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The Amos Bull House and Sterling Opera House: The First Connecticut Listings on the National Register of Historic Places – Who Knew?
The Amos Bull House in Hartford and the Sterling Opera House in Derby are tied for Connecticut’s first listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Derby Day on the Housatonic
A rowing event on Lake Housatonic, “Derby Day,” was so popular among Yale students that it drew upwards of thirty to fifty thousand spectators.
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Connecticut Discovered Lyme Disease – Who Knew?
The discovery of Lyme disease, and its transmission through ticks, got its start around Lyme, Connecticut in 1975.
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Connecticut’s First Roman Catholic Church
Hartford’s Holy Trinity Church became the first Roman Catholic church in Connecticut in 1829 and served the community for over 20 years.
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Connecticut and the Armenian Genocide
The Armenian genocide during the early 20th century had a profound impact on Armenian communities and their descendants in Connecticut.
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Lillian Hoban: Beloved Illustrator of “I Can Read” Books
Lillian Hoban contributed her talents to nearly one hundred books, securing herself a place as one of the country’s best-loved authors and illustrators.
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James Merrill: Connecticut’s First Poet Laureate
As one of the leading American poets of the 20th century and Connecticut’s first poet laureate, James Merrill lived in Stonington for four decades.
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Banner Lodge: A Vacation Playground for an Excluded Population
From the 1930s to the 1970s, Banner Lodge was one of the most popular vacation destinations in Connecticut and actively welcomed a Jewish clientele.
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The 29th First to Enter Confederate Capital When It Surrenders – Today in History: April 3
On the morning of April 3, 1865, the 29th (Colored)…
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Fuller Brush Tower Collapses – Today in History: March 31
On March 31, 1923, a 56,000-gallon water tank dropped through 4 concrete floors of the Fuller Brush Company Tower.
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Benjamin Spock: Raising the World’s Children
Pediatrician Benjamin Spock revolutionized childcare in the 20th century before becoming a leading figure in the anti-war movement of the 60s and 70s.
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Polish Tobacco Farmers in the Connecticut River Valley
Many Polish immigrants found work on the tobacco farms in the Connecticut River Valley that specialized in the tobacco used for cigar wrappers.
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Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Best remembered for her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” this Hartford author’s larger legacy is a life dedicated to women’s issues and social reform.
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Bursting of the Staffordville Reservoir – Today in History: March 27
On March 27, 1877, the Staffordville Reservoir Company’s dam burst, flooding the valley for a distance of five miles and causing the loss of two lives.
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Connecticut’s First Female Telephone Operator – Today in History: March 24
On March 24, 1879, Marjorie Gray became Connecticut’s first female telephone operator.
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George Laurence Nelson: Artist of Kent’s Seven Hearths
In addition to his artistic pursuits, George Laurence Nelson lived in Kent, Connecticut, for over half a century and restored the historic Seven Hearths house.
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Lydia Sherman: The Derby Poisoner
Lydia Sherman confessed to killing three husbands and four children, but it is believed that the total number of her victims may be much higher.
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A New Source of Farm Labor Crops Up in Wartime
During times of war, in Connecticut, as in many other states, women became an increasingly important resource in food production.
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Alice Hamilton: The Nation’s Leading Expert on Industrial Diseases
Dr. Alice Hamilton was a leading authority on industrial diseases and the first female faculty member at Harvard before she retired to Hadlyme, Connecticut.
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St. Patrick’s Day – Today in History: March 17
On March 17, 1842, the New Haven Hibernian Provident Society,…
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A Revolution in Horse Power: The Hartford & Wethersfield Horse Railroad Goes Electric
In 1888, Hartford commuters and city-goers zipped down Wethersfield Avenue in a horseless trolley car for the first time.
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The Welcoming Warmth of Kent’s Seven Hearths
For over 272 years, Kent’s Seven Hearths has lived many lives—from trading post to school to artist’s home to historical society.
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Clare Boothe Luce Changed Perceptions about Women in Business and Politics
Clare Boothe Luce became the first woman to represent Connecticut in the US House of Representatives and later became an ambassador to Italy.
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Connecticut’s French Connections
From Huguenots to French Canadian mill workers to modern immigration, Connecticut has always been a place shaped, in part, by a steady French influence.
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The Road to Busytown: Richard Scarry’s Life in Fairfield County
Inspired by Connecticut communities, Richard Scarry invented and illustrated some of the most beloved characters and communities in children’s literature.
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The Trailblazing Bessye Bennett
In 1974, Connecticut finally admitted its first African American female lawyer, Bessye Bennett.
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America’s First Woman Governor: Ella Grasso, 1919-1981
Born to Italian immigrant parents in Windsor Locks, Grasso held state and federal offices at a time when women politicians were rare.
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Food Needed to Win the War Comes from Washington
During World War I, the Town of Washington instituted a number of programs to increase food production and preservation to feed Allied armies and the European people,
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Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Captures the Gilded Age in Norwalk
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion provides a glimpse into the opulence of the Gilded Age when railroad tycoons built summer homes along the New England shoreline.
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The Lyman Allyn Opens – Today in History: March 2
On March 2, 1932, the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, founded by Harriet Upson Allyn in New London, had its grand opening.
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Actress Gwen Reed Best Remembered for Dedication to Childhood Literacy
Gwen Reed was an actress and educational advocate who grew up in Hartford in the early 20th century.
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William Gillette’s Last Performance – Today in History: February 27
On February 27, 1936, William Gillette made his last appearance…
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Race Restrictive Covenants in Property Deeds
“No persons of any race except the white race shall use or occupy any building on any lot… .” Language such as this still appears in Hartford-area housing covenants today.
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The Socially Dynamic Drumlin of Foss Hill
The changing nature of Foss Hill (on the campus of Wesleyan University) tells the story of evolving cultural influences that altered the landscapes of universities across the country.
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Southington Cutlery Company: From Silverware to Hardware
Initially known for table cutlery, the Southington Cutlery Company began operations in a two-story brick factory in downtown Southington in 1867.
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The Sea in their Blood: The Portuguese in New London County
Many Portuguese immigrants came to the US as mariners serving aboard ships, some remained to build new lives and communities in Connecticut.
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Connecticut’s Only US President – Who Knew?
43rd President George W. Bush was born in New Haven at the Grace-New Haven Community Hospital on July 6, 1946.
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Bethany: Small-town Perseverance in the Face of Growing Industrialization
One contribution the town of Bethany makes to historical scholarship comes from a look at its evolution from a parish and agricultural settlement to a thriving residential community.
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Discovering the Mysterious Identity of the “Kent Limner”
It took over a century to solve the mystery of Ammi Phillips’ identity—one of the most prolific folk portraitists in 19th century America.
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James Lindsey Smith Takes the Underground Railroad to Connecticut
James Lindsey Smith was one of many slaves who found freedom through the Underground Railroad network that included many stops in Connecticut.
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The Open and Fortified Country of the Human Heart: A Victorian Lady’s View of Love
A pair of 19th-century prints provides a virtual road map to the human heart, illustrating contemporary male and female attitudes towards courtship and love.
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Two Cornwall Firms Part of Famed Salisbury Iron District
The serenity found in Cornwall’s wooded hillsides and remote location…
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Sarah Boone: First Connecticut Black Woman to Receive Patent
In1892, Sarah Boone of New Haven became the first Black woman in Connecticut to be awarded a patent—for an improvement in the use of an ironing board.
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Alexander Calder and Making Art Political
In addition to his famous works of art, Alexander Calder lent his talents and reputation to support political campaigns in the 1960s and 70s.
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Joel T. Case and the Victorianization of Bristol’s Federal Hill
The Victorian designs of inventor and architect Joel T. Case make substantial contributions to the landscape of the Federal Hill area in Bristol.
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Blizzard Halts Mail Delivery – Today in History: February 7
On February 7, 1978, the US Postal Service was unable…
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Charles Ethan Porter, Portrait of a 19th-Century African American Painter
Charles Ethan Porter was a prolific still life painter in the 19th and early 20th century.
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Dr. Mary B. Moody Challenges Victorian Mores About Women in Medicine
New Haven resident Dr. Mary Moody the first female graduate of the medical school at the University of Buffalo, and the first female member of the American Association of Anatomists.
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Connecticut’s Black Civil War Regiment
“If you win freedom and citizenship, we shall share your freedom and citizenship.” With these words, abolitionist Frederick Douglass reminded African American soldiers from Connecticut that they fought for the hopes of many.
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