On March 17, 1842, the New Haven Hibernian Provident Society, founded in 1841, sponsored the first St. Patrick’s Day Parade held in New Haven.
ReadIn 1888, Hartford commuters and city-goers zipped down Wethersfield Avenue in a horseless trolley car for the first time.
ReadFor over 272 years, Kent’s Seven Hearths has lived many lives—from trading post to school to artist’s home to historical society.
ReadClare Boothe Luce became the first woman to represent Connecticut in the US House of Representatives and later became an ambassador to Italy.
ReadFrom Huguenots to French Canadian mill workers to modern immigration, Connecticut has always been a place shaped, in part, by a steady French influence.
ReadInspired by Connecticut communities, Richard Scarry invented and illustrated some of the most beloved characters and communities in children’s literature.
ReadIn 1974, Connecticut finally admitted its first African American female lawyer, Bessye Bennett.
ReadBorn to Italian immigrant parents in Windsor Locks, Grasso held state and federal offices at a time when women politicians were rare.
ReadThe town of Sharon, like many early communities in the colony, required basic road and bridge infrastructure in order to maintain a thriving community.
ReadDuring 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,
ReadThe Lockwood-Mathews Mansion provides a glimpse into the opulence of the Gilded Age when railroad tycoons built summer homes along the New England shoreline.
ReadOn March 2, 1932, the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, founded by Harriet Upson Allyn in New London, had its grand opening.
ReadGwen Reed was an actress and educational advocate who grew up in Hartford in the early 20th century.
ReadOn February 27, 1936, William Gillette made his last appearance on any Connecticut stage at the Bushnell Memorial auditorium in Hartford.
Read“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.
ReadThe 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.
ReadInitially known for table cutlery, the Southington Cutlery Company began operations in a two-story brick factory in downtown Southington in 1867.
ReadMany Portuguese immigrants came to the US as mariners serving aboard ships, some remained to build new lives and communities in Connecticut.
Read43rd President George W. Bush was born in New Haven at the Grace-New Haven Community Hospital on July 6, 1946.
ReadOne 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.
ReadIt took over a century to solve the mystery of Ammi Phillips’ identity—one of the most prolific folk portraitists in 19th century America.
ReadJames Lindsey Smith was one of many slaves who found freedom through the Underground Railroad network that included many stops in Connecticut.
ReadA pair of 19th-century prints provides a virtual road map to the human heart, illustrating contemporary male and female attitudes towards courtship and love.
ReadAs part of what is today called the Salisbury Iron District, Cornwall manufactured iron that was nationally recognized for its quality and durability.
ReadIn1892, 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.
ReadIn addition to his famous works of art, Alexander Calder lent his talents and reputation to support political campaigns in the 1960s and 70s.
ReadThe Victorian designs of inventor and architect Joel T. Case make substantial contributions to the landscape of the Federal Hill area in Bristol.
ReadOn February 7, 1978, the US Postal Service was unable to deliver mail to many Connecticut residents for the first time in almost 40 years.
ReadCharles Ethan Porter was a prolific still life painter in the 19th and early 20th century.
ReadNew 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.
Read“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.
ReadResources to learn more about Connecticut’s contributions to the narrative of Black history in America.
ReadNew London Harbor Lighthouse, originally opened in 1761 and rebuilt in 1801, is Connecticut’s oldest surviving and tallest lighthouse.
ReadElihu Burritt, a blacksmith by trade, became an advocate for peace around the world throughout the 19th century.
ReadOn January 28, 1878, the first edition of the Yale News proclaimed, “The innovation which we begin by this morning’s issue is justified by the dullness of the times, and by the demand for news among us.”
ReadIn 1941, the United States government anxiously pursued opportunities to establish an air base in Connecticut to bolster defenses along the East Coast.
ReadThe Phoenix Mutual Life Insurance Building is a significant example of the modernist architectural style that was prevalent in urban renewal projects in the 1950s and 1960s.
ReadIn the 1940s, African American war workers eligible for government-funded housing found access restricted to some properties despite vacancies.
ReadOn January 24, 1925, Connecticut residents witnessed a full solar eclipse.
ReadIn the mid-19th century, Orramel Whittlesey founded a music conservatory in Salem, Connecticut.
ReadDesigners of the Van Vleck Observatory overcame numerous environmental and geographical challenges to help Wesleyan University make an impact on the world’s understanding of the universe.
ReadOf all the Connecticans who have left their mark in distant places, perhaps none made a more lasting—or more controversial—impression than this explorer.
ReadOn January 18, 1978, at about 4:20 in the morning, the Hartford Civic Center roof collapsed.
ReadIn the late 19th and early 20th centuries, young boys who shined shoes (sometimes 70 hours per week) were the primary breadwinners for many struggling families.
ReadIn the summer of 1944, a young Martin Luther King Jr. worked at the Simsbury tobacco farm of Cullman Brothers, Inc.
ReadThe Fundamental Orders, inspired by Thomas Hooker’s sermon of May 31, 1638, provided the framework for the government of the Connecticut colony from 1639 to 1662.
ReadOn January 13, 1840, over 150 people perished on Long Island Sound when the steamboat Lexington caught fire.
ReadThe Derby Silver Company was founded in 1872 and began operations on Shelton’s Canal Street one year later.
ReadOn January 11, 1817, Timothy Dwight (theologian, educator, poet, and eighth president of Yale) died in New Haven, Connecticut.
ReadFor over four decades, Japanese-born Yukitaka Osaki worked for Gillette, becoming a recognizable neighbor in the Hadlyme community.
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