Overland Travel in Connecticut, from Footpaths to Interstates

…stagecoach, 1897 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Following the Revolution, the poor road conditions that existed in Connecticut, and the new nation generally, represented more than mere…

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

…sign, South Windsor, ca. 1777 – Connecticut Historical Society, Morgan B. Brainard Collection and Connecticut History Online The most iconic tavern sign form is the 18th-century post-and-rails type. This type…

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,…

The Connecticut Town Green

…B. G. Northrop on the subject of village improvement, March 26, 1878, Glastonbury – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In the decade after the Revolutionary War, population growth…

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

…right) are much larger in scale than the homes surrounding them. Rockville, Connecticut, Boston: O.H. Bailey & Co., 1895 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Although these prints…

Hartford Retreat for the Insane Advanced Improved Standards of Care

…Connecticut History Online A number of state physicians, including Eli Todd, MD, had led the effort to convince political and community leaders of the need for a facility reflective of…

The Industrial Might of Connecticut Pegmatite

…Feldspar Mill, Higganum – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Versatile Feldspar For centuries pegmatite was chiefly valued for its mineral feldspar. Feldspar mining peaked in Connecticut in the…

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

…War era, installed in the capitol shortly after the building opened in 1879. In 1865 the Connecticut General Assembly declared battle flags to be sacred. They announced, “the battle-torn and…

The Decorative Arts of Connecticut

…pottery shop is now installed at Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts), and the Smith and Day pottery of Norwalk, which operated for nearly a century, in one form or another, beginning…

Exploring Early Connecticut Mapmaking

…Lexington, April 19th. 1775, printer’s ink and watercolor on laid paper – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Amos Doolittle of New Haven (1754-1832) was another such mapmaker. He…

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

…appeared, and some of the earliest town records (in Stonington and Groton, for instance) relate to the separation and designation of individually parceled oyster grounds. In about 1750, the General…

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…

Let There Be Light: An Early History of the Hartford Electric Light Company

…fire of Sept. 6, 1897 destroyed the wooden structure. Note the 300 hp and 500 hp water turbines installed by the Farmington River Power Company in 1890 – Connecticut Historical…

A Revolution in Horse Power: The Hartford & Wethersfield Horse Railroad Goes Electric

…Railway was designed and installed by a Connecticut native, Frank Sprague, born in Milford and a former assistant to Thomas Edison. Not surprisingly, the passengers in Hartford’s Car No. 50…

A Hip Road Trip

…Little Village Motel and Gift Shop (1950), also in Berlin, for instance, aimed for a more picturesque, domestic look. The L-shaped hotel has a small, Colonial Revival-style office complete with…

The Steady Evolution of a Connecticut Family Business

…and dangerous: either they exploded too early or too late, both instances jeopardizing the miners’ lives. In 1831, William Bickford was granted Royal Patent No. 6159 for “Safety Fuze for…

Bridgeport’s Catastrophic 1911 Train Wreck

…the book History of Black Rock, 1955 A number of passengers died instantly, some of whom, presumably sound asleep at that hour, never knew what happened. Many others received serious…

Connecticut Arms the Union

…Some companies sidestepped the challenge: Connecticut Arms Company and William Muir & Company, for instance, opted to assemble arms with parts made by subcontractors and therefore required little more than…

An Overview of Connecticut’s Outdoor Sculpture

…pop culture. His Lipstick Ascending on Caterpillar Tracks, designed in 1969 and installed in 1974, was created without approval from Yale, where the piece was installed to serve as a…

Bridgeport’s WPKN: Going Strong After Half a Century

…it possible for WPKN to relocate to Bijou Square in downtown Bridgeport in November of 2021. A central feature of Bijou Square, the Bijou Theater, hosts a wide variety of…

Linonian and Brothers in Unity: The Societies that Built Yale University’s Library

…undergraduate community. They competed over membership, as well as over who had more valedictorians and volumes of books. For instance, both societies claimed future US Vice President John C. Calhoun…

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

…producing 10,000 bicycles a year from the Capitol Avenue plant in Hartford, which he now owned. The Columbia Cycle Club, Hartford, 1890 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online…

Stagecoach Sustained Commerce and Communication in 1800s

…Hartford, ca. 1875 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online The journey to New York took up a week. The carriages were old and shackling and much of the…

Capital Punishment in Connecticut: Changing Views

…began shying away from the death penalty and started constructing more prisons. Bird’s-eye view of Wethersfield Prison, Wethersfield, ca. 1880 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In 1846,…

A New Source of Farm Labor Crops Up in Wartime

…ca. 1917 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online The Women’s Land Army and WWI During the First World War, Americans believed that, in addition to weapons and raw…

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….

Dynamic Tensions: Conservation and Development up to the 1920s

…turned to commercial and industrial livelihoods. The Impact of Industry and Urbanization Housatonic Lake and Dam, Shelton and Derby, ca. 1894 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Throughout…

Portland Puts Its Stamp on an Architectural Era

…of the quarry works dock from the early 1900s, Portland – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Demand Peaks During Brownstone Era Brownstone quarrying shaped the evolution of the…

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…

Louis’ Lunch and the Birth of the Hamburger

…History Online Louis’ Lunch is currently located at 263 Crown Street in New Haven. The brickwork storefront of the restaurant stands in contrast to the wheeled lunch wagon originally operated…

Looking Back: the First “Aero Planes”

…carriages, and two daring young men came by air to help commemorate the special occasion. Connecticut River highway bridge (Saybrook-Old Lyme) – Mystic Seaport and Connecticut History Online For people…

Remembering Fredi Washington: Actress, Activist, and Journalist

…includes photographs of Fredi, her family, and friends. Additional selections from the collection may be viewed in the CHS online catalog eMuseum. Nancy Finlay, formerly Curator of Graphics at the…

Paradise on the Sound: The Summer Colony at Fenwick

…Connecticut “Preserve the Sound” License plates. John Warner Barber, Saybrook Point, 1834, drawing – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online The completion of the Connecticut Valley Railroad in May…

Mighty, Mighty Hartford

…Dutch, Hartford, October 6, 1908 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Dave Corrigan is Curator for the Museum of Connecticut History © Connecticut State Library. All rights reserved….

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

…moved to the neighborhood after marrying Gillette’s daughter Elizabeth (Lilly) in 1864. Charles Dudley Warner, 1893 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Charles Warner gained national fame after…

Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy

…and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language. Detail of the catalogue of the members of the Female Academy of Litchfield, for the year ending November…

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…

Selling Connecticut Products Abroad

…sign, Collins Co., Hartford, late 19th century – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online The Collins Company was also a pioneer in the foreign trade. As early as 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

…by Bowdoin, Taylor & Co., Alexandria, VA, 1864 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In the months following the sobering Union defeat at the first battle of Bull…

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…

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…

New London’s Indian Mariners

…records, by the American Revolution opportunities for men to aggregate in military-oriented companies began to emerge both on land and at sea. Among the earliest documented instances of community-level presence…

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

…any instances of outdated content or language. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Ida Tarbell: The Woman Who Took On Standard Oil

…19 installments. Her work was a sensation and the installments became a two-volume book entitled, The History of the Standard Oil Company, published in 1904. Tarbell meticulously documented the aggressive…

Past Hallowe’en Pranks Bemused Some and Frustrated Others

…and wagons, and installing them in new, unexpected places. For instance, tricksters in Windsor managed to suspend a sleigh from a two-story building and perch another awkwardly by the roadside….

Middletown’s Reservoirs Drive Growth Throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries

…create the 137-acre, 375-million-gallon Mount Higby Reservoir and installed pipelines of greater quality. According to the local water commission, this effectively tripled the local water supply. Table indicating the changes…

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

…1899, landscape painter Henry Ward Ranger stayed at “Miss Florence’s” boardinghouse and became instantly enchanted with the idyllic setting on the Lieutenant River, the quality of light so appropriate for…

Almost a Tragedy: The Collapse of the Hartford Civic Center

…due to the heavy snow that fell on that January night. According to the official City investigation, the roof began progressive failure as soon as it had been installed. Contributing…

A World in Motion: Artist and Sculptor Alexander Calder

…he purposely left some things to chance. He activated the acrobats, for instance, but there was no guarantee they would land on their feet. Calder’s lively performances of Cirque Calder…

Learning about the Lusitania: How Hartford Heard the News

By Karen DePauw for Your Public Media In an age when we hear instantly of any news, good or bad, it is hard to imagine that information was not always…

Metal Homes for the Atomic Age

…one Lustron home. The windows were installed in the wall sections at the Lustron Factory – National Trust for Historic Preservation Strandlund had promised the government that he could build…

Site Lines: Connecticut’s Freedom Trail

…to an influential white family. Boston Trowtrow, for instance, was Norwich’s black governor from 1770 to 1772; he was owned by Jabez Huntington, a wealthy merchant and prominent leader in…

From the State Historian: The Final Journey of Nathaniel Lyon

…States. The preceding month—though then all but unknown—he had instantly become a national symbol for what lay in the country’s future—and of what that future might cost. For on August…

Andover to Woodstock: How Connecticut Ended Up with 169 Towns

…from the site of their local government by major bodies of water, sought incorporation as autonomous towns for civil reasons in the late 1600s and early 1700s. For instance, the…

Connecticut’s First Municipal Electric Utility

…plant – the first such facility in Connecticut. On October 13, 1892 the plant (South Norwalk Electric Works) began operating, but only to supply street lighting. The original electric installation…

Breaking the Myth of the Unmanaged Landscape

…monthly time cycle. For instance, in mid-April and early May, or Squannikesos (which translates to “when they set Indian corn”), Indians quit their winter camps and traveled as far as…

The Slaters Go Round the World

…details and amenities of the Eleanor while she was still under construction. Builders enlisted the Colt Armory to install on the deck three Gatling guns capable of firing 800 rounds…

The Stonington Battle Flag

…survival into the 21st century. A photograph taken in July 1949 shows the repaired flag hanging from a window on Water Street. By 1953 the flag was installed at the…

Enfield’s Shaker Legacy

…legally trade with the states that had joined the Confederacy, instantly closing a large part of the market for their seed. Compounding the problem was significant uncollectible debt owed to…

New London Harbor Lighthouse: Connecticut’s First Official Lighthouse

…major upgrade with the installation of a fourth order Fresnel lens that projected more intense light over a wider area. Installed in 1874, a second class fog signal and a…

Reverend James Pennington: A Voice for Freedom

…managed to persuade the talented minister to relocate. Once installed in the pulpit in Hartford, he pastored the church and taught in a local school for African American children. Although…

Seaside Tuberculosis Sanatorium: Waterford’s Contested Oceanfront Gem

By Kelly Marino Connecticut’s Seaside Sanatorium (also known as “The Seaside” and “Seaside Regional Center”) in Waterford is an often-forgotten gem overlooking the Long Island Sound. Few residents aside from…

The Yale-Storrs Controversy

…Connecticut State College in 1937. (Credit: Michael Rodriguez, 2021) On March 31, 1893, the General Assembly made the Storrs Agricultural School the sole beneficiary of Morrill and Hatch Act funds,…

Connecticut and the Armenian Genocide

…the Ottoman Empire, including Kurds, Greeks, Syrians, and Iranians. Although the United States did not officially recognize the Armenian genocide until 2021, Connecticut governors and legislators issued a series of…

“Washburn Colonials”: Distinguished 1920s Homes Stand the Test of Time

…and designed in a style broadly considered as ‘traditional.’” A renovated summer home in Cornwall, built by Washburn in 1928 and overlooking a lake, was the 2021 recipient. This distinguished…

The Sea in their Blood: The Portuguese in New London County

…assure to safe and bountiful season and to commemorate those fishermen lost at sea. The tradition continues to this day, though in 2021, the fleet consisted of just ten fishing…

100 Years of Workers’ Compensation

…any action brought by an injured employee or the employee’s survivors. Broadside printed after the Fales & Gray steam-boiler explosion – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Industrial Revolution…

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

…of knowledge for this generation. Total eclipse by Frederick E. Turner, Willimantic, January 24, 1925 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Frederick E. Turner, of 175 North Street…

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…

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…

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…

A Different “Type” of Connecticut Industry

…Interior of a typewriter factory, ca. 1910, Hartford. Most likely the Underwood Typewriter Manufacturing Company, 581 Capitol Avenue, Hartford – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online The company’s success…

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…

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John Howard Hale: Glastonbury’s Peach King

…Hale’s hardy peach, the “Crosbey” (excelsior) … introduced and for sale by G.H. & J.H. Hale, South Glastonbury, Conn, ca. 1890–96 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In…

Death and Mourning in the Civil War Era

by Amy Gagnon Funeral notice, ca. 1856 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online Romance, sentiment, and strict moral conscience characterized much of expressive life in New England during…

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….

Saddles Fit For a Shah

…concerns merged in 1905. Smith-Worthington Saddlery Company, Hartford – Hartford History Center, Hartford Public Library and Connecticut History Online Business continued to expand and adapt in wartime. The company made…

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

…History Online By the 1920s, the national home economics movement had adopted a more scientific approach to the field, supported by legislation such as the Smith-Lever Act (1914) and state…

Windsor Engineers Success

…– Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online By the mid-19th century, the village that had grown up alongside the canal had earned the name “the Locks.” In recognition of…

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…

Civil War Monuments and Memorials in and Around the State Capitol

…of 19th-century Connecticut history that you can not only read about, but see firsthand when you visit Hartford. Compiled here on ConnecticutHistory.org, the 15 resources are easily accessed online, through…

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

…Hartford History Center. Today, an online finding aid for the records makes them immediately accessible to the public. For students, scholars, and others researchers wanting to investigate the history of…

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

…de Palma took over the bookstore. Unfortunately, with the rise of online commerce and digital media, The Reader’s Feast closed its doors in 2007. As a communal space ahead of…

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

…Connecticut History Online A Company Town with International Reach Axe-making, which involved a four-step process of forging, grinding, tempering, and polishing the metal head, dominated Collinsville’s economic life. Immense grinding…

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…

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…

Plainville Has Been Flying High for Over 100 Years

…first solo flight, ca. 1928 – Hartford Public Library, Hartford History Center, Hartford Times Collection and Connecticut History Online Plainville is also the home of John H. Trumbull, who served…

Southington Industry: From Nuts to Bolts

…Bolt Company, ca. 1885, Marion (Southington) – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In 1839, Micah Rugg established his own business and secured the first patent for mechanically trimming…

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…

Connecticut Origins Shape New Light Luminary Jonathan Edwards

…into the 19th century. Kenneth P. Minkema, PhD, is the Executive Editor of The Works of Jonathan Edwards and of the Jonathan Edwards Center & Online Archive at Yale University….

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…

A Unique Island Attraction in Bridgeport

…ca. 1912 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In 1919, the city of Bridgeport bought the facilities for $220,000 and expanded upon its amusements. The park now offered…

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

…Center, Hartford Public Library and Connecticut History Online Maria C. Sanchez by Tanisha Pino Maria opened up her News Stand, “Marias News Stand,” in the late 1950s. She used this…

Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language

…the English Language. Even with today’s spell-check and online resources, many Americans still think “Webster’s” when they have a question regarding spelling and word definitions. Yet, as major a contribution…

Ferry Boats a Way of Life in Early Connecticut

…where a further surcharge was allowed for a winter crossing. Other Transportation Developments Transform Ferry Operations Ferry crossing at Hartford, 1895 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online As…

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

…horses, wagons, and other supplies and returning to Connecticut to start the process over again. Peddler and cart, ca. 1900 – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online The Yankee…

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…

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…

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…

Osborn Correctional Institution

…Public Library and Connecticut History Online A 20th-century Facility With the November 1963 opening of the Connecticut Correctional Institution, the state transferred all prisoners from Wethersfield to Somers. The new…

Colonial Revival Movement Sought Stability during Time of Change

…in colonial styles. Inspired Nostalgia Trumps Historical Accuracy Reenactors at 1908 Bulkeley Bridge dedication recreate Thomas Hooker’s 1636 landing – Connecticut Historical Society and Connecticut History Online In most cases,…

An Inconvenient Season: Charlotte Cowles’s Letters from December 1839

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hidden Nearby: Camp Columbia State Park in Morris

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Last Wolf in Connecticut

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Transit of Venus: German Scientists Visit Hartford

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

A Beautiful and Goodly Tree: The Rise and Fall of the American Elm

…rights reserved. This article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated…

A Valley Flooded to Slake the Capital Region’s Thirst

…Explored (formerly Hog River Journal) Vol. 4/ No. 1, WINTER 2005/2006. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of…

From Kiln to Collection: Norwich Pottery and Its Makers

…rights reserved. This article originally appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances…

Hidden Nearby: Jedediah Strong’s Milestone

…Hidden History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or…

The Effects of “Redlining” on the Hartford Metropolitan Region

…For instance, in the 1936 FHA Underwriting Manual, there are references to “inharmonious racial groups” or “incompatible racial elements” being factors in the decreased ratings assigned to certain neighborhoods. Essentially,…

Hidden Nearby: Goshen’s Liberty Pole

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hidden Nearby: John Brown’s Torrington Birthplace

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hidden Nearby: Two Monuments to Sportsmen at Housatonic Meadows State Park

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Litchfield’s Revolutionary War Soldiers’ Tree

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hidden Nearby: The Morris Academy

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Welcoming Armenian Immigrants, Hartford, 1920

…and Eastern Europe in attempts to flee the economic and political instability of their native lands. Many Yankees saw the high birth rates, different customs, and most of all the…

What’s in a Number? Connecticut’s Thirteenth Regiment Goes Off to War

…rights reserved. This article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated…

Hometown Hero: Wallingford Remembers Stanley Budleski

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Frances Laughlin Wadsworth: Sculpting the Past

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hartford’s “Little Italy”

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

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

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

A Celebrated Artist and a Meaningful Space – Today in History: October 20

…excerpted and originally appeared on Archive Archaeology Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Flood That We Forget: October 15 and 16, 1955

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

“An Admirable Portrait” of Frederick Douglass

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hidden Nearby: Henry Obookiah’s Cornwall Grave

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

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

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hidden Nearby: The Bantam Lake Ice House

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Take Me to the Fair: Connecticut Exhibits at the International Expositions

…This article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or…

Sixty Degrees Below Zero: Connecticut Man Explores Antarctica

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Story Trail of Voices

…was not pleased with non-Indian neighbors… I’ve heard that in several instances children in school were expected to learn English and forget all about their Indian cultural background, and if…

Little Nutmeggers: Four Centuries of Children’s Clothes and Games

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Blood on the Hill: The Battle of Groton Heights, September 6, 1781

…Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language. Powder Horn, about 1781. Artilleryman Henry…

North Haven: Fabricating Sculpture in the 1960s and 1970s

…for the Arts in 1965 brought increased government and private support for public sculpture and the works were installed in public spaces across America. Many are still on view today….

Hidden Nearby: Harwinton’s Catlin Trough

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

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

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Any Month with an “R” in It: Eating Oysters in Connecticut

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hiding the Charter: Images of Joseph Wadsworth’s Legendary Action

…Connector, December 2012, Vol. 14, No. 4. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Yung Wing’s Dream: The Chinese Educational Mission, 1872-1881

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Modernism in Connecticut through Photographs

…Journal) Vol. 8/ No. 1, WINTER 2009/2010. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

What’s a Puritan, and Why Didn’t They Stay in Massachusetts?

…River Journal (currently Connecticut Explored) Spring 2005. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Reckoning with the Dutch: the Treaty of Hartford, 1650

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Iron and Water: The Norwich & Worcester Railroad Story

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Adventure of a Lifetime: John Ledyard and Captain Cook’s Last Voyage

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Kennedys in Connecticut – Today in History: November 6

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Constitution Oak

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Creative License, or Fundamental Fact?

…Hog River Journal (currently Connecticut Explored) Vol. 3/ No. 4, FALL 2005. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances…

Samson Occom and the Brotherton Indians

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Eighty-Five Hundred Souls: the 1918-1919 Flu Epidemic in Connecticut

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Thanksgiving and Christmas at Long Lane, 1874

…Connector, November 2002, Volume 4, Number 4. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Joseph Taborsky and the “Mad Dog Killings”

…mental health facility. Joseph Taborsky’s lawyers requested a new trial and, based on Albert’s instability, the courts decided his confession was not sufficient evidence to convict his brother. After 52…

The Surprising Prevalence of Earthquake Activity in Connecticut

…stone walls in town. East Haddam is not the only area of the state to feel the effects of Connecticut’s underground instability, however. In April 1837, tremors sent lamps swinging…

A Woman Ahead of Her Time: Mabel Osgood Wright

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut

…and the Connecticut Community Foundation. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language. Next >>…

Senator Brandegee Stonewalls Women’s Suffrage

…Fall 2018 issue for more on the state’s battles over suffrage. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of…

“’No Taxation without Representation’: Black Voting in Connecticut

…issue for more on the state’s battles over black suffrage. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated…

Benedict Arnold Turns and Burns New London

…River Journal) Vol. 4/ No.4, Fall 2006. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

A Tale of Shad, the State Fish

…State of Connecticut has monitored shad populations. For instance, in 1983, the state estimated a river shad population of 1.5 million. About 530,000 were counted at the Holyoke Dam, where…

Site Lines: The Mysterious Blue Lights

…Vol. 10/ No. 3, Summer 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language.  …

Skating Through Winter

…reserved. This article originally appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of…

Connecticut Yankee and Millstone: 48 Years of Nuclear Power

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Mad about Shad: Connecticut’s Love Affair with an Oily Fish

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Oldest College Daily – Today in History: January 28

…or, in a few instances, invoke racial and ethnic stereotypes to deliver their punch. Still, some anecdotes, like the following, have stood the test of time: Are these soaps all…

The 1961 Hartford Hospital Fire

…the state. This included the disconnection of trash holding cans from corridors, the upgrade of cumbersome single-piece fire doors to double doors, the installation of an emergency intercom system, and…

Buckling Up For Auto Safety

…responded by enacting the National Traffic and Motor Safety Act of 1966 that allowed regulators to require the installation of seat belts in new cars (effective January 1, 1968). Nevertheless,…

First Connecticut Carpet Mills Emerge in Simsbury and Enfield

…to the company-owned wholesale dealership in New York City. By 1847, Thompson had installed power looms in both the Thompsonville and Tariffville carpet mills to greatly expand production. Although ingrain…

Brass City/Grass Roots: Waterbury Farming in the Late 1800s

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The Trailblazing Bessye Bennett

…Trailblazing Bessye Bennett” in Connecticut Explored magazine. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Brass City/Grass Roots: The Pierponts of East Farms

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Brass City/Grass Roots: From Farmers to Developers: The Rasmussens of Town Plot

…on the farm.” —James Cronin Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language. << Previous…

Brass City/Grass Roots: Farming as Recycling: The Becces in the North End

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Brass City/Grass Roots: Bucks Hill: Waterbury’s Rural Holdout

…was actually considered a farmer. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language. << Previous…

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

…Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language. << Previous – Home – Next >>…

Brass City/Grass Roots: Food Marketing and Processing as Part of Civic Culture

…in the back room.” Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language. << Previous –…

Brass City/Grass Roots: Struggles and Decline

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Brass City/Grass Roots: Remnants and Revivals

…re-greening of Waterbury? Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language. << Previous – Home…

The “Welcoming Beacon” of Sheffield Island Lighthouse

…Places in 1989. Available via ferry service, thousands of people visit Sheffield Island and its lighthouse every year. The Norwalk Seaport Association installed a solar-powered, non-navigational light in 2011, prompting…

Willimantic’s American Thread Plant–A Multinational Corporate Takeover

…[spool cotton] thread” and grew rapidly through the Civil War era and after. By the 1880s, it comprised four large granite mills, employed a thousand workers, innovatively installed electric lights,…

Discovering the Mysterious Identity of the “Kent Limner”

…repressive pretense toward folk art and the legal and societal suppression of women’s property rights, these brilliant portraits are now in their right and justified place—well installed in the annals…

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

…in some northern states, excluded from most occupations, and subjected to racist threats and even mob attacks. During this time, the Connecticut Constitution of 1818, for instance, limited voting rights…

Bigelow Tea–A Connecticut Tea Party

…Connecticut Tea Party” in Connecticut Explored magazine. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

An Orderly & Decent Government: A Clash of Cultures, 1888-1905

In the last decades of the 19th century, Connecticut was transformed by a massive flood of immigrants fleeing the political and economic instability of Europe in search of a better…

Up from the Ashes: Fire at the Meriden Britannia Company – Today in History: July 16

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

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

…1991 that officials decided to install the sculpture, popularly known as Pickles and Palm Trees, on the corner of Capitol Avenue and Broad Street, near the Connecticut State Armory. Demeter,…

Battling Bat Battalino: One of Hartford’s Heroes

…instances of outdated content or language. Medal and certificate given to Battalino for saving the life of Louis Casconi. The certificate has images of both Casconi and Battalino. 1930 –…

A Revolution On Two Wheels: Columbia Bicycles

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Colt Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company

…under the company’s new name, the Colt Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company. Colt installed the distinctive onion dome on top of his plant to draw extra attention to his business. Colt…

American Chairs, Made in Connecticut

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Gettysburg Address and Heroic Fathers Bronze Tablets at the State Capitol

…the Daughters of Union Veterans (DUV). Although labeled as installed in March of 1927, this monument was not formally unveiled until April 9th of that year. The second plaque commemorated…

Scandal in the Beecher Family

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Putting History on the Map

…to digitize and catalog its map collection. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hubbell’s Pull-Chain Electrical Light Socket – Today in History: August 11

…was costly to install the separate wires, circuits, and switches required to operate them individually, so people often left lights on even when they were not needed. Hubbell’s solution provided…

Yankee Ingenuity: Curtis Veeder, a Mechanical Genius and Shrewd Businessman

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Newsies Strike Back

…eventual end of the newsies was signaled when the Hartford Times installed street corner vending machines, charging a nickle for every three-cent newspaper and eliminating the need for newsies altogether….

“Free Bobby, Free Ericka”: The New Haven Black Panther Trials

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Typing History

…appeared on Connecticut History | WNPR News Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

A Different Look at the Amistad Trial: The Teenager Who Helped Save the Mende Captives

…critical role in earning their eventual freedom. At the time, Reverend Gibbs admitted: “My knowledge of the Mende language I have acquired from James Covey in first instance, in the…

An Orderly & Decent Government: A Society in Ferment, 1819-1865

…the legislative agenda. The state’s common schools, victims of decades of neglect, stagnated, and parents sought the haven of private education for their children. Increasing instances of poverty, crime and…

Evelyn Beatrice Longman Commemorates the Working Class

…established in her field. Besides a variety of local installations (many of which were full of military symbolism, including Spirit of Victory, a Spanish-American War memorial in Bushnell Park), Longman’s…

The “Red Scare” in Connecticut

…the First World War (ironically, some of those arrested were war veterans themselves). Postmaster General Albert Burleson attempted to clarify the laws’ purpose: “For instance, papers may not say that…

Emile Gauvreau and the Era of Tabloid Journalism

…staff to do likewise. In one instance, Gauvreau had a Courant reporter work undercover at a veteran’s hospital and write about conditions there from an inside perspective. By 1924, the…

Understanding the Environmental Effects of Industry by Examining the Starr Mill

…Starr Mill site, the company constructed an additional mill, Mill B, as well as four wood-framed tenements in 1870. Rusco then installed a Leffel turbine (a type of water-powered turbine)…

J. Frederick Kelly: Constructing Connecticut’s Architectural History

…a plaque at the historic Meeting House in Lebanon, in memory of Kelly and the original architect of the church, Col. John Trumbull. This particular instance of commemoration served as…

Child Labor in Connecticut

…greed and calling for further reform, the Hartford Courant reflected, “So long as Georgia, for instance, allowed child labor, it would not do for Alabama to pass restrictive laws which…

Edwin Land Inventor of the Polaroid Born – Today in History: May 7

On May 7, 1909, Edwin Herbert Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut. A scientist and inventor, Land is known best for his development of instant…

Josiah Willard Gibbs’s Impact on Modern Science

…with the help of German physicist Walther Nernst, a bronze bas-relief memorial, designed by sculptor Lee Lavrie, was installed in the Sloane Physics Laboratory at Yale to honor Gibbs’s life…

Financing a Free Puerto Rico: The Great Wells Fargo Heist of 1983

…the 1970s and 1980s, Los Macheteros attacked the United States government, military, and corporate installations, chiefly in Puerto Rico. While many people regarded them as terrorists, others saw them as…

Joel T. Case and the Victorianization of Bristol’s Federal Hill

…engine. In the 1890s, he installed one of his engines in a carriage and actually took it on a successful road test. Business during the 1880s and 1890s was either…

Early Church Bell Founders

…Bell Company of East Hampton (a town where many firms specialized in small bells) was the only firm in that area to cast church bells. It made one installed in…

Hartford’s Challenge to “The Birth of a Nation”

…every level. It was around this time that those in positions of authority proposed censorship of The Birth of a Nation. In one such instance, The Hartford Americanization Committee asked…

Horror on the Housatonic: The Railroad Disaster of August 1865

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Great River: Connecticut’s Main Stream

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

New Connecticut on Lake Erie: Connecticut’s Western Reserve

…rights reserved. This article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated…

Six Cities Respond to 1902 Waterbury Fire – Who Knew?

…River Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 4, Fall 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or…

Laboring in the Shade

…) Vol. 9/ No. 3, Summer 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

From the State Historian: Discovering the Explorer Hiram Bingham III

…Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 1, WINTER 2011/2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Site Lines: Fortresses of Faith, Agents of Change

…Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 3, SUMMER 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Surveying Connecticut’s Borders

…River Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 2, SPRING 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or…

Bethany: Small-town Perseverance in the Face of Growing Industrialization

…the peace and serenity of the country, along with the conveniences of modern living. The paving of roads, the installation of traffic lights, and the creation of new town offices,…

A Busy Airfield in Bethany

…Aeronautics Authority approved the resumption of operations in Bethany. Owner Walter Reynolds, who purchased the airport from Harris Whittemore Jr., installed individual T-shaped hangars for each of the airplanes housed…

Prudence Punderson, Ordinary Woman, Extraordinary Artist: Needlework in Connecticut

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Wearing of the Green: 19th-century Prints of Irish Subjects by Hartford’s Kellogg Brothers

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Open and Fortified Country of the Human Heart: A Victorian Lady’s View of Love

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Steamboat New England: “The shock was dreadful” – Today in History: October 8

…Explored (formerly Hog River Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 4, Fall 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of…

Misread Signal Leads to Deadly South Norwalk Train Wreck – Who Knew?

…Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 4, Fall 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hartford Circus Fire: “The Tent’s on Fire!” – Who Knew?

…Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 4, Fall 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Site Lines: Silas Deane

…River Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 1, WINTER 2011/2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or…

Hurricanes Connie & Diane Deliver Double Hit – Who Knew?

…Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 4, Fall 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Road Signs of the Air

…River Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 2, SPRING 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or…

Fire and Ice: A Very Bad Week in 1914

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Unsteady Meaning of “The Land of Steady Habits”

…Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 4, Fall 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Marking Time: Early Connecticut Innovations Transform Clock Making

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Site Lines: Monuments to Connecticut’s Lost County Government

…Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 4, FALL 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Peace Movement in Litchfield

…months of the Civil War. Julie Frey Leone, curator of collections at the Litchfield Historical Society, helped create The Ledger, an on-line, searchable database of the students who attended the…

The Most Famous American in the World

…Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 3, SUMMER 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Connecticut’s Sleepy Hollow

…Explored (formerly Hog River Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 4, FALL 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of…

Turnpikes and Transportation in Sharon

…straightening dangerous curves, installing occasional passing lanes, and replacing deteriorated bridges. In addition, Sharon maintains many miles of unpaved roads. A version of this article originally appeared on the Sharon…

Nathaniel Lyon: Colorful Commander from Connecticut

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Ebenezer Bassett’s Historic Journey

…) Vol. 10/ No. 1, WINTER 2011/2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Luna Park: A 20th-century Story of Amusement and Morality

…Hartford monitored the activities of the park closely. They made note of any illegal instances of dancing, pool playing, roller skating, or gambling they witnessed. In 1910, despite limited success…

How Real Estate Practices Influenced the Hartford Region’s Demographic Makeup

…of segregation based on skin color. For instance, a former member of the town council in Windsor reported that although a house in his neighborhood went on the market several…

Weaving the Cultural Fabric of Beacon Falls

…Under the supervision of John Wolfe, the Beacon Falls agent of the Hartford-based Home Woolen Company, the enterprise upgraded its facilities and installed new machinery. By the following year, Home…

Papier-Mache Clocks – Who Knew?

…In 1940 they had installed machinery that produced clock cases made from molded papier-mâché. At that time, most of Connecticut’s clockmakers still used metal cases; so, when restrictions were placed…

Roger Tory Peterson Dies – Today in History: July 28

…to Birds, Including All Species Found in Eastern North America was published and became an instant success. Written for the amateur birder, the book offered simple illustrations and grouped the…

The Education of Ella Grasso

…Vol. 2/ No. 4 Aug/Sept/Oct 2004. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language.  …

The Early Years of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company

…successful ventures in American aviation industry. Like many such instances, Rentschler’s success resulted from a unique combination of technical know-how, social relationships, and happenstance. The pivotal chance circumstance in Rentschler’s…

Mystic-built USS Galena Part of Plan to Strengthen Union Navy

…for her engine installation and sailing rig fitting. Then the Galena went on to the New York Navy Yard where she received her final iron plating and her commission for…

Notorious New-Gate Prison

…colony purchased the remaining years of a mining lease from Captain James Holmes of Salisbury and installed an iron gate near the surface of the 25-foot shaft. New-Gate was ready…

Sylvester Poli, Negotiating Cultural Politics in an Age of Immigration

…for instance, that Yale graduate and eugenicist Madison Grant published his Passing of the Great Race in 1916, around the time that Poli and other recent immigrants rose to power….

Thomas Hall’s Electric Block Railroad Signal – Today in History: June 7

…Stamford, improved the signaling system in 1867 when installing several of them on the New York & Harlem Railroad. However, Hall didn’t receive his patent, No. 103,875, until 1870. The…

Steaming Across the Atlantic

…across the Atlantic Ocean. Rogers oversaw the installation of the ship’s engine while he recruited his brother-in-law, Stevens Rogers, to oversee the construction of the ship’s hull and rigging and…

World War I Flying Ace Raoul Lufbery

…on a garden fence and was killed instantly. The following day, a bevy of high-ranking French and American officers attended his funeral. His burial merited full military honors and received…

Artist Roger Tory Peterson, a Champion for the Natural World

…a northern flicker, apparently tired from migration. “I poked it with my finger; instantly, this inert thing jerked its head around, looked at me wildly, then took off in a…

John Ledyard, Connecticut’s Most Famous Traveler

…of Captain Cook’s Last Voyage to the Pacific Ocean by John Ledyard Ledyard was quick to grasp the similarities of language and customs between far-flung groups of people. For instance,…

Waste Not, Want Not: The Colonial Era Midden

…Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 4, Fall 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Atheneum Joins War Effort – Who Knew?

…practice of art had been recommended as a particularly useful defense against “community ‘war jitters,’ adult instability, juvenile delinquency and destruction of folk cultures in a world unsettled by war.”…

A Volcanic Giant Sleeps in Hamden

…halt plans for an oil pipeline across Sleeping Giant and defeated proposals for the installment of nearby television and telephone antennas. Today, Sleeping Giant State Park affords visitors in an…

The British Raid on Essex

…Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 3, SUMMER 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Lebanon Grange Followed a Different Tune than National Movement

…social opportunities that membership afforded. Four generations of the Taylor family; May Kimball Taylor seated in rocker, 1938 – Lebanon Historical Society For instance, meeting minutes reveal that music played…

The War Connecticut Hated

…) Vol. 10/ No. 3, Summer 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Fame and Infamy for the Hulls of Derby

…Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 3 Summer 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Miss James, First Woman Pharmacist in CT Right in Old Saybrook

…Woodworking Company of Hartford, and installed in 1925. The popular soda fountain still has the Vermont granite counter and heart-shaped metal chairs and tables. For her 80th birthday in January…

Connecticut’s Black Civil War Regiment

…Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 2, Spring 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

A Godmother to Ravensbrück Survivors

…Journal) Vol. 10/ No. 1, WINTER 2011/2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Collections: Battle Flags

…Explored (formerly Hog River Journal) Vol. 9/ No. 2, SPRING 2011. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of…

Bradley Airport’s Military Origins

…federal government for a period of 25 years. Originally named the Windsor Locks Army Air Base, the military installation was up and running by the summer of 1941. Lieutenant Eugene…

From the State Historian: The Map That Wasn’t a Map

…) Vol. 10/ No. 2, Spring 2012. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Cash Crop: L.B. Haas & Co. and the History of Tobacco in Connecticut

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Park Movement in Hartford

…and described. Researchers use the collection in a variety of ways to explore the capital city’s history. For instance, one might investigate the 190 varieties of roses planted in 1903…

Liberian Independence Day

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Goshen’s Animal Pound

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hartford’s Industrial Day – Today in History: October 7

…Connector Vol. 10/ No. 4, OCTOBER 2008. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Lobsters and Oysters and Clams: A Short History of Seafood in Connecticut

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Calder in Connecticut: World-Famous Artist Called Roxbury Home

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The White Mountain Express Derails in Greenwich

…Despite the instability of the wrecked cars, Officer James Nedley, later police chief; Benjamin F. Warford; Daniel Lent; and Samuel A. Mills were among the people who rushed to the…

The “Perfect Handle” Hatchet – Who Knew?

…originally appeared in The Connector, July 2008. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

A Woman Who Developed Tolerance: Leila T. Alexander

…Connector Vol. 4/ No. 1, January 2002. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Greenwich Avenue Fires of 1908 and 1936 Sparked Upgrades to Town’s Emergency Services

…departments within the town, the appointment of a 15-man force to be on duty at all times in the Central Fire Station, installation of an automatic fire alarm system to…

The Free Consent of the People: Thomas Hooker and the Fundamental Orders

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

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

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

The Colvocoresses Oak

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

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

…restored fountains, installed an irrigation system, repaired garden walls, and replanted much of the garden’s flowers and shrubs in the design of the original landscape. Today, in addition to offering…

Gallows Lane and the Execution of Barnett Davenport

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Augustus Washington (1820 – 1875): African American Daguerreotypist

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Anson Dickinson: Milton’s Painter of Portrait Miniatures

…author of Hidden History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated…

Alain and May White Memorial Boulder

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

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

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America’s Most Devastating Conflict: King Philip’s War

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Did You Know a Connecticut Governor Was a US Spy?

…The Connector Vol. 11/No. 2, April 2009. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Women Win the Right to Vote

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Hidden Nearby: Bethlehem’s Joseph Bellamy Monument

…History of Litchfield County (History Press, 2014). Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Bradley Field Enters the Jet Age

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Improving Sea Transportation: Guilford Goes About it the Light Way

…fog whistle replaced the island’s fog bell, followed by the installation of a compressed air siren in 1902. By then, the lighthouse keeper lived in an expanded dwelling built in…

This Won’t Hurt a Bit! A Brief History of Anesthesia

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Defending Connecticut: Fortifying New London Against the British in 1812

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Elizabeth Park’s Rose Garden: June is Busting Out All Over

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America’s First Woman Governor: Ella Grasso, 1919-1981

…article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Nancy Toney’s Lifetime in Slavery

…Journal) Vol. 11/ No. 1, WINTER 2012/2013. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Barkhamsted Reservoir Construction Washes Away a Community

…for the Barkhamsted Reservoir called for a capacity of 30 billion gallons—harvested from the east branch of the Farmington River. The plans also required the installation of 8 miles of…

From the State Historian: Connecticut’s Slow Steps Toward Emancipation

…Journal) Vol. 11/ No. 1, WINTER 2012/2013. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Faith Trumbull: The Artist Was a Young Girl

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Diamonds of the Past: Hartford’s Lost Ball Parks

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The First Battle of Bull Run: Connecticut Troops Stand Firm When the Battle Turns Against Them

…rights reserved. This article originally appeared on Your Public Media. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated…

Women and Defense: World War II on the Connecticut Home Front

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Hurricane of 1938: Connecticut’s Worst Disaster

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A Sign of the Times Blends Masonic and Patriotic Imagery

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Helen Keller in Connecticut: The Last Years of a Legendary Crusader

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The “Fancy Chair” Craze of the 1800s: Lambert Hitchcock and the Story of the Hitchcock Chair

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A Patriotic Legacy in Print

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Much Good Might be Accomplished: Catharine Esther Beecher and the Pursuit of Domestic Economy

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The Great Remedy: Picturing the Emancipation Proclamation

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Connecticut’s “The Legend of the Charter Oak”

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Sending Season’s Greetings: Christmas Cards in Connecticut

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Washington Didn’t Only Sleep Here: George Washington at Wethersfield’s Webb House

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Picture This: Seeing Connecticut in 3-D

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A Night to Remember: When the Steamboat Took on the Railroad—and Lost

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The Answer Is Risom!

…Journal) Vol. 8/ No. 1, Winter 2009/2010. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

Philip Johnson in His Own Words

…Journal) Vol. 8/ No. 1, Winter 2009/2010. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

“A Noble and Precious Life”: Edgar M. Woodford, Civil Engineer, Abolitionist, and Soldier

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Winning the Great War without Some Books

…Connector Vol. 1/ No. 3, November 1999. Note: ConnecticutHistory.org does not edit content originally published on another platform and therefore does not update any instances of outdated content or language….

A Pioneering Connecticut Firearm

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The Civil War Commences: Connecticut’s Involvement in the Civil War

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Connecticut Valley Style: Eliphalet Chapin Inspires a Tradition of Craft

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Gothic Connecticut

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Woodstock’s Roseland Cottage

…and additional bedrooms for live-in staff. In the 1880s, the Bowens redecorated the home’s interior, replacing fireplace tiles, adding stained glass in the parlor windows, and installing new carpets and…