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Armsmear, Wethersfield Avenue, Hartford

Elizabeth Jarvis Colt Born – Today in History: October 5

October 5, 2020 • Samuel Colt, Hartford, Women

On October 5, 1826, Elizabeth Jarvis was born in Hartford.

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Smoke billows from Hartford Hospital

The 1961 Hartford Hospital Fire

On December 8, 1961, the casual disposal of a cigarette spread raging flames and deadly smoke through Hartford Hospital.

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The Ulysses S. Grant Memorial Tablet

The Connecticut Division of the Sons of Veterans, USA, commissioned a memorial tablet to Ulysses S. Grant who led Union forces during the Civil War.

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Pamphlet, 1692

Accidental Shooting Leads to Witchcraft Conviction – Today in History: October 3

October 3, 2020 • Crime and Punishment, Law, Windsor, Women

On October 3, 1651, Henry Stiles of Windsor was killed when the gun of Thomas Allyn, also of Windsor, accidentally discharged during a militia exercise.

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Capital Punishment in Connecticut: Changing Views

Connecticut’s struggles with the issue of capital punishment date back…

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Pierre Eugene Du Simetière, Silas Deane. Member of Congress

The Rise and Fall of Silas Deane, American Patriot

Esteemed by his fellow patriots as a savvy diplomat who helped cement a strategic alliance with France during the American Revolution, Deane spent his final years under a cloud of suspicion.

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Amusement Park Rides, Danbury Fair

The Danbury Fair, 1869-1981

For almost a century the Danbury Fair thrilled people from near and far. First showcased for its agricultural achievements, it later hosted a number of popular attractions including rides, races, and entertainment.

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Indian Hill Cemetery and the Vernacular of the Times

Indian Hill Cemetery’s founders promoted their property as a place to find peace, both with the natural environment and with the area’s indigenous past.

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President Richard Nixon visits Hartford

The 42-Day Income Tax

In 1971, to eliminate the state’s budget deficit, Connecticut legislators approved a tax on income. Just forty-two days later, they repealed it, instead voting to increase the state’s sales tax.

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Rescue Scene, Hurricane, September 1938

The Great Hurricane of 1938 – Today in History: September 21

September 21, 2020 • Disaster, Greenwich, Weather

The great hurricane of 1938, which hit on September 21, was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869.

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Red Cross Emergency Ambulance Station

The Spanish Influenza Pandemic of 1918

For those who lived through the 1918 flu, life was never same. John Delano of New Haven recalled, “The neighborhood changed. People changed. Everything changed.”

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Connecticut’s Chickamauga Tree: An Investigation

The Connecticut State Capitol displays part of a tree with a cannonball lodged in it. While it is believed to be a remnant of the battle at Chickamauga Creek during the Civil War, evidence exists suggesting the artifact may have been fabricated for the purpose of commercial sale.

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Climax Fuse Company, 1899

Avon Industry: From Underground to Outerspace

The origins of the Climax Fuse Company date back to 1852 in Avon, Connecticut.

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Battle Flag Parade, Hartford, Connecticut, September 17, 1879

A Day of Celebration – Today in History: September 17

September 17, 1879 was a day of celebration in the City of Hartford when more than 100,000 people came to the city to celebrate Battle Flag Day.

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Enoch Smith Woods, Colonel Thomas Knowlton

Thomas Knowlton: A Small Town’s National Hero

Thomas Knowlton is arguably Ashford’s most widely recognized war hero.

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Red Cross Headquarters, Hurricane of 1944

The Great Atlantic Hurricane Hits Connecticut

September 14, 2020 • Disaster

Applying lessons learned from the Hurricane of 1938, Connecticut made extensive preparations before the arrival of a similar storm in 1944.

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Second Congregational Church, Greenwich

Bucket Brigade to the Rescue – Today in History: September 12

September 12, 2020 • Disaster, Greenwich

On September 12, 1873, the bell in the Episcopal Church rang the cry—Mr. Bailey’s carriage house, located in the center of town, was on fire.

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Combate de Cavite, 10 de Mayo 1898

The Colvocoresses Oak

September 11, 2020 • Environment, Litchfield, War and Defense

Litchfield remembers the Spanish-American War’s Battle of Manila Bay.

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The Wallingford Oneida Community

In the late 1800s, Wallingford was home to a small branch of the Oneida Community.

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Combat between the Frigate Constitution and the British Frigate Guerriere

A Patriotic Legacy in Print

September 10, 2020 • Arts, War and Defense, War of 1812

Two hundred years ago, on September 10, 1813, the US captured six vessels from the British Royal Navy, the most powerful maritime force in the world.

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Sol Lewitt, Certificate of Ownership and Diagram Wall Drawing #614

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

September 9, 2020 • Chester, Arts, Hartford

Sol LeWitt, whose work includes drawings and sculptures, is identified with the late 20th century Minimalist and Conceptual art movements.

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Aerial view of Connecticut State Prison

Wethersfield Prison Blues

September 8, 2020 • Crime and Punishment, Law, Wethersfield

In September 1827, the newly constructed Connecticut State Prison in Wethersfield opened its doors to 81 inmates once housed at Newgate Prison.

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Fort Griswold, 1781

Fort Griswold Attacked – Today in History: September 6

On September 6, 1781, British forces overtook Fort Griswold and killed many of the Patriots who had surrendered.

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General Nathaniel Lyon

From the State Historian: The Final Journey of Nathaniel Lyon

The first Union general to die in the Civil War, this soldier from Eastford received national attention as mourners gathered to pay tribute.

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Prudence Crandall

State Heroine Prudence Crandall

Prudence Crandall was born in 1803 in Hopkinton, Rhode Island, the daughter of Quaker parents.

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Hartford’s Les Payne, Trailblazing Journalist

September 2, 2020 • Literature, Hartford, Social Movements

Les Payne grew up in Hartford and became one of the best-known African-American journalists in the United States.

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Horse race, Goshen Fair, 1911

Goshen Fairs Well with Agricultural Enthusiasts

In the mid-1980s, members of the Connecticut State Grange awarded Goshen the Connecticut Agricultural Fair.

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The southeast block of West Street, Litchfield as it looked in the Civil War era, 1867

The Peace Movement in Litchfield

While the peace movement in Litchfield was short-lived, it provides a reminder of the disparity in public opinion during the first few turbulent months of the Civil War.

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Poli's Palace Theatre, Waterbury

Sylvester Poli, Negotiating Cultural Politics in an Age of Immigration

This Italian-born businessman and New England theater magnate also helped the working poor in New Haven’s immigrant communities at the turn of the 20th century.

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Silkworms, Cheney Brothers, Manchester

Connecticut’s Mulberry Craze

Connecticut, especially Windham and Tolland Counties, was the epicenter of US raw-silk production in the mid-19th century.

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Halladay’s Revolutionary Windmill – Today in History: August 29

On August 29, 1854, Daniel Halladay a machinist, inventor, and businessman patented the first commercially viable windmill—Halladay’s Self-Governing Windmill.

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Horses crossing the finish line at Charter Oak Park

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

The day was cool and 10,000 spectators crowded the stands at Charter Oak Park to see a come-from-behind victory as Alcryon left the other trotters in the dust.

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Nicholas Grillo and his Thornless Rose

Nicholas Grillo was a self-made floriculturist who earned international acclaim for developing the world’s first thornless hybrid tea rose.

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Honiss Oyster House, Hartford

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

Why tasty Crassostrea virginica deserves its honored title as state shellfish.

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Caleb Brewster and the Culper Spy Ring

Caleb Brewster used his knowledge of Long Island Sound to serve as a member of the Culper Spy Ring during the Revolutionary War.

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Steam tugboat J. W. Coultston, ca.1890s

The Great River: Connecticut’s Main Stream

Highway. Barrier. Resource. Sewer. Over the centuries each of these names has been used to describe one of the defining feature’s of the state’s landscape.

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Trinity College, Hartford, CT

Trinity College – Scholarship and Community Engagement

August 23, 2020 • Education, Hartford

Founded in 1823, Trinity College has evolved alongside the city of Hartford for nearly 200 years.

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Portland Passenger Bridge, ca. 1906

The Longest Highway Drawbridge – Who Knew?

August 22, 2020 • Middletown, Portland, Who Knew?

In 1896, when the Middletown and Portland Bridge over the Connecticut River opened, it was the longest highway drawbridge in the world.

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Pier at Savin Rock, West Haven, 1905

Savin Rock Park: “Connecticut’s Coney Island”

Savin Rock Park was a seaside resort constructed in the late 19th century in the modern-day town of West Haven.

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United States Army dirigible with crowd of onlookers

Airborne Pioneers: Connecticut Takes Flight

Daring flights and first-of-a-kind inventions mark the state’s 200-plus-year history of taking to the skies.

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Torrington Recovers after the Flood of ‘55

In August of 1955, two hurricanes that moved through Connecticut caused a devastating flood of the Naugatuck River.

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Eighteen-hundred-and-froze-to-death: 1816, The Year Without a Summer

Sunspots and volcanic eruptions led to cooler than normal temperatures in the summer of 1816.

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Frame for Indian round house

Living Rituals: Mohegan Wigwam Festival

The Wigwam festival is a modern version of the ancient Mohegan Thanksgiving for the Corn Harvest, or Green Corn Festival.

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Work on foundation of the Bulkeley Bridge

The Sand Hogs Set the Foundation for the Bulkeley Bridge

August 15, 2020 • Social Movements, Transportation, Work

Toiling in dangerous conditions beneath the Connecticut River’s surface for only $2.50 a day, African American workers dug the foundation for the Bulkeley Bridge.

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Collision on the Housatonic Railroad near Bridgeport

Horror on the Housatonic: The Railroad Disaster of August 1865

August 14, 2020 • Disaster, Transportation

Despite measures to ensure the safe operation of railroad trains traveling in opposite directions on single-track lines, things sometimes went wrong—with deadly results.

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Discovery of mastodon bones on the farm of Ms. Theodate Riddle

Mastodon Bones Unearthed – Today in History: August 13

On August 13, 1913, workmen unearthed the skeleton of a mastodon, in Farmington, while digging a trench on Alfred A. Pope’s farm and country estate, Hill-Stead.

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Attack on the Narragansett fort

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

The ramifications of this bloody conflict echoed across the centuries.

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Flood damage to railroad tracks, Derby, 1955

Hurricanes Connie & Diane Deliver Double Hit – Who Knew?

Hurricanes Connie and Diane, which both struck in August 1955, exceeded the combined property damage of the Flood of 1936 and Hurricane of 1938.

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Intertwining Family Businesses

Emory Johnson, a farmer from Chatham, Connecticut, moved to East Haddam and operated one of the area’s most successful businesses of the late 19th century.

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Contagious Ward, Greenwich General Hospital, 1916

Health Department Fights Unseen Enemies During World War I

How Greenwich faced the menace of two highly contagious and potentially deadly diseases: polio and Spanish Influenza.

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