News & Updates

Meriden Britannia Company, West Main Street, Meriden

Meriden’s Silver Lining

Despite large numbers of local industries going out of business by the start of the Civil War, Horace and Dennis Wilcox, helped establish a lucrative silver industry in Meriden.

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Honor and Duty: The Life of Alfred Howe Terry

Born in Hartford, Alfred Howe Terry studied law before heroically capturing Fort Fisher during the Civil War.

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Corporal Thomas Fox , Second Connecticut Volunteer Heavy Artillery, B Company with his regimental flag

Disaster at Cold Harbor: Connecticut’s Second Volunteer Heavy Artillery Regiment

October 26, 2019 • Derby, Civil War

For many veterans of the Second, the assault at Cold Harbor would be the most terrible memory of their Civil War careers.

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Clarence Dickinson Carries Printing Innovation into the 20th Century

October 25, 2019 • Invention and Technology, Haddam, Work

Clarence Dickinson was a long-time Haddam resident and pioneer in offset lithography—a process using printing plates on chemically treated flat surfaces.

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Sandbags in Rockville. September 22, 1938

Hurricane of 1938: Connecticut’s Worst Disaster

Deadly as well as costly, this storm scarred the landscape for decades after and left each Connecticut family with its own tale to tell of the ruinous events.

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Amos Doolittle, The looking glass for 1787. A house divided against itself cannot stand

The Connecticut Ratification Convention

Though approved at a renegade convention on September 17, 1787, the US Constitution did not become “the supreme law of the land” until 9 of the 13 states ratified the document.

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Igor Sikorsky and the first successful helicopter built in America, Stratford

Igor Sikorsky and his Flying Machines

This Russian émigré not only invented a machine capable of controlled vertical flight, he also re-invented his aviation career along the way.

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Training and rescue submarine S-4 submerging

Video – Undersea University – US Navy’s Submarine School

1965 film of the US Naval Submarine Base New London submarine training school produced by the US government.

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Tobacco barns in Windsor, Connecticut

Windsor Tobacco: Made in the Shade

By the mid-19th century, the “Tobacco Valley,” Springfield, Massachusetts to Hartford, Connecticut had become a center for cash-crop production.

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Charles De Wolf Brownell, Charter Oak

The Legend of the Charter Oak

This Charles D. Brownell painting from the mid-1850s epitomizes the importance that the Charter Oak tree held in the hearts and minds of Connecticut citizens.

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Women Suffrage March

Women Win the Right to Vote

August 18, 2019 • Social Movements, Women

After a decades-long struggle, women in Connecticut and across the US gained a say in government.

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North Stonington Grange, North Stonington Village Historic Distric

North Stonington Fairs Preserve Connecticut’s Agricultural Heritage

Despite brief success as a mill town in the early 19th century, North Stonington is ultimately tied to its agricultural history.

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Hardcore Connecticut: Documenting the State’s Punk Rock Scene

Hardcore punk rockers occupied venue spaces, spectators became performers, pools became skate parks, and Xerox machines became the printing press in this underground renaissance.

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Civil War Monument, Kensington

Kensington Soldiers Monument Dedicated – Today in History: July 28

July 28, 2019 • Berlin, Civil War

On July 28, 1863, the Soldiers Monument in the Kensington section of Berlin was dedicated and is the oldest permanent Civil War monument.

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Samuel Colt…and Sewing Machines?

The National Museum of American History explains how a revolver, sewing machine, bicycle, and early-model electric automobile are connected.

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Oliver Ellsworth

Senator Oliver Ellsworth’s Judiciary Act

On April 7, 1789, the Senate appointed a committee, composed of one senator from each of the 10 states then represented in that body, to draft legislation to shape the national judiciary.

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The Hartford Circus Fire

As a result of the Hartford Circus Fire of 1944, Connecticut enacted new, strict fire safety regulations for public performances.

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Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Charlotte Perkins Gilman Born – Today in History: July 3

On July 3, 1860, Charlotte Anna Perkins (Charlotte Perkins Gilman) was born in Hartford, Connecticut.

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Noble Jerome’s Clock Patent Model

Noble Jerome submitted this clock patent model to the US Patent Office along with his patent application in 1839, a common requirement up until the 1880s.

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General Mansfield's uniform epaulets

One of the Honored Dead: General J. K. F. Mansfield

A resident of New Haven and Middletown, Joseph Mansfield rose to the rank of brigadier general in the Union army before losing his life at the Battle of Antietam.

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View of the Colt Factory from Dutch Point

The Colt Patent Fire-Arms Manufacturing Company

Samuel Colt, the man who revolutionized firearms manufacturing in the United States, was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on July 19, 1814.

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Mark Twain House & Museum, Hartford

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

This bucolic oasis on Hartford’s western edge became home to great literary talents, social reformers, politicians, and other nationally-regarded luminaries of the mid-to-late 1800s.

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Sarah Bernhardt

Sarah Bernhardt Performs in Hartford – Today in History: June 8

June 8, 2019 • Arts, Hartford

On June 8, 1906, French stage and film actress Sarah Bernhardt appeared at Foot Guard Hall in Hartford.

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Sarah Trumbull with a Spaniel by John Trumbull

American Painter John Trumbull Born – Today in History: June 6

On June 6, 1756, John Trumbull, painter, architect, and author, was born in Lebanon.

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A front view of the Wadsworth Atheneum

Gothic Connecticut

A museum, former library, and a home are just three notable examples of an architectural style popular in the 1800s.

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The House That Hoadley Built

The Wheeler-Beecher House (Hoadley House) serves as an outstanding example of Colonial architecture and also of renowned architect David Hoadley’s work.

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John Warner Barber, Public square or green, in New Haven

Benedict Arnold Demands the Key – Today in History: April 22

On April 22, 1775, Benedict Arnold demanded the key to New Haven’s powder house.

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Ivoryton's Comstock, Cheney Co. produced a variety of ivory goods

Phineas Pratt’s Machine for Making Combs – Today in History: April 12

On April 12, 1799, Phineas Pratt of Ivoryton, Connecticut, a deacon, silversmith, and inventor, received a patent for a “machine for making combs.”

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Interior of Otto Henning's Cafe

Union Brew

April 11, 2019 • Food and Drink, Work

Brewery strike in 1902 leads some to drink ginger ale, rather than beer, as a sign of solidarity.

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Hard Times: Governor Wilbur Cross and the Great Depression in Connecticut

Born in Mansfield, Governor Wilbur Cross helped see Connecticut through the Great Depression and several natural disasters.

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Detail from View of Essex, Centerbrook & Ivoryton, Conn. 1881

The British Raid on Essex

On a cold April night in 1814, a British raiding force rowed six miles up the Connecticut River to burn the privateers of Essex, then known as Pettipaug.

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P. T. Barnum Dies – Today in History: April 7

On April 7, 1891, the showman and entertainer, P. T. (Phineas Taylor) Barnum died in Bridgeport.

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Michael Joseph McGivney

Knights of Columbus Chartered – Today in History: March 29

March 29, 2019 • Belief, New Haven

In October 1881, the Reverend Michael Joseph McGivney and male parishioners of St. Mary’s Roman Catholic church in New Haven founded Knights of Columbus.

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Video – Rosalind Russell Tribute Film

Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame pays tribute to Waterbury native Rosalind Russell, the legendary award-winning actress of stage and screen.

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Ruins of North College, Wesleyan University, Middletown

Fire at Wesleyan’s North College – Today in History: March 1

On March 1, 1906, North College at Wesleyan University in Middletown was destroyed by fire.

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Artist Louis Paul Dessar Dies – Today in History: February 14

On February 14, 1952, American artist Louis Paul Dessar died in Preston, Connecticut.

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Illustrations showing each farmer's branding earmarks

Branding Law Enacted – Today in History: February 5

In 1644, Connecticut enacted the first branding law in the colonies, calling for all livestock owners to ear-mark or brand their cattle, sheep, and swine.

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Video – Vampires and Witches in Connecticut a Lecture and Panel Discussion

Explore Connecticut’s aggressive prosecution and execution of accused witches between 1647 and 1663, decades before the famous Salem witch trials.

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Pepperidge Farm: Healthful Bread Builds a Business

Margaret Rudkin founded the popular brand Pepperidge Farm after finding out her son’s asthma was made worse by additives found in bread.

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Collapse of the Mianus River Bridge

Mianus River Bridge Collapses – Today in History: June 28

June 28, 2018 • Disaster, Greenwich

Not long after midnight on June 28, 1983, a section of the Mianus River Bridge on I-95 in Cos Cob collapsed.

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Benedict Arnold house, New Haven

Benedict Arnold died in London, England – Today in History: June 14

June 14, 2018 • Benedict Arnold, New Haven, Norwich

On June 14, 1801, Revolutionary War general and traitor Benedict Arnold died in London.

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USS Bexar tour, bazooka demonstration

The Bazooka Changes War – Today in History: June 14

On June 14, 1942, the General Electric Company in Bridgeport finished production on the “Launcher, Rocket AT, M-1,” better known as the bazooka.

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Charles K. Hamilton

Hamilton Breaks Air Records – Today in History: June 13

Charles Keeney Hamilton completed the first round-trip journey ever made between two large cities in an airplane in the United States.

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Chester Bowles

Governor Chester Bowles Dies – Today in History: May 25

May 25, 2018 • Essex, Politics and Government

On May 25, 1986, Chester Bowles, a Connecticut governor, Congressional representative, ambassador, and author, died in Essex, Connecticut.

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Waterbury Tornado – Today in History: May 24

On May 24, 1962, a tornado hit the towns of Waterbury, Wolcott, and Southington.

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An Orderly & Decent Government: A New State, A New Constitution, 1776-1818

The American Revolution prompted enormous political and social changes in other states, but Connecticut remained a “land of steady habits” until 1817 brought change to state government.

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An Orderly & Decent Government: Business and Government, 1905-1929

The early years of the 20th century were a time of vigorous political and social reform.

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An Orderly & Decent Government: Making Self-Government Work, 1776-1818

The freedom won in the American Revolution did not spread to African Americans. The Constitution of 1818 formed the basis for state government until 1965.

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

Industry, immigration, and urbanization characterized Connecticut in the 19th century.

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An Orderly & Decent Government: Making Self-Government Work, 1888-1905

Connecticut’s ancient system of town-based representation ensured the continuation of small town values and perspectives.

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