A Program Of
Major Support Provided By
Other CT Humanities Programs
Now Viewing:
Wethersfield
The Fundamental Orders: Connecticut’s Role in Early Constitutional Government
Embracing the ideals supported by Hartford founder the Rev. Thomas Hooker, the Fundamental Orders represent what many consider to be the first written constitution in the Western world.
Read
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.
Read
The Beadle Family Murders – Today in History: December 11
Following the Boston Tea Party, the British Parliament passed a…
Read
Benjamin Wright: The Father of American Civil Engineering
Benjamin Wright helped build transportation and canal systems in the…
Read
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.
Read
Wethersfield Prison Blues
In September 1827, the newly constructed Connecticut State Prison in…
Read
Hooker’s Journey to Hartford
In early June of 1636, prominent Puritan religious leader Reverend…
Read
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.
Read
Alse Young Executed for Witchcraft – Today in History: May 26
On May 26, 1647, Alse Young of Windsor was the…
Read
The Fundamental Orders of Connecticut
The Fundamental Orders, inspired by Thomas Hooker’s sermon of May…
Read
Charles McLean Andrews and Evangeline Walker Andrews
Charles McLean Andrews was one of the most distinguished historians of his time, generally recognized as the master of American colonial history.
Read
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.
Read
Connecticut’s Oldest Fire Department
The Wethersfield Volunteer Fire Department is the oldest continually operated…
Read
The Automatic Gallows – Today in History: June 18
On June 18, 1895, Jabez L. Woodbridge of Wethersfield patented…
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. The outlines of the modern legislative system began to emerge.
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
Video – Connecticut’s Cultural Treasures: Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum
Connecticut’s Cultural Treasures is a series of 50 five-minute film vignettes that profiles a variety of the state’s most notable cultural resources.
Read
The Importance of Being Puritan: Church and State in Colonial Connecticut
In the sixteenth century, 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.
Read
Wethersfield Academy Est. 1804
Connecticut is celebrated for its long-lasting commitment to education. In…
Read
Over Time: Wethersfield’s Historical Population
Census data, from colonial times on up to the present, is a key resource for those who study the ways in which communities change with the passage of time.
Read
A Beautiful and Goodly Tree: The Rise and Fall of the American Elm
Almost every Connecticut town of any size has an Elm Street, named for the popular trees that grew in abundance until a fungal infestation greatly diminished their numbers.
Read
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.
Read
Washington Didn’t Only Sleep Here: George Washington at Wethersfield’s Webb House
The first time this founding father traveled through Connecticut, he was an ambitious Virginia colonel hoping to advance his career in the British military. When he last visited Connecticut, he was the first president of the new United States.
Read
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.
ReadMore Articles