A Program Of
Major Support Provided By
Other CT Humanities Programs
Now Viewing:
Torrington
Lemuel Haynes: America’s First Black Ordained Minister
Lemuel Haynes was a father, husband, pastor, and patriot—he is widely considered to be the first Black man in America to be ordained by a Protestant church.
Read
Evaporated Milk’s Connecticut Connection – Who Knew?
…that in 1856 businessman Gail Borden Jr. opened the first…
Read
John Brown: A Portrait of Violent Abolitionism
John Brown of Torrington used violence to oppose the spread of slavery prior to the Civil War, ultimately leading a bloody raid on the armory in Harper’s Ferry, Virginia.
Read
Connecticut Pocketknife Firms
Connecticut pocketknife production began around 1840. Over the next two decades, Connecticut became the earliest state to have a burgeoning craft.
Read
The American Brass Company: Leading the Way in the “Brass Valley”
The American Brass Company helped make Connecticut’s Naugatuck Valley a center of international brass production, but economic decline and foreign competition ended its run in the late 20th century.
Read
The Fight Over Slavery Reaches Torrington
In the years prior to the Civil War, Torrington, like…
Read
Torrington Recovers after the Flood of ‘55
In August of 1955, two hurricanes that moved through Connecticut…
Read
Hidden Nearby: John Brown’s Torrington Birthplace
Ruins are all that remain of the birthplace of this transformative figure in US history.
Read
Preserving an All-American Downtown in Torrington
Torrington is a city aware of its architectural heritage. Its…
Read
Thread Your Needle – Today in History: March 2
On March 2, 1866, the Excelsior Needle Company of Wolcottville…
Read
Over Time: Torrington’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.
ReadMore Articles