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Transportation


Newspaper headline that reads "Girl Flyer Gets License, Aviation Writer's Paper Gets Story By Hard Work"

“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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Lithograph depicting two steamboats crashing into each other with people jumping over the sides into the water. There is text at the bottom.

Disaster on the Sound: The Collision of the Steamboats Stonington and Narragansett

The crash involving the S.S. Stonington and the S.S. Narragansett resulted in the death of dozens, massive destruction, and a media frenzy.

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Hartford Street Railway Company Electricians, ca. 1907. Electrifying the railroad created new jobs

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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Fields and pastures, Sharon

Turnpikes and Transportation in Sharon

March 7, 2023 • Sharon, Transportation

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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Rocky shore in front of a white lighthouse and several white buildings.

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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“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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Connecticut Turnpike Opens – Today in History: January 2

On January 2, 1958, Governor Abraham Ribicoff officially opened the Connecticut Turnpike—today the Governor John Davis Lodge Turnpike—to traffic.

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East Thompson train wreck, December 4, 1891

The Day Four Trains Collided in East Thompson

December 4, 2022 • Disaster, Thompson, Transportation

In 1891, Thompson, Connecticut, was the site of one of the most horrific railway accidents in American history.

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Map detail of an island

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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Murphy Terminal, 1952

Bradley Field Enters the Jet Age

September 8, 2022 • Transportation, Windsor Locks

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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Two women sliding on a toboggan down a ramp. There is the remnants of snow on the ground.

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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Map showing a newly laid road in relationship to the Talcott Mountain Turnpike

Early Turnpikes Provided Solution to Lack of Reliable Roads

September 3, 2022 • The State, Transportation

Although few of the privately managed toll-roads of the 1800s proved profitable for investors, state commerce benefited in the long run.

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Detail of the Bethany Airport Hanger from the Aerial survey of Connecticut 1934

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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Grey plaque dedicated to Moses Wheeler with the names of the Connecticut governor and state highway commissioner in 1962

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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Mystic River Bridge

Mystic River Bridge Opens – Today in History: July 19

July 19, 2022 • Groton, Transportation

On July 19, 1922, the Mystic River Bridge spanning the Mystic River in Groton opened to the public.

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Essex-Lyme ferry

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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Makris Diner, 1795 Berlin Turnpike, Wethersfield

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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Pope Automobile Model S, Seven Passenger Car, 1909

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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1893-94 Duryea

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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Deep River, 1934 aerial survey

Road Signs of the Air

In the 1920s, most pilots navigated using road maps and by following highways, rivers, and other landmarks that they could see from the air.

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J.O. Davidson, Battle of Port Hudson

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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Steamer City of Hartford

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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Inventor Charles F. Ritchel

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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Lattice Truss Bridge, Ithiel Town

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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Aerial view of Black Rock Turnpike Bridge and Vicinity

Overland Travel in Connecticut, from Footpaths to Interstates

By overcoming the limitation of distance, transportation makes possible the many economic and social interactions that allow a community, a people, an entire culture, to thrive

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Detail from Map of the Farmington Canal

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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Detail from a map of Connecticut and Rhode Island, with Long Island Sound, 1776

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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Map of Plan of the city of New Haven - Connecticut Historical Society Museum & Library

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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Hindenburg over The Travelers Tower

Video – The Hindenburg Flies Over Hartford

This video, taken in October of 1936, shows the Hindenburg sailing over Hartford, a short seven months before its destruction.

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The crew and passengers of the steamboat Sunshine

Rising Tide: Steamboat Workers on the Connecticut River

October 8, 2021 • Transportation, Work

For the deck hands, stevedores, and firemen who made the steamboats of the Hartford Line run, 18-hour days, dangerous conditions, and lousy food were the norm.

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Illuminations at the entrance to the Bulkeley Bridge

Mighty, Mighty Hartford

In October of 1908, Hartford celebrated the opening of the Bulkeley Bridge, which connected Hartford and East Hartford, with a three-day extravaganza.

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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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Rails and Paper Trails

August 25, 2021 • Stonington, Transportation

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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President Roosevelt and his entourage in Hartford

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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Connecticut Valley R. R. schedule

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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Trolley interior, Branford Electric Railway - Trolley Museum

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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John Warner Barber, South Western view of Ashford, Conn

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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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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Advertisement for July 4th balloon flight

Silas Brooks, Balloonist

This Connecticut native, Silas Brooks, earned fame as a crowd-pleasing musician, showman, and aeronaut.

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Merritt Parkway, New York to Connecticut, 1941

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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Mead Memorial Park, New Canaan

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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Automobiles waiting to cross

East Haddam Swing Bridge – Today in History: June 14

June 14, 2021 • East Haddam, Transportation

On June 14, 1913, the East Haddam Swing Bridge officially opened on Flag Day.

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Electromagnetic Signal Apparatus for Railroads

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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Detail from Puck magazine, "It costs money to fix things" - C P Huntington

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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Diagram of SS Savannah

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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Combined Telegraph Key and Sounder

Learning about the Lusitania: How Hartford Heard the News

May 7, 2021 • Everyday Life, Transportation

Citizens turned to outdoor bulletin boards, city bus drivers, and other lines of communication to get the latest news on the fate of the ship’s passengers.

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Advertisement for the Eastern line of stages, 1842

Stagecoach Sustained Commerce and Communication in 1800s

In its early 19th-century heyday, stagecoach travel was a large-scale enterprise and a source of livelihood for many state residents.

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Charter Oak Bridge construction, ca. 1941

Last State Highway Toll Paid – Today in History: April 28

April 28, 2021 • Transportation

On April 28, 1989, William Thornton paid the last state highway toll in Connecticut on the Charter Oak Bridge.

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Bradley Field, Windsor Locks

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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The City of Hartford steamboat after collision with railroad bridge

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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Postcard of New London Bridge on Thames River, New London, Conn.

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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Illustration of a woman on horse, woodcut

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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Shipbuilding at Gildersleeve Ship Construction Co., Portland

The Gildersleeve Shipbuilding Legacy in Portland

Perhaps the most recognizable name in the history of Portland, Connecticut shipbuilding is Sylvester Gildersleeve.

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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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State Street and Old Ferry Landing, New London

New London’s Ferries: A Transportation Tradition

December 16, 2020 • Groton, New London, Transportation

For more than three centuries, ferry service has provided vital transportation to residents and businesses around New London.

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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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Kaman Aircraft, 1949

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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Currier & Ives, The drunkards progress. From the first glass to the grave

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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Map detail from Turnpikes of Connecticut,

Oxford: From Paths to Pikes

October 22, 2020 • Oxford, Transportation

When colonists first settled around Oxford, Connecticut, roads consisted of little more than footpaths, but farmers began demanding better roads.

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View on the Erie Canal

Benjamin Wright: The Father of American Civil Engineering

October 18, 2020 • Transportation, Wethersfield, Work

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 England burst its boilers off Essex, October 8, 1833

The Steamboat New England: “The shock was dreadful” – Today in History: October 8

October 8, 2020 • Disaster, Essex, Environment, Transportation

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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Steam tugboat J. W. Coultston, ca.1890s

The Great River: Connecticut’s Main Stream

Highway. Barrier. Resource. Sewer. Over the centuries each of these names has been used to describe one of the defining feature’s of the state’s landscape.

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United States Army dirigible with crowd of onlookers

Airborne Pioneers: Connecticut Takes Flight

Daring flights and first-of-a-kind inventions mark the state’s 200-plus-year history of taking to the skies.

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Work on foundation of the Bulkeley Bridge

The Sand Hogs Set the Foundation for the Bulkeley Bridge

August 15, 2020 • Social Movements, Transportation, Work

Toiling in dangerous conditions beneath the Connecticut River’s surface for only $2.50 a day, African American workers dug the foundation for the Bulkeley Bridge.

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Collision on the Housatonic Railroad near Bridgeport

Horror on the Housatonic: The Railroad Disaster of August 1865

August 14, 2020 • Disaster, Transportation

Despite measures to ensure the safe operation of railroad trains traveling in opposite directions on single-track lines, things sometimes went wrong—with deadly results.

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Engine number 36 in a Hartford station

Steam Railroads Transform Connecticut Travel and Commerce

In 1832, the state chartered its first railroad and ushered in a new age of fast, and sometimes dangerous, regional transportation.

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Launching of the Nautilus

Launching of the USS Nautilus 1954

The building of the Nautilus helped Groton sustain its title of “Submarine Building Capital of the World.” 

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Detail of Connecticut and Parts Adjacent, 1780

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 Farmington Canal near Mount Carmel in Hamden

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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Map of Farmington and Avon, indicating the Farmington Canal and its feeders

Farmington Canal’s Ground-Breaking – Today in History: July 4

July 4, 2020 • Granby, Transportation

On July 4, 1825, the ground-breaking ceremonies for the Farmington Canal took place at Salmon Brook village in Granby.

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Flying Machine patent

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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The Lemon Law – Today in History: June 4

On June 4, 1982, Connecticut made legislative history by pioneering the country’s first Lemon Law.

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Mayor Insists Air Terminal to Aid Idle

“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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Connecticut Supreme Court

Parking Authority Created in New Haven – Today in History: June 2

June 2, 2020 • Law, New Haven, Transportation

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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Setting Speed Limits – Today in History: May 21

On May 21, 1901, Connecticut passed An Act Regulating the Speed of Motor Vehicles.

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Comstock covered bridge

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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Interior West Cornwall Covered Bridge

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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New York and New Haven Railroad train bound from Manhattan

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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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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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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Governor Trumbull becomes first governor in the nation to qualify for a pilot's license

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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The Interstate Highway System Comes to Hartford

February 11, 2020 • Hartford, Transportation

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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John Fitch's steamboat model

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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Tariffville Train Wreck

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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Detail of Map exhibiting the route of the Norwich & Worcester Railroad

Iron and Water: The Norwich & Worcester Railroad Story

November 16, 2019 • Norwich, Transportation

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

Igor Sikorsky and his Flying Machines

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

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Charles K. Hamilton

Hamilton Breaks Air Records – Today in History: June 13

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

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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.

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An Orderly & Decent Government: Searching for the Common Good, 1776-1818

During the American Revolution, loyalists were common in Connecticut. Those sympathetic to the patriot cause helped provide for the Continental army.

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An Orderly & Decent Government: Searching for the Common Good, 1929-1964

Organized labor grew strong during wartime while discriminatory practices in housing and education persisted throughout the state.

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Detail from a Map of the survey for a canal route for manufacturing purposes from the head of Enfield Falls to Hartford

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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Hamilton making adjustments to his biplane, 1911

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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Railroad bridge, Norwich, ca. 1870

Combined Rail-and-Water System Makes Norwich a Key Travel Hub in Mid-1800s

October 8, 2014 • Norwich, Transportation

For waterfront towns like Norwich, early steamships offered opportunities for travel and commerce previously unthinkable to generations of local residents.

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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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The Jedediah Strong Milestone

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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View of the Merritt Parkway in the 1930's

Merritt Parkway 1939

As early as 1919, the Connecticut Department of Transportation recognized the need for an alternate road to Route 1 through Fairfield County.

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Armstrong Rubber Company ad, June 1953

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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The Hartford Wheel Club, Hartford

The League of American Wheelmen and Hartford’s Albert Pope Champion the Good Roads Movement

How the 19th-century cycling craze led to improved roads and paved the way for future federal highway construction.

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Detail of North Stonington from Town and city atlas of the State of Connecticut

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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