Connecticut Women’s Heritage Trail as well as the Connecticut Freedom Trail….

Muzzy Field: A Historic Ball Park Survives in a Post-Industrial City

…became one of the most beloved ballparks in all of New England. Besides hosting New Departure company teams, the ballpark was the site for amateur, semi-professional, and professional games. Throughout…

The White Plague: Progressive-Era Tuberculosis Treatments in Connecticut

…Division Without a cure, treatment focused on isolating infected people to prevent them from spreading the disease. Wealthy and middle-class sufferers sought relief in warmer or colder climates, such as…

A Baltic Mill Helps Found a New Town

…Baltic Mill. The emergence of small local businesses followed close behind as did the commerce enjoyed by a company-run store that sold food and household goods to the mill workers….

Farmington

…can see several sites associated with the abolitionist movement and Amistad trial of 1841. Hill-Stead Museum, Miss Porter’s School and other early buildings preserve the town’s historic character while corporate…

Groton

…in 1705, Groton separated from New London. The City of Groton, a distinct entity within the town of Groton, incorporated in 1903 and took its current name and governance in…

Killingly

…town began as several mill villages sited on its abundant waterways, including the Five-Mile and Quinebaug Rivers. In the early half of the 19th century, Killingly was the largest producer…

Newtown

…buttons, combs, folding boxes, and fire hoses. The town was also the site of mica and feldspar mines. Industry declined during the 20th century, and Newtown became a residential community…

Branford Gets On the Trolley

…of damaging natural disasters proved prohibitive to cost-effective operation. The combination of all these factors led the Connecticut Company (owners of the Branford line) to discontinue service in 1947. The…

The Danbury Fair, 1869-1981

…developers built a shopping mall on the site of the old fairgrounds and named it the Danbury Fair Mall, in honor of an agricultural tradition that lasted 112 years. Amusement…

Medicine Woman Gladys Tantaquidgeon and Mohegan Cultural Renewal

…closing of the frontier and the dissipation of tribal customs and knowledge, Tantaquidgeon’s training as only the third Mohegan Medicine Woman since the days of colonial America was essential to…

The Successes and Struggles of New Haven Entrepreneur William Lanson

…neighborhood there. Residences for the affluent were erected along with a host of manufacturing shops of diverse sizes—the largest was the swelling carriage-works of James Brewster—whose exclusively white employees required…

Andover to Woodstock: How Connecticut Ended Up with 169 Towns

…the last decades of the 17th century, however, this original process overlapped with a new pattern of land division: existing towns began divide into multiple ecclesiastical societies, which in a…

The Path to Ashford’s Progress

…the initial success of the turnpike system flowing through Ashford, the town’s topography limited its long-term prospects. River valley towns like Stafford and Willimantic proved better sites for constructing railroad…

Branford’s History Is Set in Stone

Benjamin Green opened Branford’s first quarry in 1858. The unusual pink granite found at the Stony Creek site in Branford brought in numerous competitors, and in less than 50 years…

The Rogerenes Leave Their Mark on Connecticut Society

…they would attend and disrupt the service. The diarist Joshua Hempstead mentions Rogerene activity many times in his 48-year-long diary. In September of 1719 he notes that “Jno Rogers &…

Waterbury Burns – Today in History: February 2

…from their website, as well as promotional materials for the district. Waterbury, also known as the Brass City, is Connecticut’s fifth largest city and has a rich, vibrant history.  …

Wethersfield Prison Blues

…Connecticut State Prison was moved to Enfield. The complex was demolished a few years later. All that remains on the former grounds is a small marker commemorating the site of…

The Day Four Trains Collided in East Thompson

…remains one of the only accidents in US history to involve four trains. Early on the morning of December 4, 1891, a railway dispatcher in Putnam, Connecticut, faced a dilemma….

Gifford Pinchot: Bridging Two Eras of National Conservation

…Photographs Division As a young man, at the urging of his father, Pinchot embraced science-based professional forestry, a discipline then emerging in Europe, where he traveled for post-graduate study. Returning…

Hidden Nearby: Goshen’s Liberty Pole

…in the ground; they were different from regular flag poles in that they were usually topped by either a banner emblazoned with patriotic phrases or a liberty cap. (Liberty caps…

Levi Pease, Stage Route and Transportation Innovator

…money, thus relieving (sometimes dishonest) drivers of these distracting burdens. As more stage lines entered the business, Pease convinced his competitors to join him in opening a general ticket office…

General Joseph R. Hawley Helps Commemorate Connecticut’s Civil War Soldiers

By Todd Jones More than 5,500 Connecticut soldiers died in the Civil War—about 10% of those who went off to war—and they left behind countless family members and friends. An…

The Complicated Realities of Connecticut and the Civil War

…1865. Three officers of Company C, 1st Connecticut Heavy Artillery, Fort Brady, Virginia 1864 – Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division Lasting Legacies of a Complex War Connecticut is…

1938 Hurricane Fuels Charcoal Business – Who Knew?

…of brick on the nursery site. Each kiln measured 30 feet in diameter and stood 28 feet tall with a 500-pound steel door to one side. Charcoal is the residue…

The Tariffville Disaster – Today in History: January 15

…an emergency train with doctors and medical supplies arrived. Jones also appealed for help to the Hartford Providence & Fishkill Railroad’s main office in Hartford, and it, too, dispatched additional…

West Cornwall Covered Bridge: An Icon of New England Craftsmanship

…for almost 150 years. Attempts to build bridges at the site go back as far as 1762, but local ice storms and floods, like the Flood of 1837, claimed these…

“U.S. Troops in Viet Nam, but none in Selma” – Today in History: March 9

…In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Civil Rights Act outlawing discrimination against African Americans and women. The law was supposed to ensure the equal application of voter registration…

Science

…University, the University of Connecticut, other educational centers, and corporate sites are working on advances in genetics, aerospace technology, sustainable energy, and disease prevention to name but a few areas….

James Mars’ Words Illuminate the Cruelty of Slavery in New England

…were to labor faithfully for their mother’s owner who could sell them to work for another master or mistress until they reached the requisite age to be freed. James thus…

Salem

…sites in the country. Today, Salem is a small bedroom community and is known as the home of adventurer Hiram Bingham III, who discovered Machu Picchu, and his son Hiram…

Tradition and Transformation Define Hartford’s Jewish Community

by Betty N. Hoffman, PhD In its earliest years, Connecticut did not welcome Jews or, indeed, most Christians other than members of the Congregational Church. For nearly two centuries the…

The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, Hartford

…the first permanent triumphal arch erected in the United States and, unlike other war memorials around the state, does not list the names of those individuals who served or died…

Hilda Crosby Standish, Early Proponent of Women’s Reproductive Health

…as the medical director of the Hartford Maternal Health Center, the first birth control clinic in Connecticut. The clinic officially opened in July of 1935 at 100 Retreat Avenue in…

Charles Goodyear and the Vulcanization of Rubber

By Ann Marie Somma Charles Goodyear’s discovery of the vulcanization of rubber—a process that allows rubber to withstand heat and cold—revolutionized the rubber industry in the mid-1800s. Automotive tires, pencil…

Historic Preservation

…century and widened the scope of sites considered important. In 1955 the General Assembly established the Connecticut Historical Commission and in 1966 Congress enacted the National Historic Preservation Act, which…

Barn Design in Connecticut

…located on the eve side of the barn (the part that slants down like a house roof). Some structures also featured a corresponding door on the opposite side of the…

John Ledyard, Connecticut’s Most Famous Traveler

…when John was 11, his father, known as Captain John, and an uncle, Youngs Ledyard, died of disease while at sea. Young John and two cousins were sent to live…

First New-Gate Prisoner – Today in History: December 22

…Connecticut chose the mine as a prison site because of its remote location and the security afforded by its two vertical shafts. The first, 25-feet deep, could be accessed only…

Putnam

…the area along with a railway line. Today, Putnam’s historic attractions include its River Mills Heritage Trail, which includes six factory sites and the mansion of textile executive George Morse….

The Stonington Battle Flag

…is now on display at the National Museum of American History), originally measured an exceptionally large 30 feet by 42 feet. According to the National Park Service Web site for…

Danbury Prison Protest – Today in History: August 11

On August 11, 1943, conscientious objectors and other prisoners staged a 135-day hunger strike to protest racial segregation in the Danbury prison’s dining hall. Built in 1932 and opened in…

First Commercial Telephone Exchange – Today in History: January 28

On January 28, 1878, the Boardman Building in New Haven became the site of the world’s first commercial telephone exchange, the District Telephone Company of New Haven. The exchange was…

Marian Anderson’s Role in the Civil Rights Movement

…did not seek to become a symbol of civil rights, yet the times and her country made her so. A Musical Star Born into modest circumstances in South Philadelphia, Anderson’s…

The Beadle Family Murders – Today in History: December 11

…the muzzle of a pistol into each ear and fired both pistols at the same time. The balls passed through his head in opposite directions, ending the life of William…

William Redfield Born – Today in History: March 26

…northeast, but trees to the west had fallen in the opposite direction. From these observations, he was able to demonstrate that tropical storms move in a cyclonic path and his…

Freighter Worcester Launched – Today in History: April 5

…Groton Iron Works, formed in 1917, had a main yard on the Thames River in Groton and a second yard on the site of the former Palmer shipyard in Noank….

Buffalo Bill Cody Visits the Monument of Uncas – Today in History: July 2

…shows in the 1880s, was touring the Northeast when he came to lay a wreath on the site of the Uncas monument, a memorial to the Mohegan sachem. Cody was…

Creating Candlewood Lake – Today in History: July 15

On July 15, 1926, Connecticut Light & Power Company’s board of directors approved a plan to build a man-made reservoir in order to produce electric power. What would become Candlewood…

Ashford

…October of 1714. The Old Connecticut Path, an early Native American thoroughfare, crossed what is now the Ashford Common. Later, the Boston and Hartford Turnpike provided a direct route through…

Plymouth

…character and colonial charm. The diversified buildings, sites, and historic town green of its Plymouth Center Historic District demonstrate the typical evolution of an industrial village up to the 1900s….

Cornwall

…industries. Famous as the site of the Foreign Mission School and the Cream Hill Agricultural School, Cornwall has also been called the “Home of the Covered Bridge,” in reference to…

Old Saybrook

…Colony). It then incorporated as a town, separating from Essex, in 1854. Old Saybrook is the original site of Yale College, which was established as the “Collegiate School” in 1701….

The Early Years of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company

…story was the 1922 passage of the Washington Naval Treaty, the result of a five-nation negotiation to disarm the major naval powers of the world. The treaty limited the construction…

Steam Railroads Transform Connecticut Travel and Commerce

…place in the state’s well-traveled north-south river valleys, where grades were flat and stream crossings few. The construction of east-west roads followed. These were more difficult to construct because they…

East Granby

…part of Simsbury, the town still boasts a storied site from that era: an 18th-century copper mine that became America’s first prison. During the Revolutionary War, its inmates included British…

East Hartford

…products vital to the effort. Today, the site of the company’s former airfield is home to the popular sports and entertainment stadium, Rentschler Field, one of East Hartford’s chief attractions….

Griswold

…Griswold, incorporated in 1815. In 1895, Jewett City incorporated as a borough of the town. Today, Griswold is home to Hopeville Pond State Park, former site of a woolen mill….

Montville

…terrain made farming difficult, but the abundant waterways allowed for diverse manufacture. Early industry included mills and factories and the making of bog ore into iron. By the late 19th…

Painter, Muralist, Sculptor Sol LeWitt born – Today in History: September 9

…designer, including a stint in the offices of architect I.M. Pei. Lewitt began exhibiting his own work in 1963, often focusing on three-dimensional modular arrangements based on variations of spheres,…

The Derby Silver Company

…baskets, dishes, basically anything which was plated by or made of silver. Special orders were constantly commissioned as well. The factory manufactured items for the Sperry and Hutchinson trading stamp…

Hidden Nearby: Jedediah Strong’s Milestone

…the route and distance to a site. As such, they provided reassurance to a traveler that he was on the right road and gave him an idea of how much…

Hidden Nearby: Henry Obookiah’s Cornwall Grave

…of a dictionary and books on common grammar and spelling. Opukaha’ia also began his memoirs. Unfortunately, before these projects could be completed, Henry fell ill. Diagnosed with typhus fever by…

A World in Motion: Artist and Sculptor Alexander Calder

…Lederer Calder, was a painter. Instead of pursuing art directly after high school, Calder attended Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, New Jersey, and graduated in 1919 with a degree…

A Woman Who Developed Tolerance: Leila T. Alexander

…and Distinguished Service Medals to 10 citizens. One was 14-year-old Donald Anderson of Columbia whose quick actions and bravery saved countless lives at the Hartford Circus Fire of the previous…

Fighting Sons of Erin: Connecticut’s Irish Regiment in the Civil War

…in the War of the Rebellion, 1861-65 by Thomas Hamilton Murray Irish Find Opportunity but Discrimination, Too The Irish found work at the state’s labor-hungry quarries and railroad construction sites….

Harkness Memorial Park Offers a Glimpse into Early 20th Century Wealth

Harkness Memorial Park is a beautifully landscaped recreation area along the shoreline in Waterford, Connecticut. With gorgeous views of Long Island Sound, the site offers visitors over 230 acres of…

North Branford Vied for the Title of “Shredded Coconut Capital of the World” – Who Knew?

…factory in Northford where he made buttons, wooden spoons, and water dippers from the shells of coconuts imported from the West Indies. These dippers were particularly handy in an era…

Greenwich Emergency Responders: On the Move Overtime

…distance from the center of town means that fires are usually allowed to burn themselves out if the local bucket brigade fails. The Glenville Fire Company is formed in June…

“An Admirable Portrait” of Frederick Douglass

…photographer Stephen H. Waite, appeared in the Hartford Daily Courant on April 16, 1864. Cartes-de-visite (small photographs about the size of a visiting card) depicting famous people were avidly collected…

Ending the Danbury Shakes: A Story of Workers’ Rights and Corporate Responsibility

…ban on mercury every December 1st. The mercury used in the manufacture of hats in Danbury did not simply disappear. High levels of the toxin are still evident in the…

The Frost House Once Offered Travelers a Warm Welcome

…part of the Marion Historic District, the home is significant both architecturally and historically for the insight it provides into early New England history. Revolutionary War Hero Among Barnes Tavern…

Hidden Nearby: The Bantam Lake Ice House

…the workers faced was getting the ice into the storage house. This proved especially difficult because the ice was cut into the 300-pound blocks preferred for wholesale purposes. (Retail ice…

The Many Layers to Onion Farming in Westport

…around the Westport area and became staples of the local diet. In New York, yellow and red onions sold for $1.50 per barrel and higher, while white onions commanded as…

Preserving Connecticut’s Natural Beauty: Connecticut’s First State Parks

…years of the state park system. While the little map would hardly have served as a useful guide for actually finding the parks, it shows a multitude of sites, scattered…

Reckoning with the Dutch: the Treaty of Hartford, 1650

By Nancy Finlay In 1650, representatives from New Netherlands and New England met in Hartford to try to settle their boundary disputes. The Dutch trading post called the Huys de…

Setting the Table in Historic Style: Connecticut Views on Staffordshire China

…his career. The engravings were directly transferred to the china and applied to a variety of different forms—cups, saucers, plates, bowls, platters, pitchers, etc.—in a variety of different colors. They…

Transit of Venus: German Scientists Visit Hartford

…an important opportunity for scientists to calculate the distance between the earth and the sun—the basis for the astronomical unit. In 1761, 1769, 1874, and 1882, many countries sponsored scientific…

Connecticut and American Impressionism

…knowing, as they did, that much of it had already disappeared. Ironically, the intrusive technology of rail service, electricity, and plumbing made it easy for them to come and absorb…

Peter’s Rock: North Haven History with a View

…life there as a hermit.   From Hermit’s Refuge to Site of Hunting Lodge In the 1800s, local residents utilized a manmade granite basin on the mountain’s southern side as…

W. J. Squire’s Gill Net Manufactory in East Haddam

…known as Goodspeed’s Landing and was a few hundred yards east of the present site of the Goodspeed Opera House. Mesh gill nets had openings of various sizes, depending upon…

Philip Johnson in His Own Words

…was the only part I flunked. I had no trouble with structures. Oh, I did have a little trouble at first with [site] planning. …Yes, with arranging: “Arrange these houses…

The Industrial Revolution Comes to Jewett City

…in Jewett City. (Today, Jewett City is a borough of Griswold.) Sitting along the confluence of the Pachaug and Quinebaug rivers, Jewett City had earlier been the site of corn,…

Semi-Pro Baseball in Sharon – Who Knew?

…Tri-State Baseball League, still in existence today, replaced the IBL. Courtesy of the Sharon Historical Society. A longer version of this article originally appeared on the Sharon Historical Society’s website.…

A Godmother to Ravensbrück Survivors

…Nebel, or “night and fog”), political prisoners who were meant to disappear and never be heard from again. These four women, however, did not disappear. All were later to have…

Pequot War

…with the 1638 Treaty of Hartford, which outlawed the Pequot language and name, seized tribal lands, and disbanded the surviving Pequot, who were given to the victors as spoils of…

Connecticut Arms the Union

…& Company, Connecticut Arms Company. Digital composite by Christine Pittsley, Connecticut State Library – Museum of Connecticut History Rifles and Carbines Of 23 private northern contractors rising to the challenge…

The Ebenezer Avery House – Who Knew?

…Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781. Because of its historic significance, the house was dismantled board by board and moved from its original site on Thames and Latham…

From the State Historian: Discovering the Explorer Hiram Bingham III

By Walter W. Woodward for Connecticut Explored Of all the Connecticans who have left their mark in distant places, perhaps none made a more lasting—or more controversial—impression than Hiram Bingham…

Today in History – Fales & Gray Explosion Underscores Need for a Hartford Hospital

…arm was found “at some distance from the body.” Other victims were “horribly mutilated, and in some instances the bodies could scarcely be recognized.” Ellsworth Grant, in Connecticut Disasters, relates…

Stepping Back in Time: North Stonington Village Historic District

Lying in an area of New London County just eight miles north of Long Island Sound is the North Stonington Village Historic District. Listed on the National Register of Historic…

Nancy Toney’s Lifetime in Slavery

By Christina Vida Nancy Toney of Windsor may have the distinction of being Connecticut’s last enslaved person. Born into slavery in Connecticut in 1774, she lived through the American Revolution…

Connecticut’s Christmas Town

…in religion. Bethlehem was the site of the first theological seminary in the United States and is home to the Abbey of Regina Laudis, a monastic community of contemplative Benedictine…

A Sign of the Times Blends Masonic and Patriotic Imagery

…eye. Patriotic themes frequently complemented Masonic symbols on such signs and this example is no exception: the opposite side features patriotic imagery characteristic of the era of the Early Republic….

Julian Alden Weir

…held by top museums around the world, and Weir Farm, which sits on land in Ridgefield and Wilton, is the only National Park Service historic site dedicated to American painting….

A Patriotic Legacy in Print

…Historical Society Remembering the War of 1812 Later in the 19th century, artistic renditions of memorable US naval victories in the War of 1812 were widely disseminated, often as anti-British…

Waterbury’s Holy Land

…on Pine Hill, where he and other volunteers built more than 100 buildings to recreate a Biblical vision of Jerusalem and Bethlehem. The plywood and plaster structures depicted such sites…

Hervey Brooks’s 19th-Century Pottery Barn

…largely for other craftsmen, Brooks struck out on his own in 1819. He built a pottery shop alongside his home, where he crafted 26 different varieties of bowls, jugs, pitchers,…

The Great Remedy: Picturing the Emancipation Proclamation

…of blackstrap molasses, with directions “one dose to be taken on January 1, 1863. Continue if necessary.” A portrait of Abraham Lincoln shows the President seated, pen in hand, with…

Picture This: Seeing Connecticut in 3-D

…when travel was more difficult and expensive than it is today, these views provided a way for people to experience far-off locales in the comfort of their own homes. While…

Benjamin Dutton Beecher had a Penchant for Invention

…boat from its construction site in the western part of town over to the canal at Beachport in Cheshire. Among the passengers on this 1830s test voyage was Connecticut Governor…

Connecticut’s Valley Forge: The Redding Encampment and Putnam Memorial State Park

By CT Humanities Staff As the 1778-79 winter quarters for a division of the Continental army during the Revolutionary War, Putnam Memorial State Park is sometimes referred to as “Connecticut’s…