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Willie Matos: Capitán of the Bridgeport Young Lords
By Amanda Rivera Wilfredo “Willie” Matos led a long life as…
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Despierta Boricua: Yale University’s First Puerto Rican Organization
By Amanda Rivera Did you know that one of the…
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The Wadsworth Estate at Long Hill
By Dr. Kelly Marino Not long after their marriage, Katharine…
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The Bush Family in Connecticut Politics
By Thomas J. Balcerski Connecticut is the birthplace of only one president—George W. Bush on…
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The Battle of Ridgefield, 1777
Taking place in April 1777, the Battle of Ridgefield was part of a larger British expedition to destroy Continental supplies in Danbury.
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Nathaniel Lyon: First US General to Die During the Civil War
Eastford’s General Nathaniel Lyon became nationally famous as the first US general killed during the Civil War.
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M. Jodi Rell: Connecticut’s 87th Governor
As the second female governor of Connecticut, Jodi Rell faced struggles but helped the state stabilize after controversy and corruption.
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Charles W. Morgan: New England’s Last Surviving Wooden Whaling Ship
As the last surviving wooden whaling ship of New England, the Morgan is representative of a typical 19th-century whaling vessel.
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Edward Hopkins: Connecticut’s 2nd Governor
Edward Hopkins (1600–1657) was an influential figure in the early history of the Connecticut Colony, serving multiple terms as colonial governor.
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New London’s Hygienic Art Building
Located at the corner of Bank and Golden Streets, the Hygienic structure is an integral part of New London’s architectural history.
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Martha Minerva Franklin: Breaking Barriers for Black Nurses
An activist for Black nurses in the early 20th century, Martha Minerva Franklin worked to end discrimination and secure equal rights for her profession.
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“Legalized Piracy”: Connecticut’s Revolutionary War Privateers
American colonists employed privateers as part of the military effort against the British during the American Revolution.
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The Explosion of the Redding Baptist Meeting House
The explosion of Redding’s Baptist Meeting House provides a glimpse of the various arguments and conflicts about slavery swirling in one community before the Civil War.
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Larry Kramer: Gay Rights and HIV/AIDS Activism
Larry Kramer’s impactful literature and advocacy endeavors altered negative national perceptions to significantly improve AIDS health policies.
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Ethel Collins Dunham: Pioneer in Pediatrics
A student and professor of medicine, Dr. Ethel Collins Dunham devoted her life to ensuring the care of children throughout the early and mid-20th century.
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Middletown’s Arrawanna Bridge
Throughout much of the 20th century, the Arrawanna Bridge played a key role in Middletown’s transportation network, carrying traffic from Berlin Street to Newfield Street.
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Jonathan Trumbull’s Lebanon War Office: The “Pentagon of the Revolution”
Jonathan Trumbull’s War Office in Lebanon functioned as headquarters for Connecticut’s Council of Safety from 1775 to 1783.
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Sarah Harris Fayerweather
Sarah Harris Fayerweather was a Black activist and abolitionist who fought for school integration in the early 19th century.
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Philip Johnson’s Glass House
Architect Philip Johnson’s Glass House in New Canaan, Connecticut is considered a masterwork of modern American architecture.
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Thankful Arnold’s House
The Thankful Arnold House helps visitors explore the lives of women under the constraints of English Common Law during the early 19th century.
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Battle of Goshen Point
The Battle of Goshen Point proved an important victory for America’s small gunboat fleet over a larger and more powerful British force.
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The Henry Whitfield House
The Henry Whitfield House (home to the Henry Whitfield State Museum) is only Connecticut’s oldest house and the oldest stone house in New England.
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Ridgefield’s Keeler Tavern
Keeler’s tavern had only served travelers and locals before Ridgefield played host to the only inland battle fought in Connecticut during the Revolutionary War.
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Connecticut’s Valley Forge: The Redding Encampment and Putnam Memorial State Park
As the 1778-79 winter quarters for a division of the Continental army, Putnam Memorial State Park is sometimes referred to as “Connecticut’s Valley Forge.”
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New England Society for Psychic Research: Connecticut Paranormal Investigators Leave Legacy of the Occult
A fascination with haunted houses, spirits, and demonology led Ed and Lorraine Warren to establish the New England Society for Psychic Research (NESPR) in 1952.
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Woodstock’s Roseland Cottage
With its distinctive pink exterior, Roseland Cottage was built in 1846 in Woodstock and is an excellent example of Gothic Revival architecture.
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The Orrin Freeman House and the Spirit of ‘76
How did Higganum’s Orrin Freeman House end up with a large American Revolution-themed mural, the Spirit of ’76, on its side?
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L.D. Brown and Son Silk Mill: A Staple in Middletown’s South Farms District
With established factories in Mansfield and Middletown, Lewis Dunham Brown and his son, Henry Lewis Brown, were pioneers in the US silk industry.
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Abigail Hinman: Heroine of the American Revolution or Legend?
Allegedly defending her house during the American Revolution in 1781, New London resident Abigail Hinman made a name for herself as a patriot legend.
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Middletown’s Beman Triangle: A Testament to Black Freedom and Resilience
One of the earliest and most politically active free Black neighborhoods in Connecticut emerged in Middletown in the late 1820s, the Beman Triangle.
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Rosa Ponselle: Meriden’s Famous Musical Daughter
Rosa Ponselle etched her name in history as the first American-born and American-trained singer to star with the Metropolitan Opera Company.
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Hebron’s Josephine Sophia (White) Griffing and a Vision for Post-Emancipation America
From before emancipation and the 13th Amendment, Josephine Sophie White Griffing of Hebron, Connecticut, was an ardent advocate for enslaved and free people.
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Thomas Short – Connecticut’s First Official Printer
Thomas Short became the Connecticut Colony’s first official printer in 1708, printing the laws and proclamations for the colonial legislature as well as the colony’s first book.
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John Warner Barber’s Engravings Chronicle Connecticut History
John Warner Barber chronicled 19th-century Connecticut history through his historical writing and hundreds of engravings—many of which still exist today.
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Connecticut Issues Same-Sex Marriage Licenses for the First Time – Today In History: November 12
On November 12, 2008, Connecticut issued its first marriage licenses for same-sex couples after Kerrigan et al. v. Commissioner of Public Health et al..
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Charlton Publications: Song Lyric Printing Business to Major Player in the Comic Book Industry
By the late 1950s, Charlton Publications was home to some of the most accomplished artists and writers in the comic book industry.
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Linonian and Brothers in Unity: The Societies that Built Yale University’s Library
Two undergraduate literary societies, Linonian and Brothers in Unity, donated their large book collections to Yale’s nascent library.
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Early Connecticut Gas Light Companies
The first private gas light companies in Connecticut appeared just before 1850 in New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport.
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Connecticut College for Women: The State’s First All-Female Institution of Higher Learning
At a time when most universities accepted only men, Connecticut College for Women provided a liberal arts education for women.
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Illuminating Connecticut’s Past: The Bradley & Hubbard Legacy
Meriden’s Bradley & Hubbard Manufacturing Company was an industry-leading American manufacturer of kerosene lamps and metal household items.
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New London’s Tradition of Burning Benedict Arnold…in Effigy – Who Knew?
New London has a yearly tradition of burning an effigy of Benedict Arnold, the infamous Revolutionary War general turned traitor.
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Electric Boat: From Innovation Trials to WWII Submarine Leadership
US submarines accounted for 63 percent of all Japanese ships sunk during WWII—Electric Boat’s vessels were responsible for a significant number of these successful outcomes.
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Black Loyalist Refugees: Toney Escapes During the Burning of Fairfield
The British burning of Fairfield during the Revolutionary War provided an opportunity for enslaved people to escape, including a man named Toney.
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Miss Porter’s School in Farmington
Miss Porter’s School, founded in 1843 in Farmington, is an elite, female, privately funded, 40-acre, educational institution in central Connecticut.
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Derby’s Osbornedale Farms, Frances Kellogg, and the Dairy Industry
A family legacy developed by Frances Kellogg, Derby’s Osbornedale Farms stands out for its impact on the Holstein-Friesian breed and contributions to the dairy industry.
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“Girl Pilot”: Mary Goodrich Jenson Breaks Barriers in Aviation and Journalism
Blending her aviation and journalism careers, Wethersfield’s Mary Goodrich Jenson pushed the boundaries of both fields.
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Photojournalist Margaret Bourke-White: “No Picture Was Unimportant to Her”
Margaret Bourke-White photographed some of the 20th century’s most significant people and events, but spent her later years in Darien, Connecticut.
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Jacques and Therese Makowsky and the Development of the Cornish Game Hen
In 1950, the Makowskys crossed a white Cornish cock with a White Plymouth Rock hen to produce a small hybrid that they patented as the Rock Cornish Game Hen.
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Oniontown: How Hard Work, Tall Tales, and Red Onions Built Wethersfield
Until the 19th century, the red onion trade supported Wethersfield as the first commercial town along the Connecticut River.
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Cornfield Point: Old Saybrook’s Forgotten Scenic Alcove
Cornfield Point, a rocky scenic area bordering the Long Island Sound, is often overlooked but is significant in the state’s maritime and prohibition histories.
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Jewish Farming Communities in Connecticut in the 19th and 20th Centuries
As Jewish immigration to Connecticut increased in the late 19th century, close-knit farming communities formed in Chesterfield and Colchester.
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Sophia Woodhouse Welles: Wethersfield’s World-Famous Bonnet Maker
Wethersfield’s Sophia Woodhouse Welles made a name for herself as an inventor and a businesswoman in antebellum America with her bonnets.
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Alan L. Hart: Pioneer in Medicine and Transgender History
An early person to undergo gender affirmation surgery, Alan L. Hart was a physician who pioneered the use of x-ray in early detection for tuberculosis.
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The Amos Bull House and Sterling Opera House: The First Connecticut Listings on the National Register of Historic Places – Who Knew?
The Amos Bull House in Hartford and the Sterling Opera House in Derby are tied for Connecticut’s first listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Derby Day on the Housatonic
A rowing event on Lake Housatonic, “Derby Day,” was so popular among Yale students that it drew upwards of thirty to fifty thousand spectators.
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Connecticut Discovered Lyme Disease – Who Knew?
The discovery of Lyme disease, and its transmission through ticks, got its start around Lyme, Connecticut in 1975.
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Connecticut’s First Roman Catholic Church
Hartford’s Holy Trinity Church became the first Roman Catholic church in Connecticut in 1829 and served the community for over 20 years.
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Connecticut and the Armenian Genocide
The Armenian genocide during the early 20th century had a profound impact on Armenian communities and their descendants in Connecticut.
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Lillian Hoban: Beloved Illustrator of “I Can Read” Books
Lillian Hoban contributed her talents to nearly one hundred books, securing herself a place as one of the country’s best-loved authors and illustrators.
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James Merrill: Connecticut’s First Poet Laureate
As one of the leading American poets of the 20th century and Connecticut’s first poet laureate, James Merrill lived in Stonington for four decades.
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Banner Lodge: A Vacation Playground for an Excluded Population
From the 1930s to the 1970s, Banner Lodge was one of the most popular vacation destinations in Connecticut and actively welcomed a Jewish clientele.
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Fuller Brush Tower Collapses – Today in History: March 31
On March 31, 1923, a 56,000-gallon water tank dropped through 4 concrete floors of the Fuller Brush Company Tower.
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Benjamin Spock: Raising the World’s Children
Pediatrician Benjamin Spock revolutionized childcare in the 20th century before becoming a leading figure in the anti-war movement of the 60s and 70s.
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Polish Tobacco Farmers in the Connecticut River Valley
Many Polish immigrants found work on the tobacco farms in the Connecticut River Valley that specialized in the tobacco used for cigar wrappers.
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Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Best remembered for her short story “The Yellow Wallpaper,” this Hartford author’s larger legacy is a life dedicated to women’s issues and social reform.
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Bursting of the Staffordville Reservoir – Today in History: March 27
On March 27, 1877, the Staffordville Reservoir Company’s dam burst, flooding the valley for a distance of five miles and causing the loss of two lives.
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George Laurence Nelson: Artist of Kent’s Seven Hearths
In addition to his artistic pursuits, George Laurence Nelson lived in Kent, Connecticut, for over half a century and restored the historic Seven Hearths house.
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Lydia Sherman: The Derby Poisoner
Lydia Sherman confessed to killing three husbands and four children, but it is believed that the total number of her victims may be much higher.
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Alice Hamilton: The Nation’s Leading Expert on Industrial Diseases
Dr. Alice Hamilton was a leading authority on industrial diseases and the first female faculty member at Harvard before she retired to Hadlyme, Connecticut.
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St. Patrick’s Day – Today in History: March 17
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.
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A Revolution in Horse Power: The Hartford & Wethersfield Horse Railroad Goes Electric
In 1888, Hartford commuters and city-goers zipped down Wethersfield Avenue in a horseless trolley car for the first time.
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The Welcoming Warmth of Kent’s Seven Hearths
For over 272 years, Kent’s Seven Hearths has lived many lives—from trading post to school to artist’s home to historical society.
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Clare Boothe Luce Changed Perceptions about Women in Business and Politics
Clare Boothe Luce became the first woman to represent Connecticut in the US House of Representatives and later became an ambassador to Italy.
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Connecticut’s French Connections
From Huguenots to French Canadian mill workers to modern immigration, Connecticut has always been a place shaped, in part, by a steady French influence.
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The Road to Busytown: Richard Scarry’s Life in Fairfield County
Inspired by Connecticut communities, Richard Scarry invented and illustrated some of the most beloved characters and communities in children’s literature.
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The Trailblazing Bessye Bennett
In 1974, Connecticut finally admitted its first African American female lawyer, Bessye Bennett.
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America’s First Woman Governor: Ella Grasso, 1919-1981
Born to Italian immigrant parents in Windsor Locks, Grasso held state and federal offices at a time when women politicians were rare.
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Turnpikes and Transportation in Sharon
The town of Sharon, like many early communities in the colony, required basic road and bridge infrastructure in order to maintain a thriving community.
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Food Needed to Win the War Comes from Washington
During 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,
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Lockwood-Mathews Mansion Captures the Gilded Age in Norwalk
The Lockwood-Mathews Mansion provides a glimpse into the opulence of the Gilded Age when railroad tycoons built summer homes along the New England shoreline.
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The Lyman Allyn Opens – Today in History: March 2
On March 2, 1932, the Lyman Allyn Art Museum, founded by Harriet Upson Allyn in New London, had its grand opening.
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Actress Gwen Reed Best Remembered for Dedication to Childhood Literacy
Gwen Reed was an actress and educational advocate who grew up in Hartford in the early 20th century.
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William Gillette’s Last Performance – Today in History: February 27
On February 27, 1936, William Gillette made his last appearance on any Connecticut stage at the Bushnell Memorial auditorium in Hartford.
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Race Restrictive Covenants in Property Deeds
“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.
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The Socially Dynamic Drumlin of Foss Hill
The 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.
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Southington Cutlery Company: From Silverware to Hardware
Initially known for table cutlery, the Southington Cutlery Company began operations in a two-story brick factory in downtown Southington in 1867.
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The Sea in their Blood: The Portuguese in New London County
Many Portuguese immigrants came to the US as mariners serving aboard ships, some remained to build new lives and communities in Connecticut.
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Bethany: Small-town Perseverance in the Face of Growing Industrialization
One 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.
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Discovering the Mysterious Identity of the “Kent Limner”
It took over a century to solve the mystery of Ammi Phillips’ identity—one of the most prolific folk portraitists in 19th century America.
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James Lindsey Smith Takes the Underground Railroad to Connecticut
James Lindsey Smith was one of many slaves who found freedom through the Underground Railroad network that included many stops in Connecticut.
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Two Cornwall Firms Part of Famed Salisbury Iron District
As part of what is today called the Salisbury Iron District, Cornwall manufactured iron that was nationally recognized for its quality and durability.
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Sarah Boone: First Connecticut Black Woman to Receive Patent
In1892, 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.
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Alexander Calder and Making Art Political
In addition to his famous works of art, Alexander Calder lent his talents and reputation to support political campaigns in the 1960s and 70s.
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Joel T. Case and the Victorianization of Bristol’s Federal Hill
The Victorian designs of inventor and architect Joel T. Case make substantial contributions to the landscape of the Federal Hill area in Bristol.
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Charles Ethan Porter, Portrait of a 19th-Century African American Painter
Charles Ethan Porter was a prolific still life painter in the 19th and early 20th century.
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Dr. Mary B. Moody Challenges Victorian Mores About Women in Medicine
New 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.
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New London Harbor Lighthouse: Connecticut’s First Official Lighthouse
New London Harbor Lighthouse, originally opened in 1761 and rebuilt in 1801, is Connecticut’s oldest surviving and tallest lighthouse.
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Apostle of Peace: Elihu Burritt’s Quest for Universal Brotherhood
Elihu Burritt, a blacksmith by trade, became an advocate for peace around the world throughout the 19th century.
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Oldest College Daily – Today in History: January 28
On 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.”
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Bradley Airport’s Military Origins
In 1941, the United States government anxiously pursued opportunities to establish an air base in Connecticut to bolster defenses along the East Coast.
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The Phoenix Building, Hartford
The 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.
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The Debate Over Who Could Occupy World War II Public Housing in West Hartford
In the 1940s, African American war workers eligible for government-funded housing found access restricted to some properties despite vacancies.
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A Total Eclipse of the Sun – Today in History: January 24
On January 24, 1925, Connecticut residents witnessed a full solar eclipse.
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Music Vale Seminary in Salem Credited as Being First in US
In the mid-19th century, Orramel Whittlesey founded a music conservatory in Salem, Connecticut.
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The Van Vleck Observatory: A Reflection of Environmental Conditions
Designers 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.
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From the State Historian: Discovering the Explorer Hiram Bingham III
Of all the Connecticans who have left their mark in distant places, perhaps none made a more lasting—or more controversial—impression than this explorer.
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Civic Center Roof Collapses – Today in History: January 18
On January 18, 1978, at about 4:20 in the morning, the Hartford Civic Center roof collapsed.
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Boot Blacks and the Struggle to Survive in Hartford
In 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.
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The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
The 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.
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“Appalling Calamity”: Loss of the Steamboat Lexington – Today in History: January 13, 1840
On January 13, 1840, over 150 people perished on Long Island Sound when the steamboat Lexington caught fire.
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The Derby Silver Company
The Derby Silver Company was founded in 1872 and began operations on Shelton’s Canal Street one year later.
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Timothy Dwight Dies – Today in History: January 11
On January 11, 1817, Timothy Dwight (theologian, educator, poet, and eighth president of Yale) died in New Haven, Connecticut.
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Yukitaka Osaki and Gillette Castle: One of Hadlyme’s First Japanese Immigrants
For over four decades, Japanese-born Yukitaka Osaki worked for Gillette, becoming a recognizable neighbor in the Hadlyme community.
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A Beautiful and Goodly Tree: The Rise and Fall of the American Elm
Almost every Connecticut town has an Elm Street, named for the popular trees that grew in abundance until a fungal infestation greatly diminished their numbers.
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Samuel Huntington, the first President of the United States, dies – Today in History: January 5
Samuel Huntington not only served as Connecticut’s governor and a member of the Continental Congress, but, some would argue, the first President of the United States.
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Building an Armenian Community in New Britain
Since the late 19th century, Armenian immigrants and descendants have created a community and shaped New Britain history.
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Ebenezer Tracy Made Some of the Finest 18th-Century Furniture
Ebenezer Tracy was a carpenter from Lisbon, Connecticut, who specialized in making fine, hand-crafted furniture.
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A Turn-of-the-Century New Year’s Eve
Hailed as the “Century Celebration,” the evening of December 31, 1900, saw revelry and reflection as individuals throughout the state welcomed the New Year.
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Early Church Bell Founders
Church bells served many important functions in early New England. Consequently, skilled bellfounders in Connecticut found themselves in high demand.
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Birth of the Brass Valley
The brass industry in Waterbury began in the mid-18th century and provided an alternative for people struggling to make a living off the rocky, exhausted soil.
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William Pinney Does It All for Ellington
A lifelong resident of Ellington, William N. Pinney served his town and his state up until his death at the age of 90.
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Middletown’s Reservoirs Drive Growth Throughout the 19th and 20th Centuries
The Laurel Brook and Mount Higby Reservoirs helped provide reliable sources of water that drove the growth of Middletown.
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Connecticut’s Christmas Town
Nestled in a quiet section of Litchfield County lies the picturesque town of Bethlehem, known best for its designation as “Connecticut’s Christmas Town.”
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Sending Season’s Greetings: Christmas Cards in Connecticut
For nearly a decade, this little Connecticut town was renowned as the Christmas-card center of the world.
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Hartford’s “Façade House”: The Unique Home of Chick Austin
A. Everett “Chick” Austin Jr. and his wife, Helen, designed one of the most unique homes of the 20th century in Hartford.
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The Hartford Convention – Today in History: December 15
On December 15, 1814, delegates to the Hartford Convention met in secret at the Old State House in Hartford.
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The Ives Manufacturing Company: Connecticut’s Foremost Toy Maker
The Ives Manufacturing Company—arguably Connecticut’s most famous toy company—became known for its variety of clockwork toys and trains.
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Waste Not, Want Not: The Colonial Era Midden
From tools, dishes, and clothing to muskrat bones, household trash from 1700s reveals how Yankees of the era lived.
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Benjamin Silliman and the Collection That Inspired the Yale Peabody Museum
Benjamin Silliman published the first American study of a meteor—having acquired access to one that fell near the town of Weston.
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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.
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Transit of Venus: German Scientists Visit Hartford
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the transit was an important opportunity for scientists to calculate the distance between the earth and the sun—the basis for the astronomical unit.
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Little Sorrel, Connecticut’s Confederate War Horse
The horse Little Sorrel became one of the most famous residents of Somers, Connecticut, and a legendary figure of the Civil War.
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The Day Four Trains Collided in East Thompson
In 1891, Thompson, Connecticut, was the site of one of the most horrific railway accidents in American history.
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East Haven was Home to Connecticut’s First Iron Works
The roots of Connecticut’s iron industry lie in East Haven, starting in the 17th century.
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The Story of Connecticut’s Largest State Forest
Pachaug State Forest is the largest state forest in Connecticut and covers approximately 24,000 acres and crossing the borders of numerous towns.
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Somers School of the Prophets
The Reverend Charles Backus opened one of the more prodigious schools of the prophets in Somers, Connecticut.
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Goshen’s Animal Pound
Livestock were once a central feature and concern of daily life for Litchfield County residents.
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Peter Prudden: Milford’s First Minister
A pioneer preacher, a Puritan, and a scholar, Peter Prudden established the first European settlement that became the city of Milford.
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Africans in Search of the American Dream: Cape Verdean Whalers and Sealers
Cape Verdeans formed parts of whaling and sealing crews leaving Connecticut since the early 19th century, sometimes even rising to positions of authority.
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Nathaniel Palmer discovers Antarctica – Today in History: November 18
On November 18, 1820, Nathaniel Brown Palmer of Stonington, Connecticut, discovered the mainland of Antarctica, one of the seven continents.
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New London Harbors a German Submarine During World War I – Who Knew?
The German merchant submarine Deutschland made two trips to America, including one to New London, Connecticut, during World War I.
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Connecticut Residents Did Not Let Veterans Day “Go Commercial.”
Despite passage of the federal Uniform Holiday Bill in 1968, Connecticut residents were largely reluctant to move Veterans Day observances from November 11.
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Willimantic’s American Thread Plant–A Multinational Corporate Takeover
American Thread’s arrival in Willimantic in 1899 demonstrates Connecticut’s role in the Progressive Era’s “rise of big business” and “incorporation of America.”
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When Elections in Hartford Were a Piece of Cake
Unlike today, in the 18th and 19th centuries, Election Day met with great celebration.
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Why Was New Haven Divided into Nine Squares?
The layout of New Haven’s nine-square grid, though not the plan itself, is attributed to the original settlers’ surveyor, John Brockett.
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The Kennedys in Connecticut – Today in History: November 6
On November 6, 1960, forty-eight hours before the Presidential election, Senator John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts addressed a street rally in New Haven.
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Evaporated Milk’s Connecticut Connection – Who Knew?
In, 1856 businessman Gail Borden Jr. opened the first commercial milk condensery at Wolcottville (now Torrington).
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Firefighters Answer the Call in Greenwich
From neighbors rushing to help neighbors and the town’s first fire department, which opened in 1879, to the present day, the volunteer tradition of firefighting continues despite many changes over the decades.
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The Stamford Foundry Company Made Notable Stoves
When it ceased operations in the mid-1950s after over 120 years, The Stamford Foundry Company was the oldest known stove works in America.
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Connecticut Native American Arts
The remarkable resilience of Connecticut’s native cultures can be seen in the tribes’ social networks, political governance, commitment to educating others about native history, and their ongoing work to sustain their traditions.
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The Art of Burying the Dead: Exploring Connecticut’s Historic Cemeteries
From winged death’s heads to weeping willows, gravestone carvings in Connecticut’s historic cemeteries reflect changing attitudes toward mourning and memorialization.
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The Oldest Continuously Published Newspaper – Today in History: October 29
On October 29, 1764, New Haven printer Thomas Green established a weekly newspaper, the Connecticut Courant, in Hartford.
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The “Welcoming Beacon” of Sheffield Island Lighthouse
Sheffield Island, is home to one of Connecticut’s historic lighthouses—a stone structure with a celebrated past dating back two hundred years.
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Connecticut’s Sleepy Hollow
Was Washington Irving’s famous schoolmaster, Ichabod Crane, modeled after a man who once called Milford home?
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Colonel Ruth A. Lucas: Literary Advocate
In 1968, Ruth A. Lucas became the first African American woman in the air force to attain the rank of colonel and advocated for literacy her whole career.
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John Frederick Kensett Illuminates the 19th-Century Landscape
John Frederick Kensett was a landscape painter now identified with Luminism—a style of painting utilizing delicate brushstrokes to capture subtle natural light.
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Goodspeed Opera House Opens – Today in History: October 24
On October 24, 1877, the Goodspeed Opera House on the Connecticut River in East Haddam officially opened to the public.
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Building a Nation Brick by Brick
Brick making was an important industry in Windsor even in its colonial days.
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The “Perfect Handle” Hatchet – Who Knew?
In the early 1900s, H.D. Smith and Company of Plantsville began the manufacture of a line of “Perfect Handle” hand tools.
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“A Noble and Precious Life”: Edgar M. Woodford, Civil Engineer, Abolitionist, and Soldier
This Avon-born man not only put his talents on the map, literally, he also went west to secure Kansas as a free state.
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Yankee Ingenuity: Curtis Veeder, a Mechanical Genius and Shrewd Businessman
Curtis Veeder patented a bicycle seat he sold to the Pope Company, and later invented a cyclometer for measuring distances traveled by bicycles.
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Laura Wheeler Waring: Renowned African American Portrait Artist and Educator
Born in Hartford, Laura Wheeler Waring was an eminent portrait artist of prominent African Americans of the Harlem Renaissance.
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David Bushnell and his Revolutionary Submarine
How a farmer’s son became the Father of Submarine Warfare during the American Revolution.
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Vietnam Protests in Connecticut
Opposition to the war in Vietnam manifested itself in Connecticut in many of the same ways it did across the country.
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Gerald MacGuire and the Plot to Overthrow Franklin Roosevelt
Gerald MacGuire, a prominent Connecticut businessman, became deeply involved in a reported plot to overthrow the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt.
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The Merger That Was Not Meant To Be: Yale University and Vassar College
Yale University’s failed merger with Vassar College—a women’s college in Poughkeepsie, New York—in the late-1960s gave Yale the final push into coeducation.
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Gerald Chapman: America’s First “Public Enemy Number One”
On October 12, 1924, in New Britain, Connecticut, Gerald Chapman became America’s first “Public Enemy Number One.”
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General Joseph R. Hawley Helps Commemorate Connecticut’s Civil War Soldiers
“Let monuments be raised in every town, let songs be sung and orations delivered,” urged this state politician and skilled speechmaker.
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Mohegan Federal Recognition
“We are no longer the little old tribe that lives upon the hill. We are now the Nation that lives upon the hill.”
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Henry Deming: Mayor of Hartford and New Orleans
Henry Deming served as mayor of Hartford and then as the provisional mayor of New Orleans during the Civil War before writing a biography of Ulysses S. Grant.
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Establishing Roots in Oxford
The arrival of sawmills, gristmills, and wool manufacturing enterprises prospered in the newly incorporated town of Oxford in the early 19th century.
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Hartford’s Industrial Day – Today in History: October 7
Hartford celebrated the 1908 opening of the Bulkeley Bridge, which connected Hartford and East Hartford, with a three-day extravaganza.
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A Different “Type” of Connecticut Industry
In the middle of the 1800s, the invention of the typewriter revolutionized the way Americans communicated, including in Connecticut.
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Children of the Reconcentrados: Caroline Selden’s Cuban School
During the Cuban War of Independence, Caroline Selden opened a school for Cuban children in Brooklyn, NY and Old Saybrook, CT.
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Get Out Your Paper Dress, Gal! – Who Knew?
In 1966, the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford was featured on the popular TV show, I’ve Got a Secret.
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Eighteen Years in the Making: Connecticut’s 1991 Gay Rights Law
Connecticut’s 1991 “gay-rights law” was one of the state’s first LGBTQ+ civil rights laws and prohibited discrimination based on sexual orientation in housing, employment, and credit.
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The Windsor Economy: A River Ran Through It
Windsor’s location on the Connecticut River shaped the area’s development dating back to its earliest recorded years.
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Sylvester Graham: Progressive Advocate for Healthy Living
Sylvester Graham is known as much for his sermons on morality as his advocacy of a healthy lifestyle and his creation of the graham cracker.
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Monument to Hero of the Greenwich Police Department – Who Knew?
A memorial in Byram Park honors Yogi, who became the first police dog of the Greenwich Police Department in 1988.
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Connecticut Yankee Brings Power to the People
For nearly 30 years the Connecticut Yankee Atomic Power Company operated a nuclear power plant in Haddam Neck, Connecticut.
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A Willington Visionary Preserves the Nation’s Colonial Past
Jared Sparks was a Unitarian minister, editor, and historian who went on to serve as President of Harvard University in the middle of the 19th century.
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Education/Instrucción Combats Housing Discrimination
This group’s bilingual name reflected its educational mission as well as its dedication to unified, multicultural cooperation for the common good.
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Lobsters and Oysters and Clams: A Short History of Seafood in Connecticut
The ocean’s bounty has been savored along the Connecticut coastline for as long as humans have been around to bring it on shore.
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Boone Guyton Tested the Limits of World-Famous Aircraft
A long-time resident of Woodbridge, Boone Guyton was one of the most prolific test pilots in US aviation history.
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Connecticut Pin Makers
For the latter half of the 19th century and for much of the 20th century, Connecticut led the nation in pin production.
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Saddles Fit For a Shah
Since 1794, Hartford-based Smith-Worthington Saddlery has made tack for horses—along with the occasional ostrich harness and space suit prototype.
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The Hurricane of 1938 Rocks Connecticut
Together the combination of chance and human error produced the most destructive hurricane in Connecticut’s history.
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P. T. Barnum’s Lottery
Known for entertainment, this showman gained experience in engaging the public, and profiting from it, by running a lottery in Bethel.
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Elastic Web Expands Textile Manufacturing in West Haven
For the better part of a century, West Haven produced one of the more unique and innovative textile products in United States’ history.
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Hurricane Gloria: “Storm of the Century”
In September of 1985, Hurricane Gloria made landfall in Connecticut, causing approximately $60 million of damage in the state.
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Literacy Tests and the Right To Vote
Connecticut was the first state to require a literacy test of would-be voters and, even as the practice came under fire as a tool of discrimination, the state held steady until 1970.
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Birthplace of the Gerber Baby – Who Knew?
Westport’s artist Dorothy Hope Smith used her neighbor, Ann Turner, as inspiration for her iconic Gerber Baby trademark drawing.
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Helen James Chisholm: A Hartford Teacher in Hawaii
Originally from Hartford, Helen James Chisholm’s career took her all the way to the Pacific to teach and run an orphanage.
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Financing a Free Puerto Rico: The Great Wells Fargo Heist of 1983
On September 12, 1983, an employee at the Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, committed what was, at the time, the largest cash robbery in American history.
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The Ebenezer Avery House – Who Knew?
The Ebenezer Avery House in Groton once served as a hospital for the wounded after the Revolutionary War’s Battle of Groton Heights on September 6, 1781.
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Connecticut’s Official State Flag – Who Knew?
While Connecticut used variations of flags for state functions, the legislature did not adopt an official state flag until 1897.
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Bradley Field Enters the Jet Age
In 1952 a state-of-the-art terminal building, Murphy Terminal, was opened in the spirit of “if you build it, they will come.”
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Trumbull’s Parlor Rock Park: A Premier Amusement Center of the Late 19th Century
In Trumbull, the arrival of the Housatonic Railroad brought a lesser known but more entertaining development—one of the country’s first amusement parks.
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Benedict Arnold Turns and Burns New London
September 6, 1781 was a brutal and terrifying day for Connecticut citizens living on both sides of New London harbor, along the Thames River.
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Morton Biskind Warned the World About DDT
A Westport physician named Morton Biskind became one of the first to warn the world about the dangers of DDT. His work ultimately helped inspire the writings of Rachel Carson.
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At the Sign of the Yellow Dragon: Hartford’s First Chinese Restaurants
The first Chinese restaurant opened in Hartford in 1898 and evolved as immigrants from different parts of China introduced new tastes.
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Peter’s Rock: North Haven History with a View
Far from being a mere recreational hotspot, however, Peter’s Rock is a formation with an extensive history of service to the surrounding area.
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Rewriting the Norm: How Two East Haddam Women Revolutionized Nonsexist Language
East Haddam’s Casey Miller and Kate Swift were both outspoken advocates for eradicating gender bias in the English language.
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Murder on the Map: The Mysterious Death of Captain George M. Colvocoresses
At first glance, this hand-drawn map appears unremarkable but it depicts the scene of a sensational crime in Bridgeport.
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Connecticut’s First Mutual Savings Bank Opens in Hartford
On June 1, 1819, Governor Oliver Wolcott Jr. approved a legislative charter for the Society for Savings in Hartford—the first mutual savings bank in the state.
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Discovered Dinosaur Tracks Re-Route Highway and Lead to State Park
Some 200 million years ago, carnivorous dinosaurs roamed Rocky Hill leaving the three-toed tracks that would become our state fossil.
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The Connecticut Houses that Ended Up in Massachusetts
Old Sturbridge Village moved numerous historical CT buildings, but evidence of their existence still lives on in historic maps, photographs, and memories.
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Elisha Root Changes Industry – Who Knew?
Elisha Root standardized production and made the Colt revolver the first handgun in the world with fully interchangeable parts.
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Briggs Manufacturing Drives Voluntown’s 19th-Century Cotton Economy
The Briggs Manufacturing Company was the premier employer in Voluntown, Connecticut, throughout the latter half of the 19th century.
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A Busy Airfield in Bethany
In its first few years, the airfield in Bethany served the interests of small-time aviation enthusiasts.
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19th Amendment: The Fight Over Woman Suffrage in Connecticut
In Connecticut, Frances Ellen Burr and Isabella Beecher Hooker took up the cause by forming the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association (CWSA) in 1869.
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Enfield’s Shaker Legacy
Shaking Quakers settled in Enfield and created the packaged seed business.
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Lee’s Academy: An Icon of Education for 200 Years
For over two hundred years, Lee’s Academy has been a staple of education in Madison, Connecticut.
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Putting History on the Map
While maps serve a utilitarian function at the time of their production, they become snapshots in time of the memories of those who designed them.
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A Metal Giant in Wilton
Kenneth Lynch was an accomplished blacksmith who was a longtime resident of Wilton and created memorable pieces of metalwork found in the Northeast.
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The Life of Chauncey Jerome: An Insider’s Look at What Made Early Bristol Tick
A glimpse at clock making in Connecticut from Chauncey Jerome’s 1860 autobiography
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Moses Wheeler: Legendary Housatonic Ferryman
Moses Wheeler carried passengers across the Housatonic River as the operator of the first ferry from Stratford to Milford—over 350 years ago.
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The Bull Moose Party in Connecticut
Connecticut expressed a brief interest in Theodore Roosevelt’s third-party, the “Bull Moose Party,” but the loss of the 1912 election proved career-ending for many candidates.
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Florence Griswold’s Home: A Story of Perseverance and Community
The Florence Griswold House, once a private residence, also served as a finishing school for girls in the 19th century and the center of the Lyme Art Colony.
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Fame and Infamy for the Hulls of Derby
Two Connecticut men, uncle and nephew, had starring roles—one in defeat and one in victory—during the War of 1812.
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Ashford’s Glass from the Past
In 1857, 13 stockholders invested $18,000 to form the Westford Glass Company—Ashford’s largest and most famous business enterprise.
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Alain and May White Memorial Boulder
Words of thanks on a stone marker in Litchfield highlight contributions of a brother and sister to land preservation.
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Guilford’s One-Man Fire Department
In the early decades of the 20th century, the town of Guilford had a fire department stationed on Chaffinch Island that consisted of just one man, Francis Ingals.
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Lake Compounce: Bringing Amusements to the State’s Residents Since 1846
Bristol’s Lake Compounce is the oldest continually operating amusement park in the US and has been open every summer since 1846.
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Maritime History: The Founding of the United States Coast Guard Academy
Connecticut has been home to the United States Coast Guard Academy since the early 1900s.
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Hartford’s Challenge to “The Birth of a Nation”
D. W. Griffith’s silent movie, the racially charged “Birth of a Nation,” initially played to large audiences in Hartford before meeting with official resistance after World War I.
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Anson Dickinson: Milton’s Painter of Portrait Miniatures
In the 1800s, watercolor portraits painted on small pieces of ivory were in vogue and miniaturists like Dickinson found a ready market for their craft.
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Talcott Mountain: A View of Early New England
The Talcott Mountain range lies in the northeastern section of Avon and is arguably the town’s most prominent geographic feature.
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Cash Crop: L.B. Haas & Co. and the History of Tobacco in Connecticut
Louis B. Haas was a Dutch immigrant who opened a retail cigar store, Essman & Haas, on Central Row in Hartford in the late 1840s.
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The Steady Evolution of a Connecticut Family Business
Simsbury and Avon’s fuse-making helped build America’s railroads, mine her natural resources, expand the Panama Canal, and even blow up tree stumps in local farm fields.
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Roger Sherman Dies – Today in History: July 23
On July 23, 1793, Roger Sherman—a Connecticut merchant, lawyer, and statesman—died in New Haven.
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A Photographer with a Painter’s Eye: The Story of Nelson Augustus Moore
Kensington-born Moore took “on the spot” photographs that documented life and events during the 1850s and 1860s.
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Emmeline Pankhurst’s “Freedom or Death” Speech Energizes Connecticut Women in 1913
In 1913, a famous British suffragist, Emmeline Pankhurst, gave a powerful and memorable speech on the steps of the Parsons Theater in Hartford.
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The Connecticut Town Green
Considered a quintessential feature of the New England landscape, town greens weren’t always the peaceful, park-like spaces we treasure today.
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Killingworth’s Automated Attraction – Who Knew?
In the 1890s Clark Coe created an attraction of life-sized moving figures called the Killingworth Images on his farm on Green Hill Road.
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Up from the Ashes: Fire at the Meriden Britannia Company – Today in History: July 16
A manufacturer of silver-plated ware rebounds from the worst fire ever to occur in Meriden.
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Preserving Connecticut’s Natural Beauty: Connecticut’s First State Parks
Sherwood Island, Mount Tom, Macedonia Brook, and Kent Falls are among the earliest lands set aside as the parks movement took hold in the state.
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Indian Hill Cemetery and the Landscaping of Burial Grounds in the Mid-19th Century
The landscaping of Indian Hill Cemetery speaks to 19th-century reactions to industrialization and urbanization and the search for peaceful natural environments.
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Weaving the Cultural Fabric of Beacon Falls
The textile mills of the Naugatuck Valley brought tremendous change to towns like Beacon Falls.
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Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
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Boat Shoes Have Ties to Connecticut – Who Knew?
During the 1935 winter, Paul Sperry watched his dog run across ice and snow without slipping and got inspired to create a shoe that would help human traction.
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Rosamond Danielson: Windham County Suffragist and Community Leader
Rosamond Danielson was a respected suffragist, World War I worker, and philanthropist from Putnam Heights.
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Hartford Circus Fire: “The Tent’s on Fire!” – Who Knew?
The Hartford Circus Fire on July 6, 1944, may be the worst human-caused disaster ever to have taken place in Connecticut.
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Saving Sessions Woods
After decades as historic family property and summer camp, Sessions Woods became a park after local residents organized to save it from private developers.
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Wallingford Native Son Signed the Declaration of Independence
Lyman Hall served in the Second Continental Congress and signed the Declaration of Independence.
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The Rise and Fall of Sealing in Early New London Industry
New London owed much of its early prosperity to the success of its whaling fleet: it was once the third-largest whaling port in the world.
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Constance Baker Motley: A Warrior for Justice
New Haven lawyer Constance Baker Motley became famous for arguing some of the most important cases of the civil rights movement.
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The Amistad
After enslaved people revolted and took control of the Amistad in 1839, Americans captured the ship off Long Island and imprisoned the enslaved in New Haven.
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Maria Colón Sánchez, State Representative and Community Advocate
The first Latina elected to the Connecticut General Assembly started as a grassroots activist for Hartford’s Puerto Rican community.
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Connecticut’s Youngest City – Who Knew?
The city of West Haven, incorporated in 1961, is Connecticut’s youngest city but one of the state’s oldest settlements.
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The Ku Klux Klan in Connecticut
The white supremacist organization, the KKK, first organized in Connecticut during the 1920s, promoting themselves as part of the nativist movement.
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Joseph Alsop: Cunning Political Columnist of Mid-Century America
Joseph Wright Alsop was one of the country’s most well-known political journalists of the 20th century and was drawn into some of the most influential power circles in the world.
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Harwinton’s Sign has a Long History – Who Knew?
A sign has stood at the intersection of Route 4 and South Road in Harwinton for over 200 years.
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Julian Alden Weir: The “Heart” of American Impressionism
From Windham to Branchville, peaceful Connecticut locales provided Julian Alden Weir the inspiration to create hundreds of paintings and become one of America’s leading Impressionists.
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Daring World War II Escape of a Bethany Soldier
A member of the glider service, Rollin Booth Fowler crash landed in Normandy during World War II and was captured, only to execute a daring and dramatic escape.
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Connecticut’s First Known Juneteenth Celebration in Norwich – Who Knew?
In 1989, the Norwich Branch of the NAACP organized the first official Juneteenth celebration in Connecticut—several other towns followed suit in subsequent years and decades.
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WDRC AM/FM – Connecticut’s Oldest Commercial Radio Station
WDRC is the oldest continuously operated commercial radio station in Connecticut that uses both AM and FM transmissions.
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Ferry Boats a Way of Life in Early Connecticut
From the 1600s on, Connecticut’s long coastline and river systems made ferry crossings a routine but sometime dangerous fact of life.
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Oldest Cavalry Unit – Who Knew?
The First Company Governor’s Horse Guards is the oldest, continuously active, mounted cavalry unit in the United States.
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Oldest Rose Garden – Who Knew?
The Elizabeth Park Rose Garden in Hartford is the oldest municipally operated rose garden in the country.
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Orange: Connecticut’s Candy Dispenser
Orange, Connecticut is home to one of the most revered, nostalgia-inspiring candy companies in the United States, PEZ.
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Prospect’s David Miles Hotchkiss and the Free Soil Party
David Miles Hotchkiss was an educator, abolitionist, and public servant who served the town of Prospect throughout his entire life.
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The Story of Pineapple Cheese
On a farm in West Goshen, Lewis Norton made one of the more unusual and popular foods of the 19th century, pineapple cheese.
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Plainville Has Been Flying High for Over 100 Years
The town of Plainville claims a special relationship with aviation culture that dates back to the earliest days of flight in the state.
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A Hip Road Trip
Known as “Gasoline Alley” during the 1950s, the Berlin Turnpike boasts a heady visual mix of neon, brand names, logos, and 1960s’ motel Modernism.
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Kalos Society: Connecticut’s First Modern LGBTQ+ Activist Organization
The Kalos Society emerged in the late 1960s as the first gay activist organization in Connecticut
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Ann Petry: Old Saybrook’s Bestselling African American Author
Living most of her life in Old Saybrook, Ann Petry was the first African American woman to sell over one million copies of a book with her first novel, The Street.
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Hartford’s Commemoration of World War I Servicemen and Women
At the end of the First World War, Hartford found a variety of ways to honor the sacrifices of its servicemen and women.
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The Black Panther Party in Connecticut: Community Survival Programs
The Black Panthers had a significant presence in Connecticut in the 1960s and ’70s, particularly through community programs aimed to serve minorities living in the state’s more urban areas.
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Albert Augustus Pope, Transportation Pioneer
Pope’s bicycles and automobiles not only gave 19th-century consumers greater personal mobility, they also helped propel social change.
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Breaking the Mold: Tradition and Innovation in the Work of Elbert Weinberg
Elbert Weinberg was a Hartford-born sculptor who earned international fame for his works, many of which were influenced by his Jewish faith.
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Restoring a Unique Piece of Bloomfield History
The Oliver Filley House in Bloomfield, Connecticut, is a two-story farmhouse designed in the Greek Revival style and built in 1834.
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Past Perfect: Wallace Nutting Invents an Ideal Olde New England
In the early 1900s consumers bought photographs, furniture, and books from a former minister who sold the fantasy of simpler times as an antidote to modern life.
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The Old Leatherman Alive in Our Memories
This enigmatic, solitary figure has captured the public imagination since the mid-1800s when he began walking a 365-mile interstate loop over and over again.
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Benjamin Dutton Beecher had a Penchant for Invention
Described by some as “eccentric,” Benjamin Dutton Beecher was a millwright and machinist with a knack for invention.
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The Bryan-Andrew House: Still Standing After All These Years
Believed to be the oldest house in Orange, the Bryan-Andrew House served as a home for a variety of local families for over 250 years.
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Farmington’s Hospital Rock Dates Back to 18th-Century Smallpox Inoculation
Deep within the woods of Rattlesnake Mountain in Farmington are the remains of a late-18th-century smallpox inoculation hospital.
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Sophie Tucker, The Last of the Red-Hot Mamas
Hartford’s own leading lady was a lively entertainer whose career spanned over five decades and whose generosity spilled over to various and numerous charities.
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Washington Didn’t Only Sleep Here: George Washington at Wethersfield’s Webb House
The first time George Washington traveled through Connecticut, he was an ambitious Virginia colonel hoping to advance his career in the British military.
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Papier-Mache Clocks – Who Knew?
The William L. Gilbert Clock Corporation of Winsted was one of the few clock-making firms in Connecticut allowed to continue the manufacture of clocks during World War II.
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“Gentleman’s Farming” Comes to Waterford
Walnut Grove received a listing on the National Register of Historic Places for its contribution to furthering the understanding of nearly 200 years of history.
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Frank Duryea Drives the First Automobile in Connecticut
In 1893, Frank Duryea, along with his brother, built one of the first cars in the country to have an internal combustion engine.
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Portland Puts Its Stamp on an Architectural Era
The brownstone quarries in Portland, Connecticut, owe their existence to millions of years of prehistoric sediments accumulating in the Connecticut River.
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John Howard Hale: Glastonbury’s Peach King
John Howard Hale came from a family of fruit growers in Glastonbury and developed a new type of peach that flourished in the harsh New England climate.
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Hervey Brooks’s 19th-Century Pottery Barn
Hervey Brooks was an American potter and farmer who made red earthenware domestic products in Goshen for more than half a century.
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The Incident of the Stonington Schooner ‘Breakwater’: A View from Indian Country
Hundreds of American Indians served as mariners, including on the Stonington schooner ‘Breakwater,’ which survived capture in the Falkland Islands.
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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.
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The “Fancy Chair” Craze of the 1800s: Lambert Hitchcock and the Story of the Hitchcock Chair
More than something to sit on, “fancy chairs” were emblems of social mobility for middle-class Americans.
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Edwin Land Inventor of the Polaroid Born – Today in History: May 7
On May 7, 1909, Edwin Herbert Land, founder of the Polaroid Corporation, was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut.
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Louis’ Lunch and the Birth of the Hamburger
In 1900, in answer to a customer’s rush order for something “quick and delicious,” Louis Lassen of New Haven served up a meal that is credited as being the first hamburger.
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Canon Clinton Jones: A Revolutionary Figure in Connecticut’s LGBTQ+ History
Canon Clinton Jones was a central figure in Connecticut’s LGBTQ+ community and a pioneer for compassionate care, queer visibility, and gender affirmation.
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Tradition and Transformation Define Hartford’s Jewish Community
From the mid-1800s to the present, Jews have called Connecticut’s capital city home and enriched it with their cultural traditions and civic spirit.
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Yung Wing, the Chinese Educational Mission, and Transnational Connecticut
In their respective tragic but inspiring final American acts, Yung and the Mission reflect the worst and best of the Chinese Exclusion Act era.
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“Take Five” with Dave Brubeck
Dave Brubeck was one of the leading jazz pianists and composers of the 1950s and 60s and made his home in Wilton.
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Arbor Day’s Roots in Connecticut – Who Knew?
Connecticut’s Reverend Birdsey Grant Northrop popularized Arbor Day celebrations in schools across the country.
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World-renowned Maker of Axes: The Collins Company of Canton
The New England factory town of Collinsville, which can still be toured today, once supplied the world with axes, machetes, and other edge tools.
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Jared Eliot Calls on Colonists to Change their Agricultural Practices
In 1760, this Killingworth minister and farmer published the first agricultural advice book in the British American colonies.
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Edith Watson: Camera Artist
Over the five decades Edith Watson traveled around North America, her keen eye and box camera lens captured the otherwise untold stories of women.
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The Pike Family Lived a Life of Dyeing
The Pike family of Sterling, Connecticut worked in textile dying for four generations.
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A History of Libraries Speaks Volumes About Southington
While it is not uncommon in the modern era for towns to appropriate funds for operating public libraries, the town of Southington has a unique history with its libraries.
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UConn and the Evolution of a Public University
From farming and war work to physics and sports, the University of Connecticut has diversified over the years and become New England’s leading public university.
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Connecticut and American Impressionism
American Impressionists looked to a New England countryside like that in Connecticut for evidence of a stable, timeless order beneath the dazzle of the ephemeral.
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Shakers Revolutionize Garden Seed Business – Who Knew?
Enfield Shaker-grown garden seeds, one of their best and most successful endeavors, were sold throughout the US in small packages.
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Vivien Kellems Takes On the IRS
Reformer Vivien Kellems fought her most famous battle against the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) as she sought tax reform for businesses and single people.
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Marian Anderson’s Role in the Civil Rights Movement
Marian Anderson performed and traveled in segregated spaces and emerged as one of the great singers of the 20th century.
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Aldrich Free Public Library: Dedicated to the Dissemination of Knowledge
Residents of the Moosup section of Plainfield organized a free public library “for the promotion and dissemination of useful knowledge” to its local citizenry.
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Soldier, Patriot, and Politician: The Life of Oliver Wolcott
Oliver Wolcott served in military in the Seven Years’ War and the American Revolution, but was also a popular member of the Continental Congress and governor of Connecticut.
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Humble Beginnings of the Dow Jones: How a Sterling Farmer Became the Toast of Wall Street
The life of Charles Dow, in many respects, follows the storyline of the prototypical self-made man.
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George Griffin: “Devoted Friend” to Samuel Clemens
Mark Twain wrote The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and used his “good-natured” and “devoted” servant, George Griffin, as a likely model for one of literature’s most memorable figures—Jim, the runaway enslaved man.
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Abraham Ribicoff: Kennedy Confidant and Connecticut’s First Jewish Governor
Abraham Ribicoff rose from a New Britain tenement to become Connecticut’s first Jewish governor and a confidant of President John F. Kennedy.
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The Park Movement in Hartford
The Hartford City Parks Collection comprises a rich archive, documenting Hartford’s pioneering effort to establish and maintain a viable system of municipal parks and connecting parkways between them.
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Mounds Candy Bar Involved in Espionage – Who Knew?
A storied Naugatuck business had its own “navy” and that it performed espionage services for the United States government during World War II.
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Muzzy Field: A Historic Ball Park Survives in a Post-Industrial City
After over one hundred years, Bristol’s Muzzy Field continues to welcome ball players and fans of sports history.
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Samuel Waldo Born – Today in History: April 6
Samuel Lovett Waldo was an early 19th-century portrait artist who worked among such famous colleagues as John Trumbull, Benjamin West, and John Singleton Copley.
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Connecticut’s Naval Contributions to the Civil War
Companies across Connecticut helped keep the Union navy afloat while sea-savvy leaders and sailors from the state kept it in fighting form.
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The Slaters Go Round the World
In 1894, a well-to-do Norwich family set sail from New London on a ship outfitted with Persian rugs, oil paintings, a library, and 75 cases of champagne.
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The Lebanon Grange Followed a Different Tune than National Movement
Music played a central role in fraternal rituals and sense of community.
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Where the Wild Things Are: Maurice Sendak
Authoring and illustrating dozens of books, such as ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ and ‘In the Night Kitchen,’ Maurice Sendak redefined children’s literature throughout the 20th century.
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Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett Helps Found Greenwich
In the middle of the 17th century, Elizabeth Fones Winthrop Feake Hallett played an integral part in purchasing the land that became Greenwich, Connecticut.
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A Night to Remember: When the Steamboat Took on the Railroad—and Lost
A case of mistaken identity causes a vessel to crash into a bridge and results in new a rule for marking safe passage with red lights.
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Emily Holcombe Pioneered to Preserve Connecticut’s Colonial Past
Emily Seymour Goodwin Holcombe was an activist and preservationist who took pride in the state’s history, particularly its colonial past.
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Aetna Helps Make Hartford “The Insurance Capital of the World”
Aetna started out as fire insurance company in Hartford in 1819, but spread into life insurance and is now a global leader in the health insurance industry.
Read The Story Trail of Voices
Mohegan history and religion have been preserved by many different voices in many different families through Mohegan Oral Tradition. However, since before the American Revolution, four women in particular have passed on Mohegan stories.
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Hartford’s Sex Trade: Prostitutes and Politics
Union organizer Rebecca Weiner was among the few who proposed to address the social and economic conditions that enabled the world’s oldest profession to thrive in the capital city during the 1800s.
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Helen F. Boyd Leads the Charge for Better Public Health
A long-time Connecticut resident, Helen F. Boyd Powers was a national advocate for greater public access to nursing and healthcare education.
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A Voice for Veterans: A Civil War era ‘Whistle-Blower’ – Who Knew?
Her obituary stated that “Mrs. Ambler was always expected to say something” on behalf of those who had fought for the Union.
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The Industrial Might of Connecticut Pegmatite
Connecticut has a complex and compelling geologic legacy with substantial mineral riches, including pegmatite that has historically been a boon to industry.
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Faith Trumbull: The Artist Was a Young Girl
Her younger brother may be the better-known artist today, but it was her accomplished needlework pictures that inspired his youthful imagination.
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Benedict Arnold: America’s Most Famous Traitor
Benedict Arnold of Norwich was one of the great Continental army heroes of the American Revolution before committing treason and joining the British army.
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The Reader’s Feast: A Bookstore Ahead of Its Time
For over two decades, The Reader’s Feast was the most progressive independent bookstore in the Hartford area and provided a space for literature, community, food, and affirmation.
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The Pie Man from Georgetown and the Connecticut ~ Copperthite Pie Company
More than just a wagon driver and Civil War veteran, Henry Copperthite built a pie empire that started in Connecticut.
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Playing with Time: The Introduction of Daylight Saving Time in Connecticut
Despite both formal and informal attempts to regulate the observance of Daylight Savings Time in Connecticut, it still remains a controversial topic for many state residents.
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The Sole of New Canaan’s Shoe Industry
New Canaan, now largely a residential suburb of New York City, was once a leading producer of US footwear.
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Ezra Stiles Captured 18th-Century Life on Paper
Among Ezra Stiles’ greatest contributions to history are the journals and records he kept detailing daily life in 18th-century New England.
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Medicine Woman Gladys Tantaquidgeon and Mohegan Cultural Renewal
Gladys Tantaquidgeon dedicated her life to perpetuating the beliefs and customs of her tribe and championed the protection of indigenous knowledge across the United States.
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Connecticut Pocketknife Firms
Connecticut pocketknife production began around 1840. Over the next two decades, Connecticut became the earliest state to have a burgeoning craft.
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America’s First Ordained Woman Minister: Olympia Brown and Bridgeport’s Universalist Church
Long-time Bridgeport resident Olympia Brown was the first woman ordained as a minister in the United States and campaigned vigorously for women’s suffrage.
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Providing Bundles for Britain and News for America
Janet Huntington Brewster Murrow was a Middletown native who grew up to be one of America’s most trusted news correspondents, philanthropists, and the wife of Edward R. Murrow.
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Hannah Bunce Watson: One of America’s First Female Publishers
Hannah Bunce Watson was one of the first female publishers in America and helped the Hartford Courant survive one of the most challenging times in its history.
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Nellie McKnight Promotes History and Literacy throughout Ellington
Nellie McKnight was a teacher, librarian, and historian who served the town of Ellington for most of her life.
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Katharine Houghton Hepburn, A Woman Before Her Time
This Hartford suffragist and reformer fought for women’s rights in the first half of the 20th century.
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Mary Townsend Seymour: Hartford’s Organizer, Activist, and Suffragist
Mary Townsend Seymour was a leading organizer, civil rights activist, suffragist, and so much more in Hartford during the early 20th century.
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Marking Time: Early Connecticut Innovations Transform Clock Making
During the 18th and 19th centuries, Connecticut played a major role in transforming clock making from a time-intensive handcraft into a mass-production industry.
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Charles Ritchel and the Dirigible
An entrepreneur’s design for a lighter-than-air vehicle takes flight in the late 1800s and inspires a new state industry.
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The Corbin Cabinet Lock Company and Patent Law: A Lesson in Novelty from a CT Perspective
New Britain, fondly known as the “Hardware City,” had numerous companies that contributed to modern industrialization.
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James Mars’ Words Illuminate the Cruelty of Slavery in New England
Mars’ landmark memoir of the mid-1800s reveals how enslaved men and women suffered—and resisted—the injustices of bondage.
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Emma Hart Willard: Leader in Women’s Education
Berlin-born Emma Hart Willard used her passion for learning to create new educational opportunities for women and foster the growth of the co-ed system.
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Luna Park: A 20th-century Story of Amusement and Morality
The story of Luna Park in West Hartford provides insight into the battles between entertainment and ethics in Connecticut during the Progressive Era.
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Connecticut’s Only US President – Who Knew?
43rd President George W. Bush was born in New Haven at the Grace-New Haven Community Hospital on July 6, 1946.
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A Different Look at the Amistad Trial: The Teenager Who Helped Save the Mende Captives
James Benajmin Covey, a former slave, was only 14 years old when asked to serve in one of the most publicized trials in American history.
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Samuel Colt: From Yankee Peddler to American Tycoon
Hartford native Samuel Colt built a financial empire on his design and automated production of the revolver.
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Marietta Canty House
Hartford’s Marietta Canty House is primarily significant for its association with actress Marietta Canty, who received critical acclaim for her performances in theater, radio, motion pictures, and television as well as for her political and social activities.
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Richard Reihl: The Hate Crime That Became a Turning Point for LGBTQ+ Civil Rights
The 1988 murder of Richard Reihl, a gay man from Wethersfield, galvanized and mobilized communities to organize and transform LGBTQ+ civil rights legislation in the state for decades to come.
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Roger Griswold Starts a Brawl in Congress – Today in History: February 15
On February 15, 1798, Roger Griswold, a US House Representative from Connecticut, attacked Matthew Lyon on the floor of the House of Representatives.
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The Lives of Addie Brown and Rebecca Primus Told Through their Loving Letters
Addie Brown and Rebecca Primus were two free Black women whose lives intersected in Hartford, Connecticut in the 19th century. Letters written between them imply their relationship was more than friendship.
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Edward Alexander Bouchet: The First African American to Earn a PhD from an American University
Edward Alexander Bouchet was a physicist who was among Yale’s first African American students, and reportedly became the first African American in the United States to earn a PhD.
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A Valley Flooded to Slake the Capital Region’s Thirst
From 1927 to 1948, the Metropolitan District Commission built the Saville Dam and flooded the valley to create the Barkhamsted Reservoir, displacing over a thousand people.
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“Free Bobby, Free Ericka”: The New Haven Black Panther Trials
In 1969, the Black Panther Trials brought national attention to New Haven as prosecutors charged members of the radical movement with murdering one of their own.
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The Cheney Brothers’ Rise in the Silk Industry
Building a business on the back of an insect may seem foolish but for Manchester’s Cheney Brothers silk mill, it became the ticket to global success.
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LGBTQ+ Mental Health Treatment in the 20th Century
The simultaneous development of accepted mental health practices and LGBTQ+ visibility over the decades offers a chance to examine how psychological research contributed to the discrimination of LGBTQ+ individuals and communities.
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Four Saints in Three Acts Debuts – Today in History: February 7
On February 7, 1934, the Wadsworth Atheneum debuted the modernist opera Four Saints in Three Acts in its new Avery Memorial Theater.
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Breaking the Myth of the Unmanaged Landscape
Evidence of early Native land use is etched into the landscape and preserved in oral tradition as well as the historical and archaeological records.
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New Britain Plays Part in the Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad, developed in the early 19th century, was a system of safe havens designed to help enslaved people escape to freedom.
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Henry Bacon Helps Beautify Naugatuck
Best known for the Lincoln Memorial, this architect also designed a railroad station, WWI monument, and a bridge for Naugatuck.
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Ebenezer Bassett’s Historic Journey
Ebenezer Bassett, an educator, activist, and associate of Frederick Douglass, served the US as its first African American ambassador.
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Uriah Tracy Authors the Rules for Impeachment
Uriah Tracy was an attorney and politician who took up arms against the British after the Battles of Lexington and Concord.
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Frozen Reservoir Destroys Danbury – Today in History: January 31
On January 31, 1869, Danbury’s Kohanza Reservoir froze.
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G. Fox and the Golden Age of Department Stores
Founded by Gerson Fox in 1848, G. Fox & Co. went on to become the nation’s largest privately owned department store.
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Town Patents the Lattice Truss Bridge – Today in History: January 28
On January 28, 1820, architect Ithiel Town was granted a patent for a wooden truss bridge, also known as Town’s Lattice Truss.
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William Douglas: A Colonial Hero’s Sacrifice
William Douglas was a successful merchant and military leader who settled in North Branford just prior to the Revolutionary War.
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Family Ties Bring Together North Branford Industry
In 1830, a resourceful industrialist opened a button making shop in what today is the Northford section of North Branford.
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First Connecticut Carpet Mills Emerge in Simsbury and Enfield
In the 1820s, the first two notable carpetmakers emerged in the north central part of Connecticut—the Tariff Manufacturing Company and the Thompsonville Carpet Manufacturing Company.
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Henry Barnard Advances State and National Education Initiatives
This 19th-century reformer sought to promote harmonious social and civic behavior by revamping the US school system.
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Selling Connecticut Products Abroad
In the mid-1800s, manufacturers from Connecticut found new overseas markets for everything from clocks and firearms to lawn mowers and machetes.
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From Kiln to Collection: Norwich Pottery and Its Makers
Despite the lack of good local clay, Norwich potteries flourished, turning out jugs, jars, crocks, pie plates, dishes, and other utilitarian objects.
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Franklin’s Ashbel Woodward was a Battlefield Surgeon and Historian
Ashbel Woodward was a physician, historian, and farmer who spent most of his life serving the town of Franklin.
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Hartford’s Charles Dillingham Discovered Broadway Stars
After growing up in Hartford, Charles Dillingham explored numerous career paths including newspaper publishing, politics, and—most famously—theatrical managing and producing.
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Rubber Vulcanization and the Myth of Nathaniel Hayward
Colchester has a persistent myth that Hayward invented vulcanization—a process that helps make rubber useful for manufacturing—but did not receive the credit he deserved.
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The Surprising Prevalence of Earthquake Activity in Connecticut
Connecticut has experienced thousands of earthquakes since European settled the area, the most active site being the village of Moodus in East Haddam.
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New Britain’s Yankee Peddlers Boost 18th-century Economy
While the rural economy of the North in the 18th century focused on local exchanges of goods within a community, Yankee peddlers used their mobility to bring finished products directly to the consumer.
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Hidden Nearby: Henry Obookiah’s Cornwall Grave
Heneri Opukaha’ia (Anglicized as Henry Obookiah in his lifetime) of Hawaii was a student of the Foreign Mission School in Cornwall.
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Andrus Field 1831–1911: Athletics and the Environment
The building of Andrus Field on the campus of Wesleyan University demonstrates changes made to the built environment to meet the changing needs of a local community.
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Colonel Augustus G. Hazard, Gunpowder Manufacturer – Who Knew?
By 1843, Augustus Hazard and partner Allan Denslow formed a joint stock venture called the Hazard Powder Company.
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Bridgeport’s WPKN: Going Strong After Half a Century
Bridgeport’s community radio station, WPKN, is still going strong after half a century, offering unique and eclectic programming.
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Jim Flora Captures 20th-Century Pop Culture
From jazz album covers to magazines and children’s books, Rowayton artist Jim Flora created works that helped document life in 20th-century America.
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Powder Hollow in Hazardville – Who Knew?
40% of all the gunpowder consumed in the Civil War came from Powder Hollow in Hazardville (a part of Enfield, Connecticut).
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Norwich’s “Volcanic” Past
With its water power, its location, and proximity to major port cities, Norwich has been attracting gun manufacturers since the American Revolution.
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Ethan Allen Born – Today in History: January 10
On January 10, 1738, future hero of the Revolutionary War Ethan Allen was believed to have been born in the frontier village of Litchfield, Connecticut.
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The Smith Sisters and Their Cows Strike a Blow for Equal Rights – Today in History: January 8
Abigail and Julia Smith of Glastonbury (along with Isabella Beecher Hooker) fought for a woman’s right to speak at town meetings and have a say in government.
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Mohawk Mountain Made Snow for Winter Sports Lovers – Who Knew?
In the 1930s, skiing became a popular pastime at Mohawk State Park in Cornwall and became famous for documenting the first artificial snow.
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Ida Tarbell: The Woman Who Took On Standard Oil
Ida Tarbell became one of the most famous “muckraking” journalists in 19th century America, thanks largely to her investigation of the Standard Oil Company.
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The First US Can Opener – Today in History: January 5
On January 5, 1858, Waterbury native Ezra J. Warner invented the first US can opener.
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“Tom Thumb” Born – Today in History: January 4
Charles Stratton, born in Bridgeport on January 4, 1838, toured the world with P. T. Barnum under the name, General Tom Thumb.
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Elizabeth Bentley Born – Today in History: January 1
Elizabeth Terrill Bentley is best known for her role as an American spy for the Soviet Union—and for her defection to become a US informer.
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William Hawkins Abbott Finds the Energy to Power the Northeast
William Hawkins Abbott helped transform the market for affordable energy through his oil refining, pipeline, and distribution networks.
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Skating Through Winter
By the 1850s, better-designed skates and interest in healthful outdoor activities made ice skating an increasingly popular leisure activity.
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There’s No Place Like Home for the Designer of Dorothy’s Ruby Slippers – Who Knew?
Connecticut-born Adrian, the American clothing designer who found success in Hollywood, designed Dorothy’s ruby slippers for The Wizard of Oz.
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A Godmother to Ravensbrück Survivors
Philanthropist Caroline Ferriday aided women whose internment at a German concentration camp during WWII left them scarred, physically as well as psychologically.
Read Chief G’tinemong/Ralph W. Sturges
This Mohegan Chief is remembered for successfully guiding the Tribe through the final stages of Federal Recognition, which it obtained in 1994.
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The Early Years of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company
Wasp and Hornet engines secure the reputation and success of this 1920s start-up venture.
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Waterbury Clock Company Saved by Mickey Mouse – Who Knew?
The Ingersoll Waterbury Company (now Timex) was saved from bankruptcy during the Great Depression, in part, by the introduction of the Mickey Mouse watch.
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First New-Gate Prisoner – Today in History: December 22
On December 22, 1773, John Hinson, the state’s first inmate, arrived at New-Gate Prison.
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Jim Henson, the Muppets, and Greenwich
Between 1964 and 1971, the famous puppeteer and creator of Sesame Street, Jim Henson, lived in Greenwich and created many of his most recognizable characters.
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A Most Unusual Criminal Execution in New London
On December 20, 1786, a crowd gathered behind New London’s old meeting house to witness the execution of a convicted murderer.
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Chick Austin Modernizes a Connecticut Institution
Arthur Everett “Chick” Austin Jr., director of the Wadsworth Atheneum from 1927 to 1944, put Hartford on the cultural map.
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Waterbury’s Holy Land
Begun by Catholic activist John Greco in 1956, Holy Land USA fell victim to neglect and abandonment in the 1980s.
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Farmington Canal Designed to Give Connecticut Commerce a Competitive Edge
The Farmington Canal serves as an example of how developments in transportation played a pivotal role in facilitating the country’s industrial activity.
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Phillips’ Milk of Magnesia Originated in Stamford
In 1873, Charles H. Phillips patented Milk of Magnesia and his company produced the popular antacid and laxative in Stamford, Connecticut, until 1976.
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Eighty-Five Hundred Souls: the 1918-1919 Flu Epidemic in Connecticut
The state’s busy ports provided an easy point of entry for the disease that claimed millions of lives around the world.
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Thomas W. Nason, the Poet Engraver of New England
An artist best known for his wood engravings that accompany Robert Frost poems, Nason blended classic and modern styles to capture a vanishing rural landscape.
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Horace Wells Discovers Pain-free Dentistry
This Hartford dentist played key role in the development of anesthesia but competing claims to discovery obscured his accomplishment.
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An Inconvenient Season: Charlotte Cowles’s Letters from December 1839
Letters between a sister in Farmington and a brother in Hartford reveal details about daily life at a time when the distance between the two communities wasn’t so easily traveled.
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Elihu Burritt Born – Today in History: December 8
On December 8, 1810, Elihu Burritt was born in New Britain, Connecticut, to a farming family and became a leading pacifist of his time.
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Beechmont Dairy: Bridgeport’s Ice Cream to Die For
Joseph Niedermeier Sr. founded the Beechmont Dairy in Bridgeport in 1906—a popular local business for over 60 years.
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Cromwell’s Iron Men Made Toys for Boys and Girls
The J & E Stevens Company eventually became the largest manufacturer of cast-iron toys in the country.
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NFL Great, Andy Robustelli of Stamford
Andy Robustelli played professional football for the Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants, winning several championships and awards during his career.
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The Slow Demise of Prohibition in Wilton
It is only in recent decades that the people of Wilton moved forward, albeit divisively, with plans to allow the sale of alcohol in their town.
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The Pest House Completed – Today in History: December 4
On December 4, 1760, the town of Durham announced the completion of their hospital house, precipitated by an outbreak of smallpox the year before.
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The American Brass Company: Leading the Way in the “Brass Valley”
The American Brass Company helped make the Naugatuck Valley a center of international brass production until the late 20th century.
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The Revolution of 1817
The Connecticut gubernatorial election of 1817 transferred power from the Federalists to the Republican Party, ending the Congregational Church’s domination.
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Scrabble Copyrighted – Today in History: December 1
On December 1, 1948, James Brunot of Newtown copyrighted the famous spelling game Scrabble.
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Hidden Nearby: The Morris Academy
Rare for his time, educator James Morris accepted both boys and girls as students.
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The White Pine Acts – Who Knew?
The British government made it illegal for colonials to cut down white pine trees over 24 inches in diameter—preserving the trees for use as masts on British naval ships.
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Danbury Hangings: The Executions of Anthony and Amos
The executions of Anthony and Amos Adams in Danbury speak to the fears and racial tensions prevalent in early American culture.
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Boston Post Road Carved out Three Travel Routes through State
The forerunners of Connecticut’s three interstate highways began as rugged postal routes in the 1600s.
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The First University of Connecticut Trustees
When the University of Connecticut started life as the Storrs Agricultural School in 1881, Governor Hobart Bigelow appointed its first eight trustees—all with agricultural backgrounds.
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Emile Gauvreau and the Era of Tabloid Journalism
Emile Gauvreau, former managing editor of the Hartford Courant, became a pioneer in the rise of tabloid journalism.
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Give Thanks for American Cooking
Widely accepted as the first cookbook written by an American, Amelia Simmons’s American Cookery was published by Hudson & Goodwin of Hartford in 1796.
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Daniel Curtiss: The Life of a 19th-Century Self-Made Man
Daniel Curtiss spent most of his life in Woodbury, thriving in business, pioneering the sale and distribution of commercial goods, and serving his town by holding political office.
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Connecticut’s Oldest Fire Department
The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department is the oldest continually operated fire department in Connecticut.
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New London’s Indian Mariners
In an era of dispossession and diminishing autonomy on land, Native American mariners learned to use Anglo-American structures and institutions to establish a degree of power and personal freedom for themselves.
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The Land of Nod Farm, East Canaan, Connecticut
The Land of Nod farm was an important agricultural and residential resource for both the people of East Canaan and the workers at the Beckley furnace.
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Seymour was Chusetown – Who Knew?
The town of Seymour was originally named Chuseville, before taking the name Humphreysville (after David Humphreys). It incorporated as Seymour in 1850.
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Foot Ball Match: Harvard vs. Yale – Today in History: November 13
On November 13, 1875, Yale and Harvard wore the first team uniforms in an American intercollegiate football game.
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A True Dog of War: Sergeant Stubby
The stray dog “Stubby” quickly became the mascot of the 102nd Infantry during WWI, despite an official ban on pets in the camp.
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Alfred Howe Terry Born in Hartford – Today in History: November 10
Alfred Howe Terry’s greatest achievement in the Civil War was his capture of Fort Fisher in January, 1865.
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Taking on the State: Griswold v. Connecticut
In the 1960s, Estelle Griswold challenged Connecticut’s restrictive birth control law, making it all the way to the Supreme Court.
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Samuel Foot: A Trader Turned Governor
Samuel Foot was a West India trader from Cheshire, Connecticut, who went on to a successful career in politics in the US Congress.
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The “Red Scare” in Connecticut
The Palmer Raids, launched in Connecticut in 1919, were part of the “Red Scare” paranoia that resulted in numerous civil rights violations committed by law enforcement officials.
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Drawing (on) the Connecticut Landscape: Benjamin Hutchins Coe Teaches Americans the Democratic Art
Benjamin Hutchins Coe helped teach Americans how to draw through the publication of numerous art manuals, many focused on Connecticut-inspired landscapes.
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Amy Johnson: A Mohegan Woman Who Survived Colonialism
Amy Johnson was a Mohegan woman who resisted living the life European settlers wanted her to live.
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New Haven’s Long Wharf
From the 17th through the 19th centuries, the economic prosperity of New Haven significantly depended upon Long Wharf.
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Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut – Today in History: November 1
On November 1, 1961, Estelle Griswold and Dr. C. Lee Buxton opened the Planned Parenthood League of Connecticut in New Haven.
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West Indians in Hartford
A significant wave of immigration to the United States from the West Indies began in the 1940s, spurred by labor shortages during World War II.
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Yung Wing’s Dream: The Chinese Educational Mission, 1872-1881
In all, 120 Chinese students came to live and study in New England. When they returned home, they served as diplomats, engineers, naval officers, physicians, educators, administrators, and magistrates.
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Caleb Brewster: A Patriot Against Freedom
Caleb Brewster—Fairfield, Connecticut’s resident member of the Culper Spy Ring during the Revolutionary War—was also an active participant in the African Slave Trade.
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Yale University Art Gallery – Today in History: October 25
Also known as the Picture Gallery, the Trumbull Gallery holds the distinction of being the first art museum at an educational institution in the United States.
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Old Saybrook Faces Down Threats to Its Water Supply
Shallow waterways and shifting sandbars made water navigation hazardous and prevented Old Saybrook from ever becoming a major port city.
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Notorious New-Gate Prison
A failed Simsbury copper mine is now a national historic landmark in East Granby.
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A Celebrated Artist and a Meaningful Space – Today in History: October 20
The Danbury Museum & Historical Society’s Huntington Hall honors the memory of a famed US sculptor, Anna Hyatt Huntington.
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A Revolutionary Book Designer: Bruce Rogers of New Fairfield
Bruce Rogers was a book designer who settled in New Fairfield. Considered one of the great typographers of his time, his masterpiece was the 1936 Oxford Lectern Bible.
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Map – Rochambeau’s Camp at Canterbury
This map, “Camp à Contorbery, le 7 Novembre, 10 milles de Windham,” is a page from the manuscript atlas Amérique Campagne 1782.
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Goshen’s Asaph Hall Becomes an Astronomical Success
Credited with discovering the moons orbiting the planet Mars, Asaph Hall became an international science celebrity in the 19th century.
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Byram River Flood – Today in History: October 15
A few minutes before 11:00 pm on October 15, 1955, Greenwich officials pulled the alarm signal and declared a state of emergency.
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New Haven Gives the Lollipop its Name – Today in History: October 13
On October 13, 1931, the name “Lolly Pop” was officially registered to the Bradley Smith Company of New Haven by the US Patent and Trademark Office.
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Timothy Dwight Provides Religious, Military, and Educational Services for a Young Country
Timothy Dwight was an influential preacher, poet, and educator who served as a chaplain during the Revolutionary War and later as the president of Yale College.
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Calder’s Stegosaurus Dedicated – Today in History: October 10
On October 10, 1973, Alexander Calder’s sculpture, Stegosaurus, was dedicated in Hartford.
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The Great Danbury State Fair & Early 20th-Century Outdoor Advertising
In 1909, the Danbury Agricultural Society called attention to its upcoming fair in a most creative manner.
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Typing History
Home to companies such as Royal and Underwood, Connecticut became an important manufacturing center for typewriters in the early 20th century.
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Connecticut Origins Shape New Light Luminary Jonathan Edwards
One of the most significant religious figures in US history, this theologian, philosopher, pastor, revivalist, educator, and missionary spent his formative years in Connecticut.
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Unveiling of the Grant Memorial Tablet – Today in History: October 4
On October 4, 1916, the Ulysses Simpson Grant Memorial Tablet was officially unveiled in the north lobby of the Connecticut State Capitol building in Hartford.
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The Whitney Armory Helps Progress in Hamden
Eli Whitney later established an armory in Hamden that not only produced weapons for the US government during the early 19th century but also contributed to the evolution of mass-produced firearms.
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American Architect Ithiel Town Born – Today in History: October 3
On October 3, 1784, prominent American architect and engineer Ithiel Town was born in Thompson.
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BF Clyde and the Steam-powered Cider Mill – Who Knew?
In 1881, Connecticut resident Benjamin F. Clyde began producing and selling cider in Mystic.
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Site Lines: Monuments to Connecticut’s Lost County Government
County government operated in Connecticut in one form or another for nearly 300 years before the state abolished it in 1960.
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Mariann Wolcott and Ralph Earl – Opposites Come Together and Make History
The story of Mariann Wolcott and Ralph Earl captures much of the complexity the Revolutionary War brought to the lives and interactions of ordinary citizens.
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Evelyn Beatrice Longman Commemorates the Working Class
“Industry,” also known as “The Craftsman,” by Evelyn Longman, resides in Hartford and is a celebration of the working class and their contribution to society.
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When the NFL Played in Connecticut: The Hartford Blues
In 1926, the Hartford Blues became the first and only NFL team to call Connecticut home. After a disappointing season, the NFL voted them out of the league.
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1938 Hurricane Fuels Charcoal Business – Who Knew?
The hurricane of 1938, which devastated the Quinebaug Forest, ended up driving the development of the charcoal industry in Union.
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Walt Dropo Stars Throughout New England
Few major league baseball players had rookie seasons as good as Walt Dropo’s while playing for the Boston Red Sox in 1950.
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Nathan Hale Hanged in New York – Today in History: September 22
On September 22, 1776, the British hanged Revolutionary War soldier Nathan Hale, a school teacher from Coventry, Connecticut, for spying.
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William Eaton, a Peace Democrat and Civil War Opponent
This 19th century Connecticut politician took a controversial stand against a war that would divide the Union and decrease states’ rights.
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Thomas Hooker: Connecticut’s Founding Father
A powerful and popular preacher, Thomas Hooker led a group of Puritans out of Massachusetts in 1636 to settle new lands that eventually became the city of Hartford.
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Art Young, Radical Cartoonist
One of the more controversial cartoonists of the early 20th century, Art Young lived much of his life in Bethel. Residents later founded the Art Young Gallery in his memory.
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The Rise of the Black Panther Party in Connecticut
The Black Panther Party in Connecticut fought for an end to discriminatory legal and regulatory practices, often clashing with authorities to achieve their goals.
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Remembering Civil War Prisoners of War
Outside the Connecticut State Capitol building in Hartford stands a monument to the Connecticut prisoners retained at the Andersonville Prison during the Civil War.
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Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch – Today in History: September 17
In 1886, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch was dedicated to honor the 4,000 Hartford residents who served, and the nearly 400 who died, in the Civil War.
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Prudence Punderson, Ordinary Woman, Extraordinary Artist: Needlework in Connecticut
Completed in the 1700s, “The First, Second and Last Scene of Mortality” is considered to be one of the most spectacular pieces of needlework in US history.
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Sixty Degrees Below Zero: Connecticut Man Explores Antarctica
John Henry Von der Wall, a life-long resident of Bolton, took part in Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd’s famed expeditions to the South Polar regions.
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“Washburn Colonials”: Distinguished 1920s Homes Stand the Test of Time
Without formal training, Alice Washburn designed some of Connecticut’s most iconic Colonial Revival buildings of the early 20th century.
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World’s First Helicopter – Today in History: September 14
On September 14, 1939, the VS-300, the world’s first practical helicopter, took flight at Stratford, Connecticut.
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Putting Cleveland on the Map: Lorenzo Carter on the Ohio Frontier
From Connecticut, Lorenzo Carter became the first permanent settler of the community that became Cleveland, Ohio.
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Parachutist Snagged in Midair – Today in History: September 13
On September 13, 1966, Charles (Chuck) Alexander in Manchester, Connecticut became the first human to be captured by an aircraft in flight.
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From Aprons to Lab Coats: The Art and Science of Home Economics
In 1893 the Storrs Agricultural College (the precursor to the University of Connecticut) began training women in domestic science, the discipline that would later be called home economics.
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The Deplorable History of Hartford’s Seyms Street Jail
Abhorrent conditions characterized life in Hartford’s Seyms Street Jail for much of its century-long service to the county.
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A Diversified Mind: Hiram Percy Maxim
No matter his field of endeavor—from automotive design to wireless radio—this multitalented creator had a hand in key developments of the early 1900s.
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Wheeler & Wilson: A Stitchy Situation in Watertown
The Watertown firm of Wheeler & Wilson Manufacturing produced one of the most successful products of the late 19th century.
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Seaside Tuberculosis Sanatorium: Waterford’s Contested Oceanfront Gem
Connecticut’s Seaside Sanatorium in Waterford is the site of a former nationally recognized tuberculosis hospital.
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The Importance of Being Puritan: Church and State in Colonial Connecticut
Connecticut Protestants wanted to cleanse the church of what they saw as corruption, and to return to the simplicity and purity of early Christian worship.
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Serving Up Justice: Hartford’s Black Workers Organize
The earliest labor union for African American workers in Hartford appeared in 1902 with the birth of the Colored Waiters and Cooks Local 359.
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Connecticut Revolutionized Geography – Who Knew?
In 1828, Jesse Olney published A Practical System of Modern Geography, which revolutionized the way the subject was taught in schools during the 19th century.
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David Humphreys, Soldier, Statesman, and Agricultural Innovator
Despite an accomplished political career, this Derby-born gentleman of means is best remembered for introducing Merino sheep to North America.
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Rails and Paper Trails
The railroad first came to Connecticut in August of 1832 when the New York, Providence & Boston Railroad broke ground in Stonington.
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The Rev. Amos Beman’s Devotion to Education, Social Activism, and New Haven
Amos Beman spent much of his life a religious leader and social activist in New Haven, fighting the stereotypes and other obstacles he encountered because of his race.
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Dinosaur Tracks Found – Today in History: August 23
On August 23, 1966, hundreds of dinosaur tracks were uncovered in Rocky Hill by a bulldozer operator.
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Roosevelt Rides in an Electric Car – Today in History: August 22
On August 22, 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt rode through the streets of Hartford in an electric automobile.
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The Charter Oak Fell – Today in History: August 21
On August 21, 1856, the Charter Oak, a noted landmark and symbol of Hartford and Connecticut, fell during a severe wind and rain storm.
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A Pie Tin’s Soaring Sales
Tins used to hold pies at William Frisbie’s pie company in Bridgeport in the late 1800s reportedly provided the inspiration for Wham-O’s most popular toy, the Frisbee.
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Governor Jonathan Trumbull Dies – Today in History: August 17
On August 17, 1785, Connecticut’s first governor, Jonathan Trumbull, died.
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Connecticut Draws the Curtain on Public Executions
Brooklyn’s status as county seat in 1831 resulted in the town hosting what is widely accepted as the last public hanging in Connecticut.
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Senator Brandegee Stonewalls Women’s Suffrage
Senator Frank Brandegee of New London vehemently opposed progressive legislation at the national level, particularly when it came to the issue of women’s suffrage.
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Andover’s Award-Winning Creamery
Started in 1886 by town residents, the Andover Creamery Corporation typified cooperative agricultural enterprises of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
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Defending Connecticut: Fortifying New London Against the British in 1812
“Sir, You will immediately commence the repairs of the magazine at Fort Trumbull and the block house at Fort Griswold…,” wrote the US Secretary of War to a captain in New London.
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The Great Wallingford Tornado – Today in History: August 9
On August 9, 1878, a tornado swept from west to east across the northern part of Wallingford.
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Home Missionary Society’s First Missionary – Today in History: August 7
On August 7, 1800, David Bacon, a native of Woodstock and a minister with the Home Missionary Society of Connecticut, set out on foot for the then far lands of the West.
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Orange Seeds Yield Corn, Alfafa, Soy, and More
The antecedents of many of today’s most widely utilized crop seeds can trace their lineage back to a company started by the Clark family in Orange, Connecticut.
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Washington’s Sister Susie Society
The Sister Susie Society in Washington, Connecticut, started out as a reading circle but became a fundraising and World War I relief organization.
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The Danbury Hatters
References to the hat making industry abound in Danbury and continue to shape much of the city’s identity today.
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Lake Pocotopaug Shapes the Growth of East Hampton
East Hampton is home to one of Connecticut’s largest inland bodies of water, Lake Pocotopaug.
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Ralph Earl: Portrait of an Early American Artist
In addition to some of the earliest Revolutionary War battle scenes, Ralph Earl painted prominent figures of the colonial period.
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An Old Saybrook Borough has a Stately History
The Borough of Fenwick, a well-known summer community in Old Saybrook, is named for George Fenwick and his family.
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Connecticut Valley Railroad’s First Train – Today in History: July 29
On July 29, 1871, a ceremonial train ran along the new 44-mile track built by the Connecticut Valley Railroad.
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A Baltic Mill Helps Found a New Town
The Baltic Mill was once the largest cotton mill in the United States and led to the founding of the town of Sprague.
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Hartford Wide-Awakes – Today in History: July 26
On July 26, 1860, the Hartford Wide-Awakes welcomed the Newark, New Jersey, Wide-Awakes to a banquet and ratification meeting at Hartford’s City Hall.
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Connecticut Valley Style: Eliphalet Chapin Inspires a Tradition of Craft
Favoring local cherry and pine woods, this furniture maker introduced Philadelphia-style flair to New England consumers.
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Herbert Abrams Immortalizes the Nation’s Leaders
Herbert Abrams was an American painter whose portraits hang in some of the most prestigious institutions in the country.
Read A World in Motion: Artist and Sculptor Alexander Calder
Most renowned for his invention of the mobile, an abstract sculpture that moves, Calder is considered a pioneer of kinetic art.
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Aristocratic Dental Cream Gets Squeezed
Taking advantage of his skills as a dentist and chemist, Dr. Washington Wentworth Sheffield, in 1850 at the age of 23, invented modern toothpaste.
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A Unique Island Attraction in Bridgeport
When Bridgeport annexed the borough of West Stratford in 1889, the acquisition came with a a small 37-acre parcel of land on a barrier island at the mouth of Bridgeport Harbor.
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Orville Platt Helps Define International Relations after the Spanish-American War
Orville Platt was a powerful Republican senator from Washington, Connecticut. He presented the Platt Amendment to Congress.
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Reading, Writing, and the Great Outdoors: Frederick Gunn’s School Transforms Victorian-era Education
In 1850, this educator, prominent abolitionist, and outdoorsman founded The Gunnery, a school in Washington, Connecticut.
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Hiram Bingham IV: A Humanitarian Honored for Saving Lives during WWII
Career diplomat Hiram Bingham IV, whose family has lived in Salem, Connecticut, for generations, was born in 1903.
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The White Mountain Express Derails in Greenwich
On July 16, 1908, the gong of the ambulances on Greenwich Avenue broadcast one of the worst accidents on the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad.
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Creating Candlewood Lake – Today in History: July 15
Candlewood Lake was the first large-scale project in the United States to employ the concept of a pumped-water storage facility.
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Gallows Lane and the Execution of Barnett Davenport
Tragic murders in 1780 that shocked the town of Washington and revealed humanity’s dark side.
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The Path to Ashford’s Progress
Ashford’s location between Boston and Hartford once made it an important center for travel and commerce.
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The World’s Record for the Largest Muster – Who Knew?
Deep River, Connecticut holds the distinction of hosting the largest Ancient Fife and Drum Muster, setting the record in 1976.
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: Waterbury Farming in the Late 1800s
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: Farming as Recycling: The Becces in the North End
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: From Farmers to Developers: The Rasmussens of Town Plot
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: The Pierponts of East Farms
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
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Connecticut Suffragists Appeal to the President – Today in History: July 12
On July 12, 1918, Connecticut suffragists rallied in Hartford and Simsbury to appeal to President Woodrow Wilson for help in getting women the right to vote.
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: Struggles and Decline
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: Food Marketing and Processing as Part of Civic Culture
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: What Makes a Farm a Farm? Other Sites of Food Production in Waterbury
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: Remnants and Revivals
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
Read Brass City/Grass Roots: Bucks Hill: Waterbury’s Rural Holdout
This article is part of the digital exhibit “Brass City/Grass Roots: The Persistence of Farming in Waterbury, Connecticut”
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Bridgeport’s Catastrophic 1911 Train Wreck
In the early morning hours of July 11, 1911, a train derailed in Bridgeport, killing fourteen people. Among the first responders were members of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team.
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Drawn to Superheroes
Working as an illustrator at DC Comics for over 30 years, Aparo drew for such legendary series as Aquaman, The Brave and the Bold, Green Arrow, and The Spectre.
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Continuity and Change along the Eightmile River
The history of the Eightmile River illustrates the vital and changing roles that such waterways have played in Connecticut’s development.
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Erector Set Patented – Today in History: July 8
On July 8, 1913, the United States Patent Office issued a patent to Alfred C. Gilbert of New Haven for his “Toy Construction-Blocks.”
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British Burn Fairfield – Today in History: July 7
On July 7, 1779, during the Revolutionary War, the British anchored a fleet of warships off the coast of Fairfield, Connecticut.
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The Hartford Circus Fire – Today in History: July 6
Called the worst disaster in Hartford’s history, the fire killed 168 and injured 487, including many children.
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Pepperidge Farm Opens Bakery – Today in History: July 4
On July 4, 1947, Margaret Rudkin of Fairfield opened a modern commercial bakery in Norwalk and gave it the name of her small bakery, Pepperidge Farm.
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Bigelow Tea–A Connecticut Tea Party
The Bigelow Tea Company was started as a small family business in Manhatten before moving to Norwalk and then Fairfield.
Read Mohegan Sacred Sites: Moshup’s Rock
Every nation has a spirit. The Mohegan Spirit moves and breathes within the very rocks and trees of the Mohegan Homeland in Uncasville, Connecticut.
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Buffalo Bill Cody Visits the Monument of Uncas – Today in History: July 2
On July 2, 1907, American adventurer and showman “Buffalo Bill” Cody visited the Mohegan Royal Burial Grounds in Norwich.
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An Artist’s Life in Hartford: The Early Career of Dwight Tryon
Hartford native Dwight Tryon enjoyed a long, successful career as a landscape painter and teacher with studios in New York City and Massachusetts.
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Connecticut Attorney General John H. Light and His Fight for Woman’s Suffrage
Attorney General John H. Light made his pro-suffrage stance public at a time when such advocacy could still lead to criticism
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The Seth Wetmore House: A Storied Structure of 18th Century Middletown
Seth Wetmore was a merchant, judge, and deputy to the General Court of Connecticut. His house is one of Middletown’s oldest homes and one of thirty-three in the city listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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Merritt Parkway Creates Scenic Gateway to New England
This Depression-era road improvement project sought to artfully balance the natural and built environments.
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Greenwich Emergency Responders: On the Move Overtime
Horses, motorcycles, and boats are just a few of the modes of transportation that town emergency personnel have used over the years to get to where they’re needed.
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Stevan Dohanos Captures Connecticut Life
Westport resident Stevan Dohanos was one of America’s top realist illustrators, producing more than 125 popular magazine covers, and over 300 designs for commemorative postage stamps.
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Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy
While several educational academies existed for girls in the years following the American Revolution, few proved more influential than Sarah Pierce’s Litchfield Female Academy.
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The Rose King of America Transformed Cromwell’s Landscape
Andrew N. Pierson established A.N. Pierson’s, Inc., a small floral nursery in Cromwell that evolved into the largest commercial rose growing enterprise in the country.
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Private vs. Public Property – Today in History: June 23
On June 23, 2005, the US Supreme Court ruled in a precedent-setting eminent domain case Kelo et al vs. New London,.
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John Howe Makes a Better Pin – Today in History: June 22
On June 22, 1832, John Ireland Howe (from Ridgefield, Connecticut) invented the first practical machine for manufacturing pins.
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J. P. Morgan’s Connecticut Roots
One of the great financiers of the late 19th and early 20th century, J. P. Morgan was born (and spent much of his youth) in Hartford, Connecticut.
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Jimmy Piersall’s Public Struggle with Mental Illness
Professional baseball great Jimmy Piersall battled with mental illness all of his life.
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North Haven: Fabricating Sculpture in the 1960s and 1970s
Lippincott, Inc., in North Haven, was one of the most highly respected fine-arts metal fabricators in the country in the second half of the 20th century.
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Summer Crowds Flocked to New Canaan and Stayed
Like many towns in Connecticut, New Canaan owes much of its modern character to the evolution of industry and transportation in the Northeast.
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The Blake Rock Crusher – Today in History: June 15
On June 15, 1858, Eli Whitney’s nephew, Eli Whitney Blake of New Haven was granted US patent No. 20,542 for a “machine for crushing stone.”
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East Haddam Swing Bridge – Today in History: June 14
On June 14, 1913, the East Haddam Swing Bridge officially opened on Flag Day.
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Harriet Beecher Stowe Born – Today in History: June 14
On June 14, 1811, author Harriet Beecher Stowe was born in Litchfield.
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Stamford’s Three-Gun Armada
During the Revolutionary War, American privateers utilized armed whaling boats to keep the British from the colonies’ shores and prevent illicit trade in British goods.
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The Platt Amendment – Today in History: June 12
Orville Platt from Meriden presented the Platt Amendment to Congress in 1901. It essentially made Cuba an American protectorate.
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The Hardware City Could’ve Been the Motor City – Who Knew?
In 1903 the Russell & Erwin Company and the American Hardware Corporation purchased the Bristol Motor Car Company of Bristol, Connecticut.
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Hooker’s Journey to Hartford
In early June 1636, Puritan religious leader Reverend Thomas Hooker left the Boston area with one hundred men, women, and children and set out for the Connecticut valley.
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USS George Washington Launched – Today in History: June 9
On June 9, 1959, the first nuclear-powered, ballistic-missile submarine, the USS George Washington (SSBN 598), was launched at Groton.
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Bridge Ornaments Help Tell the Legend of the Windham Frog Fight
One June night in 1754, Windham residents awoke to a dreadful sound, the source of which has inspired tall tales ever since.
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Nathan Hale: The Man and the Legend
A school teacher hanged as a spy during the American Revolution, Nathan Hale became Connecticut’s official state hero in 1985.
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Thomas Hall’s Electric Block Railroad Signal – Today in History: June 7
On June 7, 1870, Thomas Hall patented the electromagnetic signal apparatus for railroads–better known as the automatic electric block.
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Collis P. Huntington: The Boy from Poverty Hollow
From a poverty-stricken life in Harwinton, Connecticut, Collis Huntington grew to be one of the wealthiest and most powerful railroad men of his era.
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Wiffle Throws a Curve in American Leisure Time
When David N. Mullany created the concept for a lightweight ball, he didn’t know his invention would change the way children across the US played backyard baseball.
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The State Cantata – Today in History: June 3
On June 3, 2003, the Connecticut General Assembly designated The Nutmeg, Homeland of Liberty by Dr. Stanley L. Ralph as the State Cantata.
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Elizabeth Park’s Rose Garden: June is Busting Out All Over
Boasting 15,000 bushes and about 800 varieties of roses, it is the oldest municipally operated rose garden in the country.
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Helen Keller in Connecticut: The Last Years of a Legendary Crusader
The internationally known author, political activist, and lecturer, Helen Keller, made her final home in Easton.
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Rediscovering Albert Afraid-of-Hawk
While performing with one of Buffalo Bill’s Wild West shows in Danbury in 1900, Albert Afraid-of-Hawk, or Cetan Kokipa, died.
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Noah Webster and the Dream of a Common Language
Best remembered for the dictionary that now bears his name, Noah Webster played a pivotal role in shaping the young nation’s political and social identity.
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Providing Rest for the Weary in Barkhamsted
Built in the late 18th century, Squire’s Tavern represents over 100 years of adaptive reuse architecture.
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The Minute Man, Westport CT
On the morning of June 17, 1910, over a thousand Connecticut residents descended upon Westport for a patriotic, event-filled unveiling of The Minute Man monument.
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Alse Young Executed for Witchcraft – Today in History: May 26
On May 26, 1647, Alse Young of Windsor was the first person on record to be executed for witchcraft in the 13 colonies.
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Built on Innovation, Saved by Nostalgia: Hitchcock Chair Company
In the 1820s Lambert Hitchcock adapted mass production concepts pioneered in the clock-making field to chair manufacture.
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W. J. Squire’s Gill Net Manufactory in East Haddam
In the early 1870s, Wilbur J. Squire (1837-1890) built his factory for the manufacture of gill nets in East Haddam.
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Modernism in Connecticut through Photographs
A creed as much as a style, Modernism rejected the forms of the past in favor of an architecture that reflected a new spirit of living.
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Charles Dudley Warner: 19th Century Writer and Social Commentator
Author Charles Dudley Warner penned significant volumes of work, leaving an impact through his enduring social commentary in the second half of the 19th century.
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Aunt Polly and Its Preservation
Screen actor, director, and playwright William Gillette owned a houseboat he named Aunt Polly. He lived on the boat and entertained there while he awaited final construction of his Connecticut mansion in East Haddam.
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Gun Wheel of the First Light Battery, Connecticut Volunteers
A wheel damaged in battle now resides at the Connecticut State Capitol to commemorate the Civil War service of the First Light Battery Connecticut Volunteers.
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Re-creating Our National Pastime
The Baseball Playograph Company in Stamford brought live baseball to tens of thousands of Americans through the production of its “playograph” product.
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Paradise on the Sound: The Summer Colony at Fenwick
The history of this Old Saybrook community includes Stick-style architecture, Katherine Hepburn, and an iconic license plate image.
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The Yale-Storrs Controversy
In the late 1800s, under pressure from frustrated farmers, the Connecticut General Assembly voted to transfer land-grant status and revenue from Yale to the Storrs Agricultural School (UConn).
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Katharine Hepburn Born – Today in History: May 12
On May 12, 1907, stage and screen legend Katharine Hepburn was born to Thomas Norval Hepburn and women’s right activist Katharine Houghton Hepburn.
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Steaming Across the Atlantic
New London’s advantageous location on Long Island Sound made it a center for innovation in the transportation of goods and services by sea.
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First Woman Elected as US State Governor Born – Today in History: May 10
On May 10, 1919, Ella Grasso, née Ella Rosa Giovanna Oliva Tambussi, the first woman governor in the US to be elected “in her own right,” was born in Windsor Locks.
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John Brown Born – Today in History: May 9
On May 9, 1800, the man who became a catalyst for the Civil War was born in an 18th-century saltbox house in West Torringford.
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The Beckley Blast Furnace, East Canaan
The Beckley Blast Furnace, also known as East Canaan #2, is located in northwest corner of Connecticut on the Blackberry River.
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Amos Bronson Alcott Changes the Way Connecticut Children Learn
Amos Bronson Alcott was an educator and reformer born in Wolcott, Connecticut and father to best-selling author, Louisa May Alcott.
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First Woman to Receive US Patent – Today in History: May 5
On May 5, 1809, Mrs. Mary Kies of South Killingly became the first woman in the United States to receive a patent.
Read Artist Frederic Church Born – Today in History: May 4
On May 4, 1826, the great American landscape painter Frederic Edwin Church was born to a wealthy Hartford family.
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Crisis Management during the American Civil War: The Hartford Soldiers’ Aid Society
The Hartford Soldiers’ Aid Society was one of the most important relief organizations during the Civil War and provided new opportunities for women in the public sphere.
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A Connecticut Painter Finds His Voice through Colonial Folk Art
John Brewster Jr. was one of the preeminent portrait artists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
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Jeremiah Wadsworth, “foremost in every enterprise”
Jeremiah Wadsworth was a sea-going merchant, commissary general to the Continental army, and founder of the nation’s first banks.
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Eugene O’Neill’s Connecticut Connections
Playwright Eugene O’Neill drew inspiration for much of his work from his childhood hometown of New London.
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The Burning of Danbury
In April of 1777, British forces under Major General William Tryon led a raid on patriot supplies stored in Danbury, Connecticut.
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Gallaudet’s Vision Advances Deaf Education
Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet is acclaimed today for pioneering education for the deaf in the US and establishing the American School for the Deaf in Connecticut.
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Landscape Architecture Helps in Healing – Who Knew?
Frederick Law Olmsted re-designed the grounds on the campus of the Hartford Retreat for the Insane to help induce healing and serenity.
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The Collapse of the L’Ambiance Plaza
On April 23, 1987, twenty-eight workers lost their lives during a collapse at the L’Ambiance Plaza construction site in Bridgeport.
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Gifford Pinchot: Bridging Two Eras of National Conservation
Connecticut-born Gifford Pinochet oversaw the rapid expansion of national forest land holdings in the early 1900s.
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Ironclad Commissioned – Today in History: April 21
On April 21, 1862, the USS Galena was commissioned with a crew of 160 men.
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Danbury Baseball History Covers All the Bases
From the hometown teams to the 1903 World Series, Danbury has surprising connections to America’s favorite pastime.
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Child Labor in Connecticut
While Connecticut proved to be one of the more progressive states when it came to child labor laws, it still took federal legislation to protect children in the workplace.
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Carl Sandburg, Poet from the Grassroots, Reaches Connecticut Audiences
Popular poet, singer, and activist Carl Sandburg had numerous connections to Connecticut and promoted social reform in the early 20th century.
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Blacksmith Isaac Glasko Challenges the State Constitution
Isaac Glasko was a blacksmith of mixed African American and Native American descent who challenged 19th-century voting rights in Connecticut.
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Bridgeport Women Answer the Call – Today in History: April 15
On April 15, 1861, the women of Bridgeport created the nation’s first soldiers’ aid society during the American Civil War.
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Witamy to Little Poland! – A Thriving Neighborhood in New Britain
A bustling ethnic neighborhood along Broad Street in New Britain is home to such a vibrant Polish population that it earned the nickname “Little Poland.”
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The Hartford Whalers: Connecticut’s Last Major League Sports Franchise
Major league hockey debuted in Hartford in 1975 and the Hartford Whalers remained a staple of the Connecticut landscape for twenty-three years.
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Battling Bat Battalino: One of Hartford’s Heroes
A tenacious and long-lasting boxer, Battalino went on to win the world professional featherweight championship.
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Litchfield’s Revolutionary War Soldiers’ Tree
In 1902, the Daughters of the American Revolution celebrated Arbor Day by planting a tree on the Litchfield Green to commemorate the town’s Revolutionary War soldiers.
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New Canaan’s Pioneering Female Physician
Dr. Emily Dunning Barringer was the first female ambulance surgeon in New York City and the first female physician to work as an intern in a New York City hospital.
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The “Father of American Football” is Born – Today in History: April 7
A native of New Britain, Walter Camp helped revolutionize the game of American football while a student and coach at Yale and for several years afterward.
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Swinging for the Fences: Connecticut’s Black Baseball Greats
In Connecticut, African Americans played organized baseball as early as 1868, some of the game’s biggest stars played for teams throughout the state.
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The Thimble Islands – Little Islands with a Big History
While initially uninhabited because of their rocky soil, the Thimble Islands in Branford evolved into both a popular tourist destination and an exclusive residential community.
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Bradley International Airport Transforms Windsor Locks into Regional Gateway
Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks is Connecticut’s largest airport and the second largest in New England.
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Vera Buch Weisbord’s “Radical” Life
Vera Wilhelmine Buch Weisbord was a labor activist who helped organize trade unions and strikes that shaped the labor movement of the 1920s and 1930s.
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Quinnipiac: The People of the Long Water Land
The Quinnipiac still live in Connecticut and across the country, but the community is not presently one of Connecticut’s recognized tribes, nor is it federally acknowledged.
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From Bombs to Bras: World War I Conservation Measures Transform the Lives of Women
A shortage of metal during World War I encouraged women’s clothing manufacturers (such as Bridgeport’s Warner Brothers Corset Company) to switch from producing corsets to brassieres.
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The Litchfield Law School: Connecticut’s First Law School
The Litchfield Law School, founded in 1784 by Tapping Reeve, became the first professional law school in Connecticut.
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Steamboat Accident – Today in History: March 29
On March 29, 1876, the steamboat City of Hartford hit the Air Line Railroad Bridge on the Connecticut River at Middletown.
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I-95 Reaches New London
The arrival of I-95 to New London brought tremendous change to the city’s infrastructure, as well as to its businesses and neighborhoods.
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Anna Elizabeth Dickinson at Touro Hall – Today in History: March 24
On March 24, 1863, Anna Elizabeth Dickinson, a 20-year-old Quaker and abolitionist from Pennsylvania, spoke at Hartford’s Touro Hall.
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Joseph Taborsky and the “Mad Dog Killings”
Joseph “Mad Dog” Taborsky earned his nickname for the brutal methods he employed robbing and murdering his victims.
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An Artist and Her Books: Amelia Watson, 1856–1934
Connecticut artist Amelia Watson’s works adorn some of the most elaborately designed and treasured volumes of the 19th and 20th century.
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J. Frederick Kelly: Constructing Connecticut’s Architectural History
J. Frederick Kelly was both a well-known architect, preservationist, and architectural historian, whose works chronicled many of Connecticut’s historical properties.
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Chamberlin Mill: A Woodstock Survivor
West Woodstock’s Chamberlin Mill is a rare example of a water-powered circular saw mill converted to gasoline power.
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Paleontologist Othniel Marsh dies – Today in History: March 18
On March 18, 1899, America’s first professor of paleontology, Othniel Charles Marsh, died at his home in New Haven.
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Connecticut Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home
In 1866, the Connecticut Soldiers’ Orphans’ Home opened in Mansfield to house and educate boys and girls left parentless by the Civil War.
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Celia Burleigh, Connecticut’s First Female Minister
In 1871, Celia Burleigh, a life-long activist and reformer, became minister of the Unitarian congregation in Brooklyn, Connecticut.
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The Smith Sisters, Their Cows, and Women’s Rights in Glastonbury
By refusing to pay unfair taxes, these siblings became national symbols of discrimination suffered by women and of the struggle of the individual against government.
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Charles Goodyear’s Machine for Making Rubber Fabrics
Credited with discovering the vulcanization process that fortified rubber against extreme temperature changes, Charles Goodyear received several patents over his lifetime.
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The Telescoping Fishing Rod – Today in History: March 8
On March 8, 1887, Everett Horton, a Bristol mechanic, patented a fishing rod of telescoping steel tubes.
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Gideon Welles, US Secretary of the Navy and Lincoln’s “Neptune”
Gideon Welles was the Secretary of the United States Navy from 1861 to 1869 and a cabinet member during the presidencies of Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson.
Read Elihu Burritt Dies – Today in History: March 6
On March 6, 1879, Elihu Burritt “the learned blacksmith” died in New Britain.
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Looking Back: Tempest Tossed, the Story of Isabella Beecher Hooker
Isabella Beecher was a suffragist and spiritualist who shunned traditional female roles while alienating large parts of her family during her brother’s adultery scandal.
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Abraham Lincoln’s Republican Rally – Today in History: March 5
On March 5, 1860, Abraham Lincoln addressed the Republicans of Hartford at City Hall.
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Sarah Kemble Knight’s Journey through Colonial Connecticut
In 1704, when long distance travel was rare and roads crude, a Boston woman journeyed by horseback to New York City and recorded her views of Connecticut along the way.
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A Pioneering Woman in Business: Martha Parsons of Enfield
Enfield’s Martha Parsons broke new ground in her pursuit of employment opportunities for women. Her family home now belongs to the Enfield Historical Society.
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Israel Putnam: A Youthful Trailblazer Turned Colonial Militiaman
Israel Putnam served with distinction in the Seven Years’ War and in the Revolutionary War, particularly at the Battle of Bunker Hill.
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Holmes at Home: The Life of William Gillette
William Gillette was an American actor, playwright, and stage director most famous for his stage portrayal of Sherlock Holmes and for the stone castle he built in East Haddam.
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Connecticut’s Black Governors
For approximately one hundred years, Connecticut’s “Black Governors” were used by white authorities to help maintain order among the black population.
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The Gildersleeve Shipbuilding Legacy in Portland
Perhaps the most recognizable name in the history of Portland, Connecticut shipbuilding is Sylvester Gildersleeve.
Read Jackson v. Bulloch and the End of Slavery in Connecticut
Nancy Jackson sued for her freedom in 1837. Her victory helped further the abolitionist cause in a state slowly moving toward outlawing slavery.
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Malcolm X in Hartford: “Our Mission is Not Violence but Freedom”
In addition to helping found Nation of Islam Temple No. 14 in Hartford, Malcolm X spent considerable time in Connecticut rallying supporters to his cause.
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Hartford’s Great Migration through Charles S. Johnson’s Eyes
During the Great Migration of the early 1900s, African Americans from the rural South relocated to Hartford and other Northern cities in search of better prospects.
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The Vonsiatsky Conspiracy Case
In 1942, Anastase Vonsiatsky of Thompson, Connecticut, was convicted of conspiring to betray state secrets to Nazi Germany.
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Mystic-built USS Galena Part of Plan to Strengthen Union Navy
This 950-ton, steam-propelled gunboat took fire from critics and Confederates during the Civil War.
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The Language of the Unheard: Racial Unrest in 20th-Century Hartford
Race riots in Hartford during the 1960s came about thanks to a century of frustration and political inaction surrounding disparate standards of living among different races and ethnicities,
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Augustus Washington (1820 – 1875): African American Daguerreotypist
Though his work depicts people of different classes and cultures, ironically, no portraits of African Americans survive from his years in Hartford.
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Rockwell Hardness Tester – Today in History: February 11
In 1919, Hugh Rockwell and Stanley Rockwell received a patent for the Rockwell hardness tester, one of the 20th century’s metallurgical innovations.
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Charles Stratton and Lavinia Warren Wed – Today in History: February 10
He was rich, handsome and famous, she was considered a great beauty and their wedding was front page news around the nation.
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Laboring in the Shade
Thousands of Black Southern students, including a young Martin Luther King Jr., came north to work in Connecticut’s tobacco fields.
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The Successes and Struggles of New Haven Entrepreneur William Lanson
The life of this savvy businessman illustrates the possibilities—and limits—urban Connecticut presented to African Americans in the early 1800s.
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DN-1: The US Navy’s First Airship
The United States military’s experience with lighter-than-air technology began with the Connecticut Aircraft Company’s DN-1 airship built for the navy in 1917.
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Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses
The Mary and Eliza Freeman houses are the only remnants of “Little Liberia,” a settlement of free African Americans in Bridgeport that began in 1831.
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Waterbury Burns – Today in History: February 2
In 1902, nearly all of Waterbury’s downtown district was destroyed by one of the worst fires in the city’s recorded history.
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One-Legged Stools – Who Knew?
Hazard Powder Company employees sat on one-legged stools to keep them from falling asleep while working with dangerous materials.
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A Connecticut Slave in George Washington’s Army
Nero Hawley, born into slavery in Connecticut in the 18th century, fought in the Revolutionary War.
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G. Fox & Co. Destroyed by Fire – Today in History: January 29
On January 29, 1917, watchmen discovered a fire on the ground floor of the G. Fox & Co. building complex located on Main Street in Hartford.
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The Rise and Fall of Manufacturing in Bridgeport: The Case of Bryant Electric
For one hundred years Bryant Electric was a staple of Bridgeport industry, adapting to the challenges of the changing industrial landscape in America.
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Site Lines: The Mysterious Blue Lights
During the War of 1812, warning signals in the form of two blue lights prevented US ships from slipping past the British blockade of New London’s harbor.
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Ernest Borgnine: Breaking the Hollywood Mold
Ernest Borgnine, a native of Hamden who served ten years in navy, became one of the world’s most recognized and revered actors.
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Connecticut Transforms Aaron Draper Shattuck
Drawn to the landscapes of the Farmington River Valley, artist Aaron Draper Shattuck reinvented himself as a gentleman farmer and inventor.
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Connecticut Yankee and Millstone: 48 Years of Nuclear Power
In 1968 the prospect of nuclear power energized those hoping to find an alternative to coal, oil, and other fossil fuels.
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New Haven Coliseum Imploded – Today in History: January 20
On January 20, 2007, the 35-year-old New Haven Veterans Memorial Coliseum met its end as crews imploded the partially dismantled structure.
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Anna Louise James Makes History with Medicine
Anna Louise James operated a drugstore in Hartford until 1911, making her the first female African American pharmacist in the state.
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Dr. E. Irene Boardman Never Stopped Serving the Public
Having suffered from polio as a child, Emma Irene Boardman found her calling in relieving the pain of others.
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The Joshua Hempsted Diary: A Window into Colonial Connecticut
This accomplished New London resident chronicled his daily life over a 47-year period from 1711 to 1758.
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The Fundamental Orders: Connecticut’s Role in Early Constitutional Government
The Fundamental Orders represent what many consider to be the first written constitution in the Western world.
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Sam Colt’s Funeral: The Day Hartford Stopped
The funeral of America’s first great munitions maker was spectacular—certainly the most spectacular ever seen in the state’s capital city.
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James Williams, More than Trinity College’s Janitor
James Williams was an escaped slave who became a janitor at Trinity College from the institution’s founding in 1823 until his death in 1878.
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The Education of Ella Grasso
The daughter of Italian immigrants became Connecticut’s first woman governor, Ella Tambussi Grasso.
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Connecticut and the West Indies: Sugar Spurs Trans-Atlantic Trade
This profitable exchange brought wealth and sought-after goods to the state but came at the price of supporting slavery in the bargain.
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Buckling Up For Auto Safety
Connecticut joined several other states and the District of Columbia mandating seat belt usage for children and adults in automobiles in 1985.
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The Ghost Ship of New Haven Sets Sail Shrouded in Mystery
Tales of a spectral ship seen sailing in the skies above New Haven have haunted Connecticut’s imagination since the late 1640s.
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Ellis Ruley: Art that Celebrated Life
Ellis Ruley, the son of a slave who escaped to Norwich, rose to prominence as an artist, but prosperity and racial tensions created resentment among members of the local population.
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Lounsbury Elected Governor – Today in History: January 4
On January 4th 1899, George Edward Lounsbury was elected the 58th Governor of Connecticut, for which he served roughly three years.
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Rivers of Outrage
Pollution of Connecticut’s waters by industrial waste and sewage in the decades after the Civil War was arguably the state’s first modern environmental crisis.
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Portland’s Guy Hedlund: Actor and Activist
Guy Hedlund was a Connecticut native made famous through his roles as a theater and motion picture actor.
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O Christmas Tree!
On December 25, 1890, The Hartford Courant reported that Christmas Eve had seen crowded stores and train delays of up to an hour due to heavy travel.
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Pratt & Whitney Debuts Wasp Engine – Today in History: December 24
On December 24, 1925, aviation engineer and head of the Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Company Frederick B. Rentschler debuted its first product: the Wasp engine.
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The Rogerenes Leave Their Mark on Connecticut Society
A refusal to compromise became the governing principle of this religious group active in the New London area for some 200 years.
Read First New-Gate Prisoner – Today in History: December 22
On December 22, 1773, John Hinson the state’s first inmate arrived at New-Gate Prison.
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Barkhamsted Reservoir Construction Washes Away a Community
While the Barkhamsted Reservoir project proved successful, it cost 1,000 displaced residents their homes and livelihoods.
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The Kewpies Buy A House in Westport
The Kewpies originally appeared as a comic strip in the Christmas issue of the 1909 Ladies Home Journal.
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Ruth Hovey: Heroic Battlefield Nurse
A 28-year-old nurse from Hartford, Ruth Hovey served on the battlefields of World War I.
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Monumental Bronze Company
The Monumental Bronze Company of Bridgeport was the only producer of a unique type of grave marker in the United States between 1874 and 1914.
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New London’s Ferries: A Transportation Tradition
For more than three centuries, ferry service has provided vital transportation to residents and businesses around New London.
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First Recorded Fall of Meteorites in the United States – Today in History: December 14
On December 14, 1807, a meteoroid exploded over Fairfield County and a 30-pound specimen was put on exhibit at a Weston town meeting.
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Ending the Danbury Shakes: A Story of Workers’ Rights and Corporate Responsibility
Despite the known dangers of prolonged exposure to mercury, the hat-making industry was slow to safeguard workers against its toxic effects.
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Leroy Anderson Composed Iconic Music in Woodbury
Leroy Anderson, a long-time resident of Woodbury, was one of the most popular composers of light concert music in the 20th century.
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The Beadle Family Murders – Today in History: December 11
Following his drop in status as one of the town’s wealthiest men, William Beadle murdered his entire family.
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Bevin Brothers Helps Transform East Hampton into Belltown, USA
Home to 30 different bell manufacturers, the town of East Hampton is informally known as “Belltown, USA.”
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USS Confederacy: The Life and Service of Connecticut’s Continental Frigate
Nearly 20 years before the launching of the USS Constitution, a modest shipyard in Norwich, CT launched the Confederacy.
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Jim Morrison Arrested – Today in History: December 9
On December 9, 1967, police arrested Doors’ front man Jim Morrison as he performed onstage at the New Haven Arena.
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The Atheneum Joins War Effort – Who Knew?
The Wadsworth Atheneum contributed to home front morale and fundraisers during World War II.
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Hamden’s Literary Legend
Thornton Wilder, author of such renowned works as Our Town, The Matchmaker, and The Bridge of San Luis Rey, lived in Hamden for much of his life.
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Father of Architects Born – Today in History: December 4
On December 4, 1804, “Father of Architects” Henry Austin was born in the Mt. Carmel section of Hamden, Connecticut.
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Mr. & Mrs. Rockwell’s Park
In 1914, bell and ball bearing manufacturer Albert Rockwell donated 80 acres of land to the city of Bristol for the creation of a public park.
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The Sandemanians
The Sandemanians of Danbury were a semi-communal sect whose local influence outweighed its tiny numbers.
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Oliver Wolcott Dies – Today in History: December 1
On December 1, 1797, signer of the Declaration of Independence Oliver Wolcott died while serving his term as Connecticut’s governor.
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A Life Lived in a Rapidly Changing World: Samuel L. Clemens
Samuel Clemens experienced America’s rapid change—from westward expansion to industrialization‚ the end of slavery‚ advancements in technology‚ and foreign wars.
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Slavery and the Pequot War
Diaries, letters, and other sources from the early colonial era document cases of Native enslavement, including during the Pequot War.
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Beatrice Fox Auerbach: Retail Pioneer Led Iconic Family Department Store
Beatrice Fox Auerbach was pioneering retail executive who ran the G. Fox & Co. department store and numerous philanthropic benefiting people in Hartford and around the world.
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Lion Gardiner Helps to Fortify Early Old Saybrook
In 1635, the governor of the Saybrook colony hired engineer and soldier Lion Gardiner to build a critically needed fort for protection from both the Dutch colonists and local Native American tribes.
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What’s a Puritan, and Why Didn’t They Stay in Massachusetts?
Mean-spirited, repressed souls or persecuted refugees and rugged egalitarians? Connecticut’s state historian sets the record straight.
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The Father of Gastric Physiology Born – Today in History: November 21
On November 21, 1785, physician and physiologist William Beaumont was born in Lebanon.
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Pierre Lallement and the Modern-Day Pedal Bicycle – Today in History: November 20
On November 20, 1866, mechanic Pierre Lallement, a temporary resident of New Haven, Connecticut, received a patent for an improvement in velocipedes.
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Hiram Bingham III: Machu Picchu Explorer and Politician
Hiram Bingham III was a distinguished scholar and public servant attached to a line of the Bingham family that has lived in Salem, Connecticut, for generations.
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A Connecticut Nazi Spy Has a Change of Heart
A Connecticut-born Nazi spy, William Colepaugh, had a change of heart and turned himself in to the FBI on December 26, 1944.
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The Aqua Velva State – Today in History: November 17
On November 17, 1917, the J.B. Williams Company of Glastonbury filed a trademark with the US Patent and Trademark Office for the Word Mark “Aqua Velva.”
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Kate Moore: Lighthouse Keeper and Coast Guard Heroine
In the 1800s, Kate Moore was pioneering lighthouse keeper in Bridgeport, assuming her responsibilities at age twelve.
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The Battle for Cockenoe Island
In 1967, the United Illuminating Company proposed to build a nuclear power plant on Cockenoe Island off the coast of Westport, but grassroots activism ultimately scuttled that plan.
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Seth Pease Surveys New Lands
This Suffield native’s work in “New Connecticut” and other Western territories reveals how the new nation took stock of its expanding borders.
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Helicopters, Guitars, and Guide Dogs: The Revolutionary Mind of Charles Kaman
Charles Kaman, an inventor and aviation pioneer, managed to combine all of his passions in life into successful business ventures.
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Any Month with an “R” in It: Eating Oysters in Connecticut
Lack of refrigeration and higher bacteria counts in tidal waters once made summer months a dangerous time to eat oysters.
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Calder in Connecticut: World-Famous Artist Called Roxbury Home
His mobiles, stabiles, and constellations are featured in museum collections around the world.
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Eleazar Wheelock: Preacher, Dartmouth College Founder
Eleazar Wheelock was a notable eighteenth-century farmer, Congregational minister, revivalist, educator, and founder of Dartmouth College.
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An Experiment in Evangelization: Cornwall’s Foreign Mission School
The story of the Foreign Mission School connects the town of Cornwall, Connecticut, to a larger, national religious fervor that preoccupied the United States during the Second Great Awakening.
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First US Detachable Electric Plug – Today in History: November 8
On November 8, 1904, Harvey Hubbell II patented the first detachable electric plug in the United States.
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Connecticut’s “Yankee Watch” Squadron Protects the Skies Here and Abroad
Based in Orange, Connecticut, the 103rd Air Control Squadron of the Air National Guard is one of the oldest of its kind.
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A Separate Place: The New Haven Colony, 1638-1665
In 1638, Puritan leader John Davenport led a group of settlers out of Boston, ultimately founding what became the New Haven Colony.
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Witchcraft in Connecticut
Well before the Salem trials, Connecticut residents were executing “witches.” Connecticut is home to what was most likely the first execution of its kind in colonial America.
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Seth Thomas Works Around the Clock in Wolcott
Seth Thomas was a Connecticut native who became a pioneer in the mass production of high-quality wooden clocks.
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The Temperance Movement in Connecticut – Today in History: October 27
On October 27, 1841, the steamboat Greenfield traveled down the Connecticut River, transporting people to the Temperance Convention in Middletown.
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Igor Sikorsky Dies – Today in History: October 26
On October 26, 1972, aviation pioneer Igor Ivanovich Sikorsky, founder of the Sikorsky Aviation Corporation, died at his home in Easton.
Read Roger Griswold: A Governor Not Afraid To Challenge Authority
Born in Lyme, Roger Griswold was a lawyer, judge, and politician who spent the better part of his life in service to Connecticut.
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Hartford and New Haven: A Tale of Two Capitals
Before the expense of having two capital cities became too great, both Hartford and New Haven served that function. Hartford became the sole capital in 1875.
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Oxford: From Paths to Pikes
When colonists first settled around Oxford, Connecticut, roads consisted of little more than footpaths, but farmers began demanding better roads.
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Avon’s Educational and Cultural Pioneer
Yung Wing was the first Chinese student to graduate from a university in the United States.
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Broadway Comes to Westport
The Westport Country Playhouse is meant to provide artists, students, and entertainers with a place to create and produce live theater experiences away from traditional big city theater districts.
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Hartford’s Louis Peterson, Groundbreaking African American Playwright
Hartford’s Louis Peterson was a groundbreaking African American playwright in the 20th century.
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Benjamin Wright: The Father of American Civil Engineering
Benjamin Wright helped build transportation and canal systems in the United States and served as the chief engineer on the construction of the Erie Canal.
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New Haven: What Was Everyday Life Like During the Civil War?
A great primary resource for digging into a community’s everyday life is a city directory.
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Beacon Falls Rubber Shoe Company Puts Best Foot Forward
Father and son George and Tracy Lewis not only founded a business together, they also had a hand in more than doubling the population of Beacon Falls.
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Hartford’s Anna Sokolow, Modern Dance Pioneer
Hartford’s Anna Sokolow became one of the most important figures in modern dance during the 20th century.
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Portland Improves the Steam Engine
Thomas R. Pickering, an engineer, ran a factory power plant in the mid-1800s and made improvements.
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Roger Sherman, Revolutionary and Dedicated Public Servant
Roger Sherman is also the only person to have signed all four of the most significant documents in our nation’s early history.
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The Steamboat New England: “The shock was dreadful” – Today in History: October 8
One of Connecticut’s worst steamboat disasters occurred on the dark and stormy night of October 8, 1833, on the Connecticut River.
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When Old Saybrook Was a College Town
Yale University traces its origins back to the Connecticut Colony’s passing of “An Act for the Liberty to Erect a Collegiate School” in 1701.
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Hartford’s “Little Italy”
In the early 1900s, Italians made new lives for themselves in Hartford.
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Elizabeth Jarvis Colt Born – Today in History: October 5
On October 5, 1826, Elizabeth Jarvis was born in Hartford.
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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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Accidental Shooting Leads to Witchcraft Conviction – Today in History: October 3
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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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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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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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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The Great Hurricane of 1938 – Today in History: September 21
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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Avon Industry: From Underground to Outerspace
The origins of the Climax Fuse Company date back to 1852 in Avon, Connecticut.
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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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Thomas Knowlton: A Small Town’s National Hero
Thomas Knowlton is arguably Ashford’s most widely recognized war hero.
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Bucket Brigade to the Rescue – Today in History: September 12
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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The Wallingford Oneida Community
In the late 1800s, Wallingford was home to a small branch of the Oneida Community.
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Painter, Muralist, Sculptor Sol LeWitt born – Today in History: September 9
Sol LeWitt, whose work includes drawings and sculptures, is identified with the late 20th century Minimalist and Conceptual art movements.
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Wethersfield Prison Blues
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 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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Hartford’s Les Payne, Trailblazing Journalist
Les Payne grew up in Hartford and became one of the best-known African-American journalists in the United States.
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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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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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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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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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Trinity College – Scholarship and Community Engagement
Founded in 1823, Trinity College has evolved alongside the city of Hartford for nearly 200 years.
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The Longest Highway Drawbridge – 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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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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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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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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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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The Stonington Battle Flag
On August 10, 1814, during a lull in the attack by the British on Stonington, citizens nailed a large US flag–a banner of defiance–to a pole above the battery.
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Pope Park – Yesterday and Today
Once the proposed site of Albert Pope’s industrial village, Pope Park has served the recreation needs of the Hartford community for over one hundred years.
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The Shoe Box Murder Mystery
On August 8, 1886, Edward Terrill and his dog uncovered what appeared to be a box of a dozen shoes that had recently fallen from a cart.
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Improving Sea Transportation: Guilford Goes About it the Light Way
Approximately 3 ½ miles off the coast of Guilford lies the Faulkner’s Island Lighthouse.
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Branford’s History Is Set in Stone
Recognized for its superior quality, the polished rock that came out of Branford traveled by schooner or rail to points as far as Chicago and New Orleans.
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The Many Layers to Onion Farming in Westport
Westport’s fertile soil and ease of access by boat and rail once made it home to a thriving onion farming industry.
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USS Nautilus Passes Under North Pole – Today in History: August 3
On August 3, 1958, the USS Nautilus (SSN-571) made history by becoming the first ship to pass underneath the North Pole.
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Poet Wallace Stevens Dies – Today in History: August 2
On August 2, 1955, the great American poet Wallace Stevens died at St. Francis Hospital in Hartford.
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East Haven’s Revolutionary Salt Works
East Haven’s Amos Morris helped supply Americans with salt (essential for preserving food) during critical shortages brought on by the American Revolution.
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Fire Ravages Cos Cob School – Today in History: July 29
At 1:59 a.m. on July 29, 1990, a smoke detector signal alerted the central Greenwich fire station of a fire at the Cos Cob School.
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Roger Tory Peterson Dies – Today in History: July 28
On July 28, 1996, ornithologist and artist Roger Tory Peterson died in Old Lyme.
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North Branford Vied for the Title of “Shredded Coconut Capital of the World” – Who Knew?
Patents granted to North Branford residents included one for a device used for paring coconut meats in 1875.
Read Hope for the West: The Life and Mission of Lyman Beecher
Lyman Beecher was one of the most influential Protestant preachers of the 19th century, as well as father to some of the nation’s greatest preachers, writers, and social activists.
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Sanitary Fair – Today in History: July 25
On July 25, 1864, the Stamford Ladies Soldiers’ Aid Society held a Sanitary Fair in response to the needs of Civil War soldiers
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The Hartford Wits
Eventually taking the name the “Hartford Wits,” influential figures of the 18th century got together to write poetry that documented the state of the times.
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Weir Farm the Result of a Trade – Who Knew?
Weir Farm, located in Ridgefield and Wilton, Connecticut, resulted from the trade of a painting and ten dollars.
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Levi Pease, Stage Route and Transportation Innovator
Somers, Connecticut, a small town near the state’s border with Massachusetts, was the site of a revolution in 18th-century transportation.
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The First Battle of Bull Run: Connecticut Troops Stand Firm When the Battle Turns Against Them
Connecticut troops earned admiration for staying to fight when others fled at the First Battle of Bull Run during the American Civil War.
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Cleopatra’s Needle and Groton’s Captain Davis – Who Knew?
Cleopatra’s Needle, the Egyptian obelisk erected in Central Park across from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, arrived safely from Egypt due to the ingenuity of Noank’s Henry E. Davis.
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Cornelius Bushnell and His Ironclad Ship
Cornelius Scranton Bushnell was a 19th-century Connecticut businessman and shipbuilder whose successfully lobbied on behalf of a local railroad enterprise.
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Hammonasset State Park Serves the State and its Residents
Located in Madison, Hammonasset State Park provides visitors with opportunities for swimming, sunbathing, or strolling along the park’s meandering boardwalk.
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The Greenwich Avenue Fires of 1908 and 1936 Sparked Upgrades to Town’s Emergency Services
From the ashes emerged new approaches to coordinating the town’s fire fighting resources.
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New England’s Grand Ambition: The Farmington Canal
Connecticut took leading role in waterway that transformed the region’s commerce.
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A Revolution On Two Wheels: Columbia Bicycles
Albert Pope’s company not only played a prominent role in developing improved bicycle designs, it also developed the market for them.
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Colt Park and the Magical Summer of 1976
In the summer of 1976, Colt Park offered rock and roll fans an escape from troubled times through a series of concerts by some legendary acts.
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Joseph Hopkins Twichell: Asylum Hill’s Religious Leader and Mark Twain’s Closest Friend
Inspired by his friendship with Mark Twain, Joseph Twichell took up such causes as labor rights, immigration, education, and interfaith advocacy.
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“The Basque Game in Town”: The Heyday of Jai Alai in Connecticut
Organized jai alai came to Connecticut in the 1970s, but charges of corruption soon brought the sport to an end in the Nutmeg State.
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Jonathan Edwards’ Famous Sermon – Today in History: July 8
On July 8, 1741, theologian Jonathan Edwards spoke the words of the sermon “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God” at a Congregational church in Enfield.
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The Origins and Enduring Legacy of New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre
As a smaller, quieter alternative to Broadway, New Haven’s Long Wharf Theatre overcame an unconventional location to become a smash success.
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Horseshoe Nail Capital of the World – Who Knew?
In the late 19th century, George Capewell formed the Capewell Horse Nail Company, which mass produced horseshoe nails.
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Hidden Nearby: Goshen’s Liberty Pole
A marker on East Street North in nearby Goshen, Connecticut, allows us a window on to past celebrations of American freedoms and liberties.
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An Eccentric Middletown Polymath and Fossil Collector: Dr. Joseph Barratt
Despite his struggles with mental illness, Joseph Barratt was a significant contributor to the study of natural history in the Connecticut Valley.
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Furniture Caster Patented – Today in History: June 30
On June 30, 1838, the US patent No. 821—the first for a furniture caster—was granted to the Blake Brothers of New Haven.
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Deadly Fire at Gulliver’s – Today in History: June 30
Despite passing inspection shortly before the disaster, a fire at the Greenwich nightclub Gulliver’s in 1974 killed two dozen people.
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Educator Sarah Pierce Born – Today in History: June 26
On June 26, 1767, pioneering educator Sarah Pierce was born in Litchfield; during her long life, Pierce opened one of the nation’s first schools for women.
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Henry Ward Beecher Born – Today in History: June 24
On June 24, 1813, Henry Ward Beecher was born in Litchfield to the well-known Beecher family.
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Instruction by Mail: The Famous Artists School
The Famous Artists School in Westport once provided the premier correspondence training for those interested in an art career.
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Early Civil Rights and Cultural Pioneers: The Easton Family
For a variety of reasons, the Eastons were one of New England’s most notable 19th-century African American families.
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The Story of the Oakdale Makes Great Theater
The legendary Oakdale Theater in Wallingford reflects over 60 years of evolution in American pop culture.
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Samuel L. Clemens Receives Scrap-book Patent – Who Knew?
Writer and humorist Samuel Langhorne Clemens, better known by his pen name Mark Twain, invented more than tall tales and novels.
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Harkness Memorial Park Offers a Glimpse into Early 20th Century Wealth
With gorgeous views of Long Island Sound, Harkness Memorial Park is a beautifully landscaped recreation area along the shoreline in Waterford, Connecticut.
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Votes for A Woman: Sara Buek Crawford
As Connecticut’s first female statewide elected official and first female Secretary of State, Sara Crawford broke barriers for women throughout her career.
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Oliver Cromwell Launched – Today in History: June 13
On June 13, 1776, the ship Oliver Cromwell was launched in Essex, one of the largest full-rigged ships built after the establishment of Connecticut’s navy.
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Flying High with Early Dirigible
In what would later be described as “the first flight of a man-carrying dirigible in America,” aeronaut Mark Quinlan piloted a machine designed and patented by Charles F. Ritchel.
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Christopher Leffingwell Born – Today in History: June 11
On June 11, 1734, businessman and civic leader Christopher Leffingwell was born in Norwich.
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A Connecticut Home That Dates Back to the 1600s!
Dating back to the mid-17th century, the Thomas Lee House in East Lyme, Connecticut, is one of the oldest wood-frame houses in the state.
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Academy Graduates First African American Student – Today in History: June 8
On June 8, 1966, the US Coast Guard Academy in New London graduated the first African American student, Ensign Merle James Smith, Jr.
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The Hartford Insurance Investigator With the Action-Packed Expense Account
Based in Hartford, “Yours Truly, Johnny Dollar” was one of America’s most popular radio shows during the 15 years it aired.
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“Something to Show for Our Work”: Building Brainard Airport
At the height of the Great Depression, unemployed men living around Hartford, became a cheap source of labor to help build Brainard airport.
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Parking Authority Created in New Haven – Today in History: June 2
On June 2, 1953, the Connecticut Supreme Court of Errors ruled that creating a parking authority in the city of New Haven was constitutional.
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Helen Keller Dies – Today in History: June 1
On June 1, 1968, American author, political activist, and lecturer Helen Keller died at the age of 87.
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The Free Consent of the People: Thomas Hooker and the Fundamental Orders
Government formed with the consent of the people was a radical idea in the age of nations ruled by monarchs, emperors, and tsars.
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Mary Hall: Connecticut’s First Female Attorney
Writer and suffragist Mary Hall studied law under John Hooker and became Connecticut’s first female attorney.
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Hometown Hero: Wallingford Remembers Stanley Budleski
Stanley Budleski was the first serviceman from Yalesville to be killed in World War II.
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Josephine Bennett: Hartford’s City Mother
By linking disparate social and political movements of the early 20th century, activist Josephine Bennett was “intersectional” well before the term was invented.
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Cornerstone Set – Today in History: May 25
On May 25, 1909, the cornerstone was laid for the new State Library and Supreme Court building in Hartford.
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Stealth Attack from Guilford Launched – Today in History: May 23
On May 23, 1777, Colonel Return Jonathan Meigs launched a lightning raid from Sachem Head in Guilford on Sag Harbor.
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Dark Day – Today in History: May 19
On May 19, 1780, a strange darkness fell over much of New England. The darkness that enveloped Connecticut remained there for a day and a half.
Read New-Gate Prison Breakout – Today in History: May 18
On May 18, 1781, the largest mass breakout in the history of New-Gate Prison took place.
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The Comstock Bridge Brings East Hampton Residents Together
Over the Salmon River, the Comstock Bridge served as part of the main road between Colchester and Middletown for much of its existence.
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Largest Earthquake in Connecticut – Today in History: May 16
On May 16, 1791, the largest earthquake to shake Connecticut took place in Moodus, an area known for earthquake activity.
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The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch, Hartford
Situated in Bushnell Park, the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch honors the more than 4,000 Hartford men who fought for the Union during the Civil War.
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Albert Pope Pioneered Bicycles for Women
Hartford-based inventor Albert Pope saw his first bicycle at the 1876 Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia and was so impressed that he went to Europe to study how bicycles were made.
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Jacob Schick Invents the Electric Razor – Today in History: May 13
On May 13, 1930, Colonel Jacob Schick obtained patent No. 1,757,978 for his dry electric shaver.
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Katharine Hepburn’s Love Affair (with Connecticut)
One of the most popular actresses of the 20th century, Katharine Hepburn was born in Hartford and lived much of her later life in Old Saybrook.
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A Russian Village Retreat in Southbury
The unique blend of American and Russian architecture found in Churaevka, along with the important part the village played in defining early 20th-century Russian immigration, earned it a spot on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.
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The First Yale Unit: How U.S. Navy Aviation Began
The legacy forged by the First Yale Unit lead to the creation of the Army Air Corps and military aviation as we know it.
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Sloan Wilson, the Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, is Born – Today in History: May 8
On May 8, 1920, American author Sloan Wilson was born in Norwalk, Connecticut. Readers know Wilson best for his 1955 book The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.
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Elizabeth W. Coe Demands the Right of Jury Service
After passage of the 19th Amendment, Elizabeth W. Coe of Waterbury argued that women should be granted the right to serve on jury panels.
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West Cornwall Covered Bridge: An Icon of New England Craftsmanship
The West Cornwall Covered Bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic places and has been a symbol of the area’s rural heritage for almost 150 years.
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Misread Signal Leads to Deadly South Norwalk Train Wreck – Who Knew?
By 1853, the era of steamboat transportation had largely given way to trains, but there was still a need to manage drawbridges for safe passage.
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The Prospect Green as a Historical Narrative
In the southeast corner of the intersection of Routes 68 and 69 in Prospect lies the community’s historic town green.
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Borough of Stonington
Settled in 1752, Stonington became a fishing, shipbuilding, whaling, and sealing center and survived attacks during both the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812.
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First American Medicine Patent – Today in History: April 30
On April 30, 1796, Samuel Lee Jr. of Windham, Connecticut, received a Letters Patent for his composition of bilious pills.
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USS Tullibee – Today in History: April 27
On April 27, 1960, the USS Tullibee, the first atomic submarine to use turbo-electric propulsion, was launched.
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The Hartford Wheel Club: Disparity in the Gilded Age
Despite the wealth found in some sections of the city, the economic volatility of the Gilded Age produced hard times for residents of Hartford.
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John Rogers was a 19th-Century Sculptor for the Common Man
John Rogers was an American sculptor whose style and production methods made his art popular with middle-class art collectors in the 19th century.
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Hamilton Wrecks Aeroplane – Today in History: April 22
On April 22, 1911, aviation pioneer Charles Hamilton crashed his brand new, all white, biplane the “Moth” at Andrews Field in New Britain.
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News From Lexington: Contemporary Views of the Opening Battles of the American Revolution
A rare set of prints by New Haven printer Amos Doolittle depicts the momentous events of April 19, 1775.
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A Real Connecticut Yankee’s Baseball Career Cut Short
An up-and-coming baseball star discovered playing on the lots of Collinsville, Danny Hoffman played in the majors before joining the New York Yankees.
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Connecticut: Home to the Boxcar Children Mysteries – Who Knew?
…that Gertrude Chandler Warner, a lifelong resident of Putnam, Connecticut, authored the popular series The Boxcar Children Mysteries?
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The American School for the Deaf – Today in History: April 15
On April 15, 1817, the Connecticut Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons opened with seven pupils in Hartford.
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Horace Bushnell Born – Today in History: April 14
On April 14, 1802, Horace Bushnell was born in Bantam and is often called the “father of American religious liberalism.”
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The Northern Student Movement
The Northern Student Movement motivated college students to contribute their energies to important social causes such as literacy and civil rights.
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Speaking under the Open Sky: Frederick Douglass in Connecticut
The famous abolitionist Frederick Douglass had several connections to Connecticut, including run-ins with a number of the state’s vocal slavery proponents.
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Bridgeport’s Walt Kelly, Creator of Pogo
Bridgeport resident Walt Kelly was the creator of Pogo, a wildly popular comic strip during the middle of the 20th century.
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The Coaster Brake – Today in History: April 9
On April 9, 1907, Harry Pond Townsend patented the driving and braking mechanism for cycles, the first device to combine driving, braking, and coasting.
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The Innumerable Accolades Afforded Dr. William H. Welch
Trained at Yale, William Welch was a native of Norfolk, Connecticut, and one of the most celebrated physicians of his time.
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War and the Fear of Enemy Aliens – Who Knew?
…that Greenwich had a special police unit trained to handle suspected foreign agents operating in Connecticut.
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Let There Be Light: An Early History of the Hartford Electric Light Company
As cities switched from gas lamps to electric lighting, one observer noted that Hartford was “far in the lead of any other city in the world in the use of electricity for light and power per capita.”
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World War I Flying Ace Raoul Lufbery
Although his time as a Connecticut resident was short, this aviator left his mark on Wallingford and a generation fighter pilots.
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Freighter Worcester Launched – Today in History: April 5
On April 5, 1919, the freighter Worcester was launched in Groton in support of the war effort for the Emergency Fleet Corporation of the US Shipping Board.
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Amateur Radio Comes of Age in Connecticut
In April 1914, inventor, scientist, and amateur radio operator Hiram Percy Maxim encouraged the Radio Club of Hartford to organize amateurs into a self-reliant network.
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Forgotten Founder: John Davenport of New Haven
John Davenport, the founder of New Haven, was a prominent Puritan leader during the early years of the New England colonies.
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Hartford’s Fuller Brush Company Goes Door-to-Door Across US
Founded in 1906 by Alfred C. Fuller, the Fuller Brush Company was one of Connecticut’s most notable corporations.
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Theodate Pope Riddle: Connecticut’s Pioneering Woman Architect
Despite opposition from a male-dominated profession and a lack of formal training, Theodate Pope Riddle became a pioneering female architect.
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A Candy Bar Empire in Naugatuck
Almond Joy and Mounds were two of the most popular candy bars sold by Naugatuck’s Peter Paul Manufacturing Company, an enterprise begun by Armenian immigrant Peter Halajian.
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William Redfield Born – Today in History: March 26
On March 26, 1789, William C. Redfield, the noted American meteorologist, was born in Middletown.
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Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: Connecticut Lessons from a Tragedy
While the Triangle Shirtwaist fire in New York City is one of the most famous tragedies behind the organized labor movement, Connecticut had its share of equally dangerous work environments in the early 20th century.
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Connecticut’s First Municipal Electric Utility
The first municipal electric plant in Connecticut began operating in the City of South Norwalk in 1892 to provide low-cost electricity.
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Spring Training Baseball Comes to Wallingford
During World War II, travel restrictions limited the distance baseball teams traveled to begin their training; the National League’s Boston Braves trained in Wallingford.
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James Abbott McNeill Whistler: A Young Artist in Pomfret
As one of the most well-known American realist painters of the late 19th century, James Abbott McNeill Whistler has intrigued art history enthusiasts for over a century.
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A Woman Ahead of Her Time: Mabel Osgood Wright
This writer and photographer founded the Connecticut Audubon Society and created Fairfield’s Birdcraft Sanctuary.
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The Public Library Movement: Caroline Hewins Makes Room for Young Readers
This Hartford librarian played a leading role in national efforts to transform libraries into public centers that welcomed patrons from all walks of life.
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Blizzard of ’88 Shuts Greenwich Off from Outside World
When the storm ended in March 1888, Greenwich received more than 50 inches of snow with drifts of 20 to 30 feet during a blizzard.
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The First Hospice – Who Knew?
Founded by Florence Wald, a former dean of Yale University School of Nursing, Connecticut Hospice opened in March of 1974.
Read Where It All Happened: Connecticut’s Old State House
Connecticut’s Old State House is a memorial to many of the legislative advances made in Connecticut during the most formative years of the United States.
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A Day for Women – Today in History: March 8
Women’s fight for the right to vote in the Constitution State may be dated to 1869, when the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association (CWSA) was organized.
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Gideon Welles Appointed Lincoln’s Secretary of the Navy – Today in History: March 7
On March 7, 1861 Gideon Welles was officially appointed into Abraham Lincoln’s cabinet as Secretary of the Navy.
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A Civil War Soldier Engineers an Iconic Career
Horatio Wright commanded troops in Civil War battles fought all over the country, from Virginia to Florida, and out West as far as Ohio.
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John H. Trumbull: Connecticut’s “Flying Governor”
In 1926, at the age of 53, Connecticut governor John H. Trumbull received his pilot’s license. Piloting flights to his own appointments, he became known as “The Flying Governor.”
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Today in History – Fales & Gray Explosion Underscores Need for a Hartford Hospital
At 2 pm on March 2, 1854, the power of steam incorrectly managed and harnessed wreaked havoc at the railroad-car factory Fales & Gray Car Works in Hartford.
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Olin Library and The Debate About Open Space at Wesleyan University
The history of Wesleyan’s library system includes a debate that reveals how values associated with the environment in the early 1900s helped shape the campus’s development.
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Rex Brasher Dies – Today in History: February 29
On February 29, 1960, noted wildlife illustrator Rex Brasher died.
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Andover Lake: A Lesson in Social Change
While residents of Andover and other nearby towns enjoy the property’s 159 acres, Andover Lake played in challenging racial boundaries during the Civil Rights Era.
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Bridgeport: The First Borough
Bridgeport, by a special act of the state’s General Assembly in October 1800, became the first borough created in Connecticut.
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The Revolving Gun – Today in History: February 25
On February 25, 1836, Samuel Colt received a patent for a “revolving gun” US patent number 138, later known as 9430X.
Read Abraham Ribicoff dies – Today in History: February 22
On February 22, 1998, the first Jewish governor in Connecticut’s history, Abraham Ribicoff, died.
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Fire and Ice: A Very Bad Week in 1914
Hartford’s Union Station and Allyn Hall caught fire on two different days in February. Only one still stands today.
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A Good Spot and a Healthy Place: A Short History of Charles Island
Before becoming a part of Silver Sands State Park, Milford’s Charles Island served as everything from a luxury resort to the home of a fertilizer factory.
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Park Central Hotel Boiler Explosion – Today in History: February 18
In the pre-dawn hours of February 18, 1889, the Park Central Hotel in Hartford was ripped apart by a steam boiler explosion.
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A Successful Lawyer and Politician Who Never Went to College
Chauncey Fitch Cleveland was a lawyer and politician who served the state of Connecticut and the nation, despite never pursuing a college education.
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Josiah Willard Gibbs’s Impact on Modern Science
New Haven’s Josiah Willard Gibbs laid the groundwork for the development of physical chemistry as a science.
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Meriden Town Hall Burns Down – Today in History: February 14
On February 14, 1904, Meriden’s town hall burned to the ground due to a fire that lasted eight hours.
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Constitution Plaza Then and Now
Hartford’s first major redevelopment project, Constitution Plaza was built as part of the urban renewal initiatives in the 1950s and ’60s.
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The Interstate Highway System Comes to Hartford
The building of I-84 and I-91 may have increased interstate transportation, but city planners and special interest groups continue to grapple with the legacy of these projects.
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Arthur Miller dies – Today in History: February 10
On February 10, 2005, the award-winning American playwright Arthur Asher Miller died at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut, of congestive heart failure.
Read Charles Stratton and Lavinia Warren Wed – Today in History: February 10
He was rich, handsome and famous, she was considered a great beauty and their wedding was front page news around the nation.
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Changing Sentiments on Slavery in Colonial Hebron
Residents of Hebron rescued local enslaved people Lowis and Cesar Peters, and their children, from South Carolina slave traders.
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North and South: The Legacy of Eli Whitney
After studying to become a lawyer, Eli Whitney actually helped further American industrial production methods through his numerous clever inventions.
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Colt Armory Burns – Today in History: February 4
On February 4, 1864, most of Colt’s East Armory, located in Hartford, burned to the ground.
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A 1947 Movie Details the Unsolved Murder of a Bridgeport Priest
An unusual murder of a Bridgeport, Connecticut, priest in 1924 inspired the movie, Boomerang!, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in 1947.
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How Real Estate Practices Influenced the Hartford Region’s Demographic Makeup
Persistent segregation is the historic legacy of steering and blockbusting, two discriminatory tactics that played a role in shaping suburban neighborhoods.
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Six Cities Respond to 1902 Waterbury Fire – Who Knew?
A fire, which swept through Waterbury on a stormy February evening in 1902, would become the worst in its recorded history up to that point.
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First Commercial Telephone Exchange – Today in History: January 28
On January 28, 1878, the Boardman Building became the site of the world’s first commercial telephone exchange, the District Telephone Company of New Haven.
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John Ledyard, Connecticut’s Most Famous Traveler
This intrepid voyager, one of the most adventurous figures in Connecticut’s long history, would have made a great fictional character had he not been real.
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The Astronomical Event of the Century
Church bells chimed and factory whistles blew and automobiles, trains, and trolleys throughout the state came to a standstill.
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John Fitch Born – Today in History: January 21
On January 21, 1743, John Fitch, an inventor and pioneer in steamboat construction, was born in Windsor–a settlement in the British colony of Connecticut.
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Nancy Toney’s Lifetime in Slavery
From scant evidence, including a portrait, gravestone, census data, and will, a partial image of a Connecticut life lived in slavery emerges.
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Almost a Tragedy: The Collapse of the Hartford Civic Center
In the early morning of January 18, 1978, the roof of the sports coliseum collapsed onto 10,000 empty stadium seats.
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The Tariffville Disaster – Today in History: January 15
On January 14, 1878, at about 10:00 p.m., a span of the Tariffville Bridge gave way, plunging a Connecticut Western Railroad train into the Farmington River.
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The Industrial Revolution Comes to Jewett City
The site of earlier mills, Jewett City seemed well-suited to the Tibbets’ textile enterprise: the Jewett City Cotton Manufacturing Company.
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An Uncommonly Ingenious Mechanic: Abel Buell of Connecticut
This Yankee jack-of-all-trades, Abel Buell, created the first map of the new United States to be printed and published in America.
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Connecticut Arms the Union
By the Civil War’s end, Connecticut had supplied 43% of the total of all rifle muskets, breech loading rifles and carbines, and revolvers bought by the War Department.
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Land Purchase Becomes Bushnell Park – Today in History: January 5
On January 5, 1854, Hartford voters approved spending over $100,000 in public funds for land that would become a municipal park.
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Hartford Publishes the First Literary Work by an African American – Who Knew?
Jupiter Hammon, who endured life-long enslavement, became the first African American writer to be published in America when his 88-line poem, “An Evening Thought: Salvation by Christ with Penitential Cries”, was published.
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The Reverend Joseph Bellamy Makes Bethlehem a Holy Place
The Reverend Joseph Bellamy was a dynamic preacher, author, and educator during the 18th century and a long-time resident of Bethlehem, Connecticut.
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A Volcanic Giant Sleeps in Hamden
The unique ridge that runs east-west just six miles north of New Haven is known as “Sleeping Giant” for its resemblance (from a distance) to a recumbent person.
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A Woman Who Developed Tolerance: Leila T. Alexander
As a member of the War Council, Leila T. Alexander served on several Council committees including education, employment, advisory, social service, and welfare.
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Iron and Water: The Norwich & Worcester Railroad Story
Connecticut’s early railroad history had at its core the goal of linking New York City and Boston through a hybrid system of steamboats and trains.
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“Negroes Who Stand Up and Fight Back” – Paul Robeson in Hartford
Called the “greatest mobilization of police in the city’s history,” the event that brought law enforcement out in force to Keney Park was not a riot, not a strike, but a concert by this singer-actor and activist.
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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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Disaster at Cold Harbor: Connecticut’s Second Volunteer Heavy Artillery Regiment
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
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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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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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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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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Kensington Soldiers Monument Dedicated – Today in History: July 28
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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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 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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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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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 Performs in Hartford – Today in History: June 8
On June 8, 1906, French stage and film actress Sarah Bernhardt appeared at Foot Guard Hall in Hartford.
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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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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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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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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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Knights of Columbus Chartered – Today in History: March 29
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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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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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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Mianus River Bridge Collapses – Today in History: June 28
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 died in London, England – Today in History: June 14
On June 14, 1801, Revolutionary War general and traitor Benedict Arnold died in London.
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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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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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Governor Chester Bowles Dies – Today in History: May 25
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: Making Self-Government Work, 1888-1905
Connecticut’s ancient system of town-based representation ensured the continuation of small town values and perspectives.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Making Self-Government Work, 1634-1776
In 1698 the General Court reorganized itself to deal more effectively with Connecticut’s complex new problems.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Searching for the Common Good, 1819-1865
During the early 19th century, the General Assembly was slow to deal with rising crime, poverty and the other social costs of a rapidly changing society.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Searching for the Common Good, 1634-1776
In the Great Awakening, impassioned evangelical ministers attracted crowds of thousands and the General Assembly promptly banned traveling preachers.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Making Self-Government Work, 1819-1865
In the mid-19th century, Connecticut looked toward changing its electoral processes as well as its civil rights record.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Significant Events & Developments, 1905-1929
Early 20th century life in Connecticut was marked by the election of 1912, US entry into World War I, and the Great Depression.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Making Self-Government Work, 1866-1887
The late 1800s witnessed significant challenges to Connecticut’s voting and taxation laws.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Significant Events & Developments, 1929-1964
The era of Wilbur Cross and the Great Depression transitioned into World War II and state control by Democrat mastermind John Bailey.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Significant Events & Developments, 1965-Now
Connecticut recast its constitution, reapportioned its House and Senate, and struggled with providing equal rights to all races and socio-economic classes in the state.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Significant Events & Developments, 1776-1818
With its limited supply of fertile land either occupied or exhausted, one of Connecticut’s principal exports in the post-Revolutionary years was people.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Searching for the Common Good, 1866-1887
In 1873, the legislature began to look more closely at the problems of Connecticut’s workers.
Read An Orderly & Decent Government: Searching for the Common Good, 1965-Now
The state generated revenue for urban renewal and social programs through gaming and income tax initiatives.
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The Portable Typewriting Machine – Today in History: April 12
On April 12, 1892, the first US patent for a truly portable typewriter was issued to George C. Blickensderfer of Stamford.
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Civil Rights Demonstrations – Today in History: March 18
On March 18, 1965, about 90 Connecticut residents boarded a plane at Bradley Airport to participate in the Civil Rights protest marches over voter registration rights in Alabama.
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Alfred Carlton Gilbert, Inventor of the Erector Set – Today in History: February 15
A. C. Gilbert, a successful Olympic athlete, invented the Erector Set after being inspired by the structures he saw while on a train ride from New Haven to New York in 1911.
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Reel Lawn Mower Patent – Today in History: January 28
On January 28, 1868, Amariah Hills of Hockanum, Connecticut, received the first US patent for a reel-type lawn mower and sold the patent in the 1870s.
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Yale University from Colonial Times to the Present
Yale University has grown from the small “Collegiate School” founded in Saybrook in 1701 to one of the most prestigious universities in the world.
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The Colt Memorial, Cedar Hill Cemetery
Commissioned by Samuel Colt’s wife, Elizabeth Jarvis Colt, and James G. Batterson designed the Colt memorial monument in Hartford’s Cedar Hill Cemetery.
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Civil War Soldier Dies of Gangrene – Today in History: July 10
On July 10, 1864, Civil War soldier Curtis Bacon of Simsbury died of gangrene from injuries he suffered in combat nearly two months earlier.
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Waterford’s Need for Speed
The Waterford Speedbowl is a 3/8-mile oval racetrack located along Route 85 in Waterford, Connecticut.
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[Archived] Patents – Bloomfield’s Inventive Minds
From the time the federal government first began issuing patents in 1790, Connecticut was a national leader in patenting its abundant innovations.
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Richard Lee’s Urban Renewal in New Haven
Thanks largely to his efforts at Urban Renewal, New Haven’s Richard C. Lee became one of the most celebrated and well-known mayors of the 20th century.
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Government Orders Horse Pistols – Today in History: March 9
On March 9, 1799, the government issued its first contract for 500 horse pistols to Simeon North of Berlin at $6.50 each.
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29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment
The state’s first African American regiment of the Civil War distinguished itself by battling Confederate forces and 19th-century prejudices.
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Hidden Nearby: Two Monuments to Sportsmen at Housatonic Meadows State Park
Two monuments in Housatonic Meadows State Park mark this area’s reputation as one of the finest fly fishing locales in the Northeast.
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A Special Place to Honor Military Veterans in Plainville
On the corner of Maple and Whiting Streets in Plainville, Connecticut, is a special place where the town honors its war veterans.
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Middletown’s Nathan Starr Supplied Cutlasses for the War of 1812
On May 18, 1808, the Navy Agent Joseph Hull of New London negotiated a contract with Nathan Starr of Middletown for 2,000 cutlasses.
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Sheff v. O’Neill Settlements Target Educational Segregation In Hartford
This landmark case not only drew attention to inequalities in area school systems, it focused efforts on reform.
Read Understanding the Environmental Effects of Industry by Examining the Starr Mill
The development of resources both in and around the Coginchaug River in Middletown were representative of prevailing attitudes about industrial expansion and environmental protection.
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Heart Pump out of an Erector Set – Who Knew?
Yale medical student William Sewell Jr. built the first artificial heart (partly out of Erector Set pieces), and conducted successful bypass experiments in 1949.
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The Hartford Courant: The Oldest US Newspaper in Continuous Publication
On October 29, 1764, New Haven printer Thomas Green began publishing The Hartford Courant (then known as The Connecticut Courant) in Hartford, Connecticut.
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Catharine Beecher, Champion of Women’s Education
Sister to two of the most famous figures of the 19th century–Harriet Beecher Stowe and Henry Ward Beecher–Catharine Esther Beecher achieved fame in her own right as an educator, reformer, and writer.
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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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Martha Graham, Connecticut College, and the American Dance Festival
Martha Hill established the School of the Dance on the campus of the Connecticut College for Women in 1948, and hired such renowned instructors as Martha Graham.
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Miss Huntley’s School Opens – Today in History: August 1
On August 1, 1814, a young teacher named Lydia Huntley opened a school for young women in Hartford.
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Rock and Roll vs. Racism
The State Theater in Hartford brought residents of all different backgrounds together in the 1950s and ’60s through the spirit of rock ‘n’ roll.
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The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art
Founded in 1842, this ever-evolving institution is the oldest, continuously operating public art museum in the United States.
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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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Connecticut’s “Woodstock” Canceled – Today in History: July 30
On July 30, 1970, Louis Zemel had to tell a crowd of thousands that the scheduled three-day rock festival they had come for in Middlefield was canceled.
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P. T. Barnum: An Entertaining Life
Once declared “the most widely known American that ever lived,” this showman’s life story is as colorful as the entertainments he provided in the mid-1800s.
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Silas Brooks, Balloonist
This Connecticut native, Silas Brooks, earned fame as a crowd-pleasing musician, showman, and aeronaut.
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Farmington Canal’s Ground-Breaking – Today in History: July 4
On July 4, 1825, the ground-breaking ceremonies for the Farmington Canal took place at Salmon Brook village in Granby.
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President Grant Celebrates Independence Day in Woodstock – Today in History: July 4
On July 4, 1870, President Ulysses S. Grant attended Independence Day celebrations at Roseland Cottage in Woodstock.
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New London’s Sound Defense
The use of privateers to supplement naval forces and wage war on an enemy was established European practice—and one the rebellious North American colonies readily adopted as they faced Britain, one of great military powers at sea, during the Revolutionary War.
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Connecticut’s War Governor, William A. Buckingham
Connecticut governor William Buckingham’s bronze statue at the Connecticut State Capitol honors his guidance of Connecticut through the Civil War.
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Ivory Cutting: The Rise and Decline of a Connecticut Industry
At one time, manufacturing facilities in the town of Deep River and village of Ivoryton in Essex processed up to 90 percent of the ivory imported into the US.
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Ivoryton Playhouse Opens – Today in History: June 17
On June 17, 1930, the Ivoryton Playhouse opened with a production of the play Broken Dishes, which had just closed in New York.
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Looking Back: the First “Aero Planes”
New flying machines drew excited crowds to the 1911 opening of a new bridge between Saybrook and Old Lyme.
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Wesleyan Hills Helps Redefine Suburbia
The design of the Wesleyan Hills community in Middletown, Connecticut, stands in stark contrast to the uninspiring, cookie-cutter suburbs of the Post-World War II era.
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Designed to Heal: The Connecticut General Hospital for the Insane
The design of this state facility in Middletown reflects 19th-century beliefs about the environment’s ability to influence mental health.
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The Frost House Once Offered Travelers a Warm Welcome
The Levi B. Frost House (or the Asa Barnes Tavern) represents over two centuries of Southington history.
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A Better Home and Garden in Bethlehem
The Bellamy-Ferriday House is a three-story, white clapboard house located in the center of Bethlehem, Connecticut.
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The Darlings Make Preservation a Family Affair
Thomas Darling was an 18th-century merchant, farmer, and politician and a member of the colonial elite.
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Diamonds of the Past: Hartford’s Lost Ball Parks
Erected in 1874, Hartford’s earliest baseball stadium was the Base Ball Grounds in Colt Park, on the corner of Wyllys Street and Hendricxsen Avenue.
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A First Amendment Lesson: Weaver High Students Teach Their Elders
In the 1960s, Hartford high school students published a controversial newspaper that sparked debates about freedom of speech and freedom of the press.
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George Washington Slept Here (Just Perhaps Not Well)
After his stay at the Perkins Tavern in Ashford, George Washington commented in his personal journal on the accommodations.
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Echoes of the Old World: The Architectural Legacy of Ithiel Town
Ithiel Town was one of the first professional architects in Connecticut and one of the first to introduce the architectural styles of Europe to the United States.
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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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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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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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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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The Turtle Submarine – Today in History: September 6
On September 6, 1776, the first functioning submarine, called the Turtle, attacked the HMS Eagle anchored in New York Harbor.
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Venture Smith, from Slavery to Freedom
Smith’s account sheds light on the experience of enslaved and free blacks in 18th-century Connecticut.
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Child Labor vs. Schooling in 19th-century Naugatuck
The Naugatuck school system today consists of 11 public schools that provide a thorough contemporary education to over 4,000 students—but this was not always the case.
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Just Pour Over Ice – Who Knew?
The Heublein Restaurant served its thirsty customers pre-mixed cocktails that became so wildly popular they had to build a distillery just to meet demand.
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Hidden Nearby: The Bantam Lake Ice House
Bantam Lake served a vital function as a supplier of ice that local residents used to preserve food when temperatures began to rise.
Read Theodate Pope Riddle Dies – Today in History: August 30
On August 30, 1946, Farmington’s Theodate Pope Riddle, one of the nation’s first successful woman architects, died at the age of 79.
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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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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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Lisbon Tunnel Completed – Today in History: August 28
The Norwich and Worcester Railroad built the first railroad tunnel in Connecticut, and one of the first in the nation, in the town of Lisbon in the 1830s.
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Charles Grandison Finney Spreads Revivalism and Education throughout the Mississippi Valley
Charles Grandison Finney was a revivalist preacher and educator born in Warren on August 27, 1792.
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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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A Fair to Remember in Brooklyn
Sponsored by the Windham County Agricultural Society, the Brooklyn Fair is held annually in August to promote and preserve the area’s agricultural heritage.
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Five Minutes that Changed Connecticut: Simon Bernstein and the 1965 Connecticut Education Amendment
“There shall always be free public elementary and secondary schools in the state. The general assembly shall implement this principle by appropriate legislation.”
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The Forlorn Soldier Statue
The Forlorn Soldier statue survived years of neglect, punishing weather, and efforts to tear it down.
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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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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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Waterbury’s Radium Girls
In the early 20th century, girls working at the Waterbury Clock Company faced death and disease from exposure to radium in the workplace.
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William O’Neill: Climbing Up the Political Ladder
Connecticut’s 84th governor, William Atchison O’Neill, was born in Hartford on August 11, 1930 but grew up in East Hampton.
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Hubbell’s Pull-Chain Electrical Light Socket – Today in History: August 11
On August 11, 1896, Bridgeport inventor and industrialist Harvey Hubbell patented a socket for incandescent lamps.
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Danbury Prison Protest – Today in History: August 11
On August 11, 1943, conscientious objectors and other prisoners staged a 135-day hunger strike to protest racial segregation in the Danbury prison’s dining hall.
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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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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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Hidden Nearby: John Brown’s Torrington Birthplace
Ruins are all that remain of the birthplace of this transformative figure in US history.
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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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Pan-Harmonicum Strikes a New Note for Puritan Worship in Lebanon
Musical instruments, once scorned as ungodly, found a place in Congregational services at the turn of the 19th century.
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Christopher Miner Spencer, 19th-century Arms Manufacturer
Christopher Miner Spencer, from Manchester, obtained 42 patents during his lifetime and created the first successful breech-loading repeating rifle.
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Abundant Wildlife Drives the History of Rocky Neck State Park
Consisting of 710 acres of camping and recreational areas, Rocky Neck State Park is located on Long Island Sound in East Lyme.
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D-Day – Today in History: June 6
On the WWII homefront, night watchmen in Naugatuck’s factories heard the news of D-Day first.
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First Human Test of a Nylon Parachute – Today in History: June 6
On June 6, 1942, Adeline Gray made the first jump by a human with a nylon parachute at Brainard Field in Hartford.
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Hartford’s Nook Farm
This small enclave in the capital city’s west end became home to many of the 19th century’s most celebrated and creative personalities.
Read Samuel Colt and Elizabeth Jarvis Marry – Today in History: June 5
On June 5, 1856, Samuel Colt married Elizabeth Hart Jarvis, the daughter of Reverend William Jarvis and Elizabeth Hart of Middletown.
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A Tale of Shad, the State Fish
The aquatic inhabitant, shad, has a long history of influencing foodways, income, and culture in the region.
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Norfolk—Alive With The Sound of Summer Music
Norfolk began hosting the Yale Summer School of Music and Norfolk Chamber Music Festival back in 1941.
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From Frontier Town to Capital City: Collection Traces Hartford’s Transformation
How does a colonial town become a modern city? A unique collection, with documents dating to the 1630s, helps provide answers.
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What’s in a Number? Connecticut’s Thirteenth Regiment Goes Off to War
So how lucky was the Thirteenth when it came to surviving combat, disease, and other perils of the Civil War? Read on to find out.
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Philip Johnson in His Own Words
In 1985, this famed architect offered a candid take on his life and work, with the stipulation that it not be made public until after his death.
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Osborn Correctional Institution
When the Connecticut Correctional Institution opened in Somers in 1963, it represented yet another chapter in the state’s history of housing those convicted of crimes.
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A Shipping and Railroad Magnate Remembers His Connecticut Roots
From Connecticut, Charles Morgan was a shipping and railroad magnate who became one of the most esteemed New York millionaires of the 19th century.
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Frederick Law Olmsted Born – Today in History: April 26
On April 26, 1822, Frederick Law Olmsted was born in Hartford and became the founder of landscape architecture in America,
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Southbury Takes On the Nazis
When the Nazis moved into Southbury, however, local citizens reacted forcefully, eventually pushing the anti-Semitic settlers out of the state.
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The British Attack Danbury – Today in History: April 25
On April 25, 1777, British forces land at the mouth of the Saugatuck River with plans to attack Danbury.
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Frances Laughlin Wadsworth: Sculpting the Past
Her statues honor the famous, from Thomas Hooker and Helen Keller to Alice Cogswell, the first pupil of what became The American School for the Deaf.
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Windsor’s “Murder Factory”
It only took 4 hours for a jury to convict Amy Duggan Archer Gilligan of operating, what the Hartford Courant labeled, a “murder factory.”
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Plainfield Academy: Preparing Connecticut Scholars in the 18th and 19th Centuries
Founded in the late 18th century, the Plainfield Academy went on to become just the third school incorporated in the state of Connecticut.
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One Powerful Family in Bozrah
The operation of BL&P began strictly as a family affair with a focus on providing exemplary service to the local community.
Read 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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William Edgar Simonds: A Schoolteacher Turned Civil War Hero
Originally a teacher, William Edgar Simonds’ service during the Civil War launched Simonds into a life of politics and international acclaim.
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Stanley Works for New Britain
In 1843, Frederick Stanley founded a small shop in New Britain to manufacture bolts, hinges, and other hardware products for sale to local residents.
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Connecticut Daredevil Andrew Mamedoff Joins Royal Air Force
Andrew Mamedoff was a daredevil, pilot, and war hero who became one of the first Americans to join England’s Royal Air Force.
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When Milk Powered Watertown’s Industry
The story of the dairy industry in Watertown mirrors that of many industries in Connecticut.
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Hidden Nearby: Camp Columbia State Park in Morris
Once an engineering field school for Columbia University, this former campus presents a study in change and adaptation.
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Elias Perkins: One of Lisbon’s Most Accomplished Public Servants
Elias Perkins’s career in public service lasted nearly half a century and made him a popular figure both locally and nationally.
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Semi-Pro Baseball in Sharon – Who Knew?
From the 1930s until about the early 1970s, Sharon fielded a team in the semi-pro Interstate Baseball League (IBL).
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When Bozrah Provided Comfort to the Nation
For the better part of a century, the Bozrah mills utilized by the Palmer Brothers company served the Fitchville section of town and the surrounding community.
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The 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment Leaves for War – Today in History: March 19
On March 19, 1864, the 29th Connecticut Colored Infantry Regiment was preparing for deployment to the South to fight in the Civil War.
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The Effects of “Redlining” on the Hartford Metropolitan Region
Historical data reveals long-term patterns of inequality that can be traced back to now-illegal practices adopted by federal and private lenders in the 1930s.
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Hartford Protests in Support of Selma – Today in History: March 9
On March 9, 1965, protesters held an all-night vigil in front of Governor John Dempsey’s residence in support of the voter registration marchers in Selma, Alabama.
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Hidden Nearby: Harwinton’s Catlin Trough
This memorial to a town father reminds us of the integral role that horses and other animals once played in daily life.
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Thread Your Needle – Today in History: March 2
On March 2, 1866, the Excelsior Needle Company of Wolcottville was organized and produced machine-made sewing needles by a new method called swaging.
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When the World Ran on Connecticut Time
The success of the clock- and watch-making industries in Connecticut came about in an era when the state was just beginning to realize its industrial potential.
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Hidden Nearby: Jedediah Strong’s Milestone
The Litchfield man behind this colonial-era mile marker led an accomplished but, ultimately, tragic life.
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The Legend of the Charter Oak
The Charter Oak is a symbol of Connecticut’s enduring tradition of representative government and self-rule.
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Connecticut State Capitol
Still in use today, the State Capitol continues to be a crucial site of lawmaking, state business, protest, advocacy, and more.
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The Battle of Groton Heights at Fort Griswold
East of the Thames River, on Groton Heights, Fort Griswold stands commanding the New London Harbor and the surrounding countryside.
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The Last Wolf in Connecticut
There are many versions of the story of Israel Putnam and the wolf, but the original is found in a book first published in 1788 while Putnam was still alive.
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Wethersfield Academy
In the mid-17th century, Connecticut was considered the most literate place on earth, primarily due to the early Puritans’ insistence that everyone be able to read and write.
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Park Street Festival, Hartford 1978
The Park Street Festival is an annual Puerto Rican celebration held in the heart of Hartford’s Puerto Rican community on Park Street.
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The USS Nautilus: The World’s First Nuclear Submarine
On January 21, 1954, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower launched the world’s first nuclear submarine at the General Dynamics Shipyard in Groton.
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The Scoville Memorial Library
The first publicly funded library in the US continues to serve the town of Salisbury.
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Quassy: One of the Last of the Old-Time Trolley Parks
One of the last old-time trolley parks, Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury has been a staple in Connecticut entertainment for over 100 years.
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Samson Occom and the Brotherton Indians
A Mohegan and founding member of a pantribal group of Christian Indians, Occum sought to preserve Native autonomy by living apart from European communities.
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Zebulon Brockway: A Controversial Figure in Prison Reform
Zebulon Brockway was one of the more successful and controversial figures in prison reform during the 1800s.
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Hidden Nearby: Bethlehem’s Joseph Bellamy Monument
This monument is dedicated to the leading pastor and theologian, Joseph Bellamy, promoted New Light Congregationalism in the 1700s.
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James G. Batterson, Stone Contractor
James G. Batterson was an artist, inventor, and businessman. He helped commemorate the Civil War through his proficiency with stone.
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The Constitution Oak
Connecticut, the “Constitution State,” has a unique history of state constitutions. The “constitution” celebrated on our license plates is the Fundamental Orders of 1638.
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Three Young Engineers: Charting New Haven
When the United States Coast Survey set out to compile detailed charts of New Haven Harbor in the 1870s, they hired recent graduates of Yale’s Sheffield Scientific School as assistants.
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The Plainville Town Hall Catches Fire
Built in 1890, the three-story Plainville Town Hall quickly became the center of daily life in town.
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“Outcasts” Build Their Own Village in 18th-Century Barkhamsted
In a wooded area of Barkhamsted near Ragged Mountain lie the remains of a once thriving multicultural community.
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Bird’s-eye Views of Connecticut Offer Idealized Portraits of Progress
Panoramic prints of growing cities and towns became popular in the late 1800s as Connecticut transformed from an agricultural to an industrial state.
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Armstrong Finds a Niche in the Tire Market
Armstrong tires, one of the most popular brands of automobile and farm equipment tires in the 20th century, has its roots in West Haven, Connecticut.
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Philip Corbin: Manufacturing A Legacy for New Britain
The P&F Corbin Company manufactured builders’ hardware, including hooks, sash fasteners, picture nails, locks, and knobs, and coffin trimmings.
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Naugatuck’s Early Chemical Industry
One of the attributes that made Naugatuck unique was that it was the home of Charles Goodyear, the inventor of vulcanized rubber.
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Warren Congregational Church, a Longstanding Community Center
An examination of the Warren Congregational Church not only tells us about the central role churches played in developing communities during this period in New England’s history.
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Southington Industry: From Nuts to Bolts
Buried in Southington’s past are the foundations of the bolt industry that helped build a nation from the ground up.
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Norwich in Perspective
Two different artistic takes on a prosperous 19th-century mill town and commercial center.
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The Answer Is Risom!
How the Scandinavian design movement re-fashioned local industry in the mill town of Thompson during the 1960s and ’70s.
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Rock-Solid Industry in 19th-Century Bolton
Driving along Route 44 in Bolton, motorists travel through a narrow passageway of rocks, caves, and woods known as the Bolton Notch.
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Stepping Back in Time: North Stonington Village Historic District
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, the Stonington Village Historic District features buildings, canals, bridges, and machinery that recall life in a typical early 19th-century New England mill village.
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Bird’s-eye Views of Rockville Chart Textile Industry’s Growth
Two depictions, produced 18 years apart, illustrate how the textile boom transformed this borough of Vernon.
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A Sign of the Times Blends Masonic and Patriotic Imagery
The sign from a tavern operated by Luther Holcomb, a Granby mason, reflects his fraternal affiliation as well as the establishment’s role as a meeting site.
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Connecticut Takes the Wheel on Education Reform: Project Concern
As one of the earliest voluntary busing programs in the US, Project Concern sought to address educational inequalities.
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Looking Back: How the Vote Was Won
Today it is the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center (The Kate) but it began as the Old Saybrook Musical and Dramatic Club.
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The Rise of the “Second Home” Community in Sharon – Who Knew?
Sharon attracted a substantial vacation community and between 1880 and 1920, wealthy visitors refurbished older homes or built Colonial Revival-style mansions.
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Map – Rochambeau’s Camp at Danbury
This map, “Camp a Danbury le 23 Octobre 11 milles de Salem,” is a page from the manuscript atlas Amérique Campagne 1782.
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Map – Rochambeau’s Camp at East Hartford
This map, “Camp à East Hartford, le 29 Octobre, 12 milles 1/2 de Farmingtown,” is a page from the manuscript atlas Amérique Campagne 1782.
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Map – Rochambeau’s Camp at Voluntown
This map, “Camp à Walen-Town, le 8 Novembre, 10 milles de Contorbery,” is a page from the manuscript atlas Amérique Campagne 1782.
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Map – Rochambeau’s Camp at Farmington
This map, “Camp à Farmington le 28 Octobre, 13 milles de Barn’s Tavern,” is a page from the manuscript atlas Amérique Campagne 1782.
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Map – Rochambeau’s Camp at Windham
The manuscript outlines the plans of the camps for Comte de Rochambeau’s army during their return march north from Williamsburg, Virginia, to Boston.
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Bird’s-eye Views of Winsted
As bird’s-eye view maps declined in popularity during the early 20th century, artists incorporated technical advances in hopes of reversing the trend.
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North Stonington’s Randall House, Nothing Ordinary about It
Fascinated by the colonial lifestyle and open-hearth cooking, Bill and Cindy purchased the John Randall House in North Stonington in 1986.
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North Stonington: Shunock River and Local Ambitions Powered a 19th-century Mill Town
With water supplied by the Shunock River and Assekonk Brook, North Stonington supported mill operations and local businesses from the late 1600s to early 1900s.
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Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s Time in Connecticut
In the summer of 1944, a young Martin Luther King Jr. worked at the Simsbury tobacco farm of Cullman Brothers, Inc.
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A Bird’s-eye View of East Haddam
In 1880, East Haddam was already a popular tourist destination and, despite its small size, boasted two steamboat landings to accommodate visitors.
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Site Lines: Silas Deane
Despite Deane’s role in securing French supplies and support for the American Revolution, his accomplishments have long been obscured by whispers of treason, a spy’s double-dealing, and his own sudden death.
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Causes of the Pequot War
The outbreak of the Pequot War is best understood through an examination of the cultural, political, and economic changes after the arrival of the Dutch (1611) and English (early 1630s).
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Connecticut’s Oldest English Settlement
The original Windsor settlement contained not only the town of Windsor but also what eventually became the towns of Enfield, Suffield, Simsbury, and others.
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Luna Park – Who Knew?
Luna Park in West Hartford was a popular attraction at the turn of the 20th century but was demolished in the 1930s to make way for a factory.
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The Fight Over Slavery Reaches Torrington
In the years prior to the Civil War, Torrington, like many towns in New England and the rest of the country, found itself divided by the issue of slavery.
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Prudence Crandall Fights for Equal Access to Education
A headmistress champions education for African American women and although forced to close her school in 1834, she helped win the battle for generations that followed.
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Artist Roger Tory Peterson, a Champion for the Natural World
Artist, author, and influential conservationist Roger Tory Peterson pioneered the modern age of bird watching with his 1934 book, A Field Guide to the Birds.
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Joshua Hempsted Born – Today in History: September 1
On September 1, 1678, Joshua Hempsted was born in New London, Connecticut.
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Salisbury Iron Forged Early Industry
Connecticut’s bucolic northwest corner, with its Taconic Range, Berkshire Hills, and pastoral valleys, harbored a major iron industry in the 18th and 19th centuries.
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Homer D. Babbidge, Leader in Education
Homer Daniels Babbidge, Jr., made his mark as president of the University of Connecticut from 1962 through 1972 and transformed the once-quiet university into a national leader in higher education.
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Preserving an All-American Downtown in Torrington
Torrington’s unique and historically significant buildings are the foundation on which local businesses and civic leaders built a revitalized economy.
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Fitch Soldiers’ Home Closes – Today in History: August 28
On August 28, 1940, Fitch’s Home for Soldiers and their Orphans, also known as Fitch’s Home for Soldiers, in Darien, closed its doors.
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Windsor Engineers Success
In recognition of the importance of the canal and the village in fostering local economic development, the area was given the name Windsor Locks in 1854.
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Medical Pioneer Eli Todd born – Today in History: July 22
On July 22, 1769, Eli Todd was born in New Haven and in 1824 became the first director of the Connecticut Retreat for the Insane in Hartford.
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The Art of Life and Death in Colonial Bolton
Bartlett was the first gravestone carver in the upper Connecticut River Valley, and his headstones tell historians much about early life in the northeastern colonies.
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Amasa Goodyear and Son Re-Invent Naugatuck
Born in New Haven, Amasa Goodyear was an inventor, manufacturer, merchant, and farmer.
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Mystic River Bridge Opens – Today in History: July 19
On July 19, 1922, the Mystic River Bridge spanning the Mystic River in Groton opened to the public.
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Branford Gets On the Trolley
Starting as a means of intra-city transportation, trolley lines extended outward by the start of the 20th century and promoted the growth of modern suburbs.
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The Automatic Gallows – Today in History: June 18
On June 18, 1895, Jabez L. Woodbridge of Wethersfield patented an automated gallows.
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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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Connecticut’s First Female Telephone Operator – Today in History: March 24
On March 24, 1879, Marjorie Gray became Connecticut’s first female telephone operator.
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