Connecticut was the 5th state to ratify the U.S. Constitution; this was on January 9, 1798. The Connecticut had co-capitals, Hartford and New Haven, until 1875 when Hartford became the sole capital. The current capitol was opened in 1875.
The back of the capitol faces Hartford's Bushell park.
In September, 1824 the Marquis De LaFayette arrived in Daniel Wadsworth's carriage drawn by four white horses. Hartford's citizens shout hurrahs, wave banners and throw garlands of flowers at the feet of this revered hero of the American Revolution. Veterans believe it was this noble frenchman's armies that secured connecticut's coastline and forced Lord Cornwallis' defeat at Yorktown. Passing through the evergreen archways, LaFayette is brought to the senate chamber of the State House to receive a gold medal from Hartford's grateful children and become and honorary citizen of the city.
Knowlton served in several campaigns in the French and Indian Wars as a boy, shared in the seige and capture of Havana in 1762, was in immediate command of Connecticut tropps at the Battle of Bunker Hill, was with his commands closely attached to the person of Washington and was killed at the Battle of Harlem Heights on September 16, 1776 at the age of thirty-six.
"In memory of the men of Connecticut who suffered in Southern Military Prisons (1861-1865)
The State Library was located in the Capitol but soon the space became inadequate. This building was completed in 1910 and was described as "one of the most beautiful structures in this country and said by some to be the handsomest building in New England." The Supreme Court courtroom is forty-three feet wide, fifty-six feet long and thirty-five feet high.
This statue is just outside the Horace Bushnell Memorial Building. Bushnell was a Protestant theologists and established the basis for religious liberalism. The Bushnell building is a center for the performing arts. Confucius statue was a gift from Shandong Province, China. Connecticut presented a statue of Mark Twain, a former resident of Hartford, to this province. This exchange of statues was a step in cultivating a broader understanding between the two cultures. There is a twenty plus year sister-state relationship between these cultures.
Hartford was named in 1637 after the English town of Hertford. The Indian name was Suckiaug. The Reverend Thomas Hooker arrived overland from Newton (Cambridge), Massachusetts with his congregation in 1636.
In 1639 the Fundamental Orders were adopted. Often considered the first written constitution creating a government. Hartford served as capital of Connecticut Colony until 1701, when after the absorption of New Haven Colony. New Haven and Hartford shared the title of capital until 1875.
One of several gold statues setting high on a pedestals on the Old State House grounds.
From 1768 to 1784 Trumbull guided the people of Connecticut to independence as the colony's royal governor. He is the only Colony governor to stand with the patriots during the American Revolution. He organized the energy and ingenuity of her citizens to make the weapons, the food and clothing for George Washington's Continental Army. Thus earning Connecticut the honered title of "The Provisioning State" after the colonies gain their independence, and becoming "Brother Jonathan" to President Washington.
Thomas Hooker (July 5, 1586 – July 7, 1647) was a prominent Puritan religious and colonial leader remembered as one of the founders of the Colony of Connecticut. He is also remembered for his role in creating the "Fundamental Orders of Connecticut". This document is one of the modern world's first written constitutions and an influence upon the current American Constitution, written nearly a century and a half later.
Erected by the Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford in 1986.
To commemorate the 350th anniversary of the city.
