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Setting the Table in Historic Style: Connecticut Views on Staffordshire China
Engravings of Hartford, Daniel Wadsworth’s estate, the New Haven Green, and other sites around the state adorned British chinaware made for the US market.
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Boston Post Road Carved out Three Travel Routes through State
The forerunners of Connecticut’s three interstate highways began as rugged postal routes in the 1600s.
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Video: 1938 Thanksgiving Proclamation
Connecticut Governor Wilbur L. Cross reading his 1938 Thanksgiving Proclamation to his cabinet. This was the first sound film ever made featuring a Governor of Connecticut.
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The First University of Connecticut Trustees
When the University of Connecticut started life as the Storrs Agricultural School in 1881, Governor Hobart Bigelow appointed its first eight trustees—all with agricultural backgrounds.
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Emile Gauvreau and the Era of Tabloid Journalism
Emile Gauvreau, former managing editor of the Hartford Courant, became a pioneer in the rise of tabloid journalism.
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Give Thanks for American Cooking
Widely accepted as the first cookbook written by an American,…
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Daniel Curtiss: The Life of a 19th-Century Self-Made Man
Daniel Curtiss was the epitome of the “self-made man” during…
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Connecticut’s Oldest Fire Department
The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department is the oldest continually operated…
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New London’s Indian Mariners
In an era of dispossession and diminishing autonomy on land, Native American mariners learned to use Anglo-American structures and institutions to establish a degree of power and personal freedom for themselves.
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The Land of Nod Farm, East Canaan, Connecticut
The Land of Nod farm was an important agricultural and residential resource for both the people of Canaan and the workers at the Beckley furnace.
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Eighteen Years in the Making: Connecticut’s 1991 Gay Rights Law
Connecticut’s 1991 “gay-rights law” was one of the state’s first LGBTQ+ civil rights laws and prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment, and credit.
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Seymour was Chusetown – Who Knew?
The town of Seymour was originally named Chuseville, before taking the name Humphreysville (after David Humphreys). It incorporated as Seymour in 1850.
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Foot Ball Match: Harvard vs. Yale – Today in History: November 13
On November 13, 1875, Yale and Harvard wore the first…
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Connecticut Residents Did Not Let Veterans Day “Go Commercial.”
Despite passage of the federal Uniform Holiday Bill in 1968, Connecticut residents were largely reluctant to move Veterans Day observances from November 11.
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Alfred Howe Terry Born in Hartford – Today in History: November 10
On November 10, 1827 Alfred Howe Terry was born in…
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Taking on the State: Griswold v. Connecticut
In the 1960s, Hartford native Estelle Griswold challenged Connecticut’s restrictive birth control law. Her argument for the right to privacy made it all the way to the Supreme Court.
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Samuel Foot: A Trader Turned Governor
Samuel Foot was a West India trader from Cheshire, Connecticut,…
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The Articles of Confederation: America’s First Constitution
The Articles of Confederation loosely served as the nation’s first formal governing document, until ultimately being replaced by the US Constitution.
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The “Red Scare” in Connecticut
The Palmer Raids, launched in Connecticut in 1919, were part of the paranoia known as the “Red Scare” that resulted in numerous civil rights violations committed by law enforcement officials.
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Drawing (on) the Connecticut Landscape: Benjamin Hutchins Coe Teaches Americans the Democratic Art
Benjamin Hutchins Coe, born in Hartford, helped teach Americans how to draw through the publication of numerous art manuals, many of which focused on Connecticut-inspired landscapes.
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Amy Johnson: A Mohegan Woman Who Survived Colonialism
Amy Johnson was a Mohegan woman who resisted living the life European settlers wanted her to live.
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When Elections in Hartford Were a Piece of Cake
Unlike today, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Election Day met with great celebration.
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New Haven’s Long Wharf
From the 17th through the 19th centuries, the economic prosperity of New Haven significantly depended upon Long Wharf.
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How the Wobblies Won Free Speech
Denied the right to free assembly in public spaces, Connecticut workers joined in a larger national movement of civil disobedience.
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Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut – Today in History: November 1
On November 1, 1961, Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee…
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Past Hallowe’en Pranks Bemused Some and Frustrated Others
Jack o’ lanterns, cider, masquerades, witches, and ghosts—many of the…
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The White Plague: Progressive-Era Tuberculosis Treatments in Connecticut
Tuberculosis was a leading cause of death in the early 20th century. Treatments for included everything from exposure to extremes in temperature to regimens involving access to the outdoors.
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The Oldest Continuously Published Newspaper – Today in History: October 29
On October 29, 1764, New Haven printer Thomas Green established…
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West Indians in Hartford
A significant wave of immigration to the United States from the West Indies began in the 1940s, spurred by labor shortages during World War II.
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Yung Wing’s Dream: The Chinese Educational Mission, 1872-1881
In all, 120 Chinese students came to live and study in New England. When they returned home, they served as diplomats, engineers, naval officers, physicians, educators, administrators, and magistrates.
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Caleb Brewster: A Patriot Against Freedom
Caleb Brewster—Fairfield, Connecticut’s resident member of the Culper Spy Ring during the Revolutionary War—was also an active participant in the African Slave Trade.
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Yale University Art Gallery – Today in History: October 25
On October 25, 1832, the Trumbull Gallery at Yale opened…
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A Memorial to General Hawley at the State Capitol
Although not a native of Connecticut, one would be hard pressed to find a man more committed to the people of Connecticut than Joseph Roswell Hawley. He became Brigadier General of the 1st Connecticut Infantry during the Civil War and served the state as both a senator and as Connecticut’s 42nd governor. Within months of his death, the Connecticut legislature authorized construction of a memorial in his honor.
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Old Saybrook Faces Down Threats to Its Water Supply
The town of Old Saybrook lies at the mouth of…
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Notorious New-Gate Prison
A failed Simsbury copper mine is now a national historic landmark in East Granby.
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The Art of Life and Death in Colonial Bolton
A number of prominent artists called Bolton home in the…
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A Celebrated Artist and a Meaningful Space – Today in History: October 20
The Danbury Museum & Historical Society’s Huntington Hall honors the memory of a famed US sculptor.
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A Revolutionary Book Designer: Bruce Rogers of New Fairfield
Bruce Rogers was a book designer who settled in New Fairfield. Considered one of the great typographers of his time, his masterpiece was the 1936 Oxford Lectern Bible.
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Late 19th-Century Immigration in Connecticut
Immigration to Connecticut in the second half of the 19th…
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Goshen’s Asaph Hall Becomes an Astronomical Success
Asaph Hall was a world-famous astronomer and mathematician from Goshen….
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Byram River Flood – Today in History: October 15
A few minutes before 11:00 pm on October 15, 1955,…
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The Storied History behind Connecticut’s Nicknames
Though Connecticut’s official nickname is the “Constitution State,” it has been known by many names throughout the centuries.
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Video – The Hindenburg Flies Over Hartford
This video, taken in October of 1936, shows the Hindenburg sailing over Hartford, a short seven months before its destruction.
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New Haven Gives the Lollipop its Name – Today in History: October 13
On October 13, 1931, the name “Lolly Pop” was officially…
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Reckoning with the Dutch: the Treaty of Hartford, 1650
Hartford place names, such as Dutch Point, Huyshope Avenue, and Adriaen’s Landing, are reminders of a time when Connecticut was part of New Netherlands.
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Timothy Dwight Provides Religious, Military, and Educational Services for a Young Country
Timothy Dwight was an influential preacher, poet, and educator who served as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War and later as the president of Yale College.
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Calder’s Stegosaurus Dedicated – Today in History: October 10
On October 10, 1973, Alexander Calder’s sculpture, Stegosaurus, was dedicated…
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