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Video – Mark Twain at Stormfield
This rare footage is thought to be the only film of famed author Samuel Clemens.
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100 Years of Workers’ Compensation
Early attempts to enact industrial accident protections for workers were ruled unconstitutional by US courts, but a New York tragedy paved the way to successful legislation in Connecticut and elsewhere.
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A Bird’s-eye View of New Britain
By depicting Walnut Hill Park and Reservoir, which was a new addition to the city at the time, this 19th-century print documented the growing public parks movement of the era.
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Over Time: Orange’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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The Decorative Arts of Connecticut
Decorative Arts—or, household furnishings— reveal past lifestyles and showcase the state’s best-known craftspeople.
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Over Time: Newtown’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Over Time: North Haven’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Over Time: North Branford’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Selma, Not So Far Away
Father Leonard Tartaglia was sometimes called Hartford’s “Hoodlum Priest.” Like the 1961 film of the same name, Tartaglia ministered to the city’s poor and disenfranchised.
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Connecticut 29th Mustered into Service – Today in History: March 8
On March 8, 1864, the state’s first African American regiment, the Connecticut Twenty-Ninth (Colored) Regiment, C.V. Infantry, mustered into service to fight for the Union’s cause in the Civil War.
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Over Time: Greenwich’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Early Anti-slavery Advocates in 18th-century Connecticut
Ideals advanced during the American Revolution inspired many of the state’s religious and political leaders to question and oppose slavery in the late 1700s.
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Over Time: Darien’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Over Time: New Fairfield’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Products from New Britain’s Past
In the early 20th century, New Britain produced a variety of housewares popular with the American public, including cutlery, toasters, waffle irons, pocketknives, food choppers, and eggbeaters.
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Over Time: East Haven’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Over Time: New Canaan’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Over Time: Easton’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Charles Goodyear and the Vulcanization of Rubber
Obsessive dedication transformed rubber into a viable commercial material and made the town of Naugatuck one of its leading manufacturing sites in the 1800s.
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Over Time: Milford’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Connecticut in the French and Indian War
Connecticut troops sustained demoralizing losses before a reinvigorated British military turned the tide of the French and Indian War.
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Over Time: New Haven’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Standing at Rest, at Last: The Story of the Forlorn Soldier
This story takes a look at the statue’s history, its care, conservation, and journey to the Connecticut State Capitol building where the Forlorn Soldier stands in all its glory.
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Map – Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Bethel, Fairfield County
Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps from decades past provide historians and others with useful evidence about the layout, growth, and development of cities, towns, and neighborhoods.
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A Bird’s-eye View of Moosup
This depiction of a Quinebaug Valley town and its satellite communities—Uniondale and Almyville—records an idealized view of the 19th-century textile boom.
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Over Time: Derby’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Over Time: West Haven’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Over Time: Danbury’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Textile Mills in Oxford Dominated Early Industry
Domestic wool production is one of the oldest industries in the United States. The first mill in Connecticut arrived in Hartford in 1788.
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Combined Rail-and-Water System Makes Norwich a Key Travel Hub in Mid-1800s
For waterfront towns like Norwich, early steamships offered opportunities for travel and commerce previously unthinkable to generations of local residents.
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Over Time: Shelton’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Free Speech for Some – Who Knew?
In 1939, 150 years after the original passage, Connecticut finally ratified the US Bill of Rights, guaranteeing workers the right to free speech.
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Map – Sanborn Fire Insurance Map for Baltic, New London County
Fire insurance maps were originally created for underwriters so that they could assess the fire liability of properties that their companies insured.
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Rochambeau Returns Over and Over to Andover
Jean-Baptiste-Donatien de Vimeur, comte de Rochambeau, was a French nobleman and army general who contributed significantly to the Colonial army’s victory in the war for American independence.
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American Chairs, Made in Connecticut
While the Windsor chair’s style and manufacture emerged in England in the early 1700s, it became extremely popular in North America during the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Civil War Monuments and Memorials in and Around the State Capitol
Monuments and memorials from the Civil War era in and around the state capitol in Hartford, Connecticut.
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Sunday Funday? We Think Not – Who Knew?
At the start of the 20th century, authorities banned Luna Park in West Hartford from operating on Sundays, as it defied long-standing puritan laws.
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Over Time: Stamford’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Over Time: Norwalk’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Forlorn Soldier Oral History Interviews
Oral histories make up a substantial portion of our knowledge regarding the Forlorn Soldier.
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The Old Brownstone Soldier
Charles Conrads, a German immigrant and George Batterson’s lead sculptor, helped design the initial shape of the Forlorn Soldier.
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The Legend of Old Hayfoot, the Forlorn Soldier
A 1932 Hartford Courant report helped perpetuate a legend about the Forlorn Soldier, a Civil War statue designed with a nontraditional right-foot-forward stance many thought to be a mistake.
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Commemorating the USS Hartford at the Connecticut State Capitol
The Connecticut State Capitol currently houses two important artifacts to commemorate the service of the USS Hartford.
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The Forlorn Soldier Conservation Ceremony, July 2013
Originally located on Charter Oak Avenue, the statue of the Forlorn Soldier moved to Airport Road in the spring of 1968, after ConservArt worked to repair and restore the statue.
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Pomp and Circumstance: Civil War Commemoration
The completion of the Forlorn Soldier did not meet with the pomp and circumstance of many other CIvil War commemorations, despite its media coverage and an overflowing sense of nationalism among the general public.
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Hartford Retreat for the Insane Advanced Improved Standards of Care
In the 1800s, this Connecticut hospital stood at the forefront of medical practice in the US in its new approaches to the treatment of mental illness.
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Over Time: Lyme’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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Video: The Story of the Salisbury Iron District
Connecticut-made iron was extraordinarily high quality and sought after.
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Over Time: Norwich’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
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A Bird’s-eye View of Broad Brook
This rendering of the village of Broad Brook depicts a classic New England mill town but takes creative liberties to emphasize the community’s assets.
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