State, County & Local History
Connecticut is the southernmost state in the New England region of the United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital is Hartford and its most populous city is Bridgeport. Historically the state is part of New England as well as the tri-state area with New York and New Jersey. The state is named for the Connecticut River which approximately bisects the state. The word "Connecticut" is derived from various anglicized spellings of "Quononoquett" (Conanicut), a Mohegan-Pequot word for "long tidal river".
Connecticut's first European settlers were Dutchmen who established a small, short-lived settlement called Fort Hoop in Hartford at the confluence of the Park and Connecticut Rivers. Half of Connecticut was initially claimed by the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers, although the first major settlements were established in the 1630s by the English. Thomas Hooker led a band of followers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded the Connecticut Colony; other settlers from Massachusetts founded the Saybrook Colony and the New Haven Colony. The Connecticut and New Haven colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a royal charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. Connecticut was one of the Thirteen Colonies which rejected British rule in the American Revolution.
Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the fifty states. It is known as the "Constitution State", the "Nutmeg State", the "Provisions State", and the "Land of Steady Habits". It was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States (see Connecticut Compromise). The Connecticut River, Thames River, and ports along Long Island Sound have given Connecticut a strong maritime tradition which continues today.
Photos & Memorabilia
Vintage postcards from around Connecticut
Connecticut's Historical Facts
1639 -- first constitution
adopted, establishing representative government
1656 -- first municipal public library in America, a
bequest to the "town of New Haven"
1670 -- first survey for the first turnpike in
America, between Norwich and New London
1729 -- first medical diploma, granted by Yale
University
1764 -- first newspaper, The Hartford Courant,
published since October 29, 1764
1783 -- first dictionary, published by Noah Webster,
born in West Hartford
1784 -- first law school in America, Litchfield Law
School Graduates included John C. Calhoun, Aaron
Burr, Horace Mann, Oliver Wolcott, Jr. and Noah
Webster
1788 -- first State House in America, built after
the Federal Constitution ratification
1794 -- first cotton gin, Eli Whitney of New Haven
patented this invention
1803 -- first town library, tax-supported and
organized in Salisbury
1806 -- first factory town in America, planned and
established in Seymour
1808 -- first movable parts mass production in use,
making clocks
1810 -- first insurance company, ITT Hartford Group,
Inc. Officially opened for business and people were
able to take insurance for the "loss of life or
personal injury while journeying by railway or
steamboat"
1819 -- first industrial training school,
established by Josiah Holbrook in Derby
1836 -- first revolver
1842 -- first public art museum
1843 -- first portable typewriter
1844 -- first use of anesthesia
1846 -- first sewing machine, Elias Howe procured a
patent for the first practical sewing machine in
1846
1853 -- first ice-making machine
1858 -- first can opener
1861 -- first Ph.D. Degree, Yale University awarded
in Philosophy
1868 -- first tape measure
1877 -- first pay phone
1877 -- first telephone exchange, established in
Bridgeport
1892 -- first collapsible toothpaste tube
1895 -- first hamburger, served at Louie's Lunch in
New Haven
1907 -- first permanent public planning body in
America, Hartford's Commission on the City Plan
1908 -- first lollipop
1920 -- first Frisbee, Yale students discovered
empty pie plates from Mrs. Frisbie Pies in
Bridgeport could be sailed across the New Haven
Green
1933 -- first vacuum cleaner
1934 -- first Polaroid camera
1939 -- first FM radio station, WDRC-FM began
broadcasting in Hartford
1939 -- first helicopter, Igor Sikorsky designed the
first successful helicopter in the Western
Hemisphere
1948 -- first color television
1949 -- first ultra high frequency UHF television
station to operate on a daily basis, KC2XAK in
Bridgeport
1954 -- first nuclear submarine, launched in New
London
1982 -- first artificial heart, Dr. Robert K.
Jarvik, a Stamford native, invented the world's
first artificial heart
Inventors & Inventions
Charles Goodyear (1800-1860, born in New Haven, CT) - Vulcanized rubber discovered in 1839, process perfected and patented in 1844. Patent #1090.
Noah Webster (1753-1843, born in West Hartford, CT) - Graduated from Yale in 1778. Webster published his first dictionary, "A Compendious Dictionary of the English Language" in 1806, and the modern Merriam-Webster dictionary that was first published in 1828. He was also influential in establishing the Copyright Act of 1831.
Elias Howe (1819-1867) - In 1846 he was awarded the first United States patent (U.S. Patent 4,750) for a sewing machine using a lockstitch design. And 1851 for an "Automatic, Continuous Clothing Closure" (zipper). Between 1865 & 1867, Elias established The Howe Machine Co. in Bridgeport, CT, that was operated by Elias's sons-in-law, the Stockwell Brothers, until about 1886.
Eli Whitney (1765-1825, died in New Haven, CT) - Graduated from Yale in 1792. Invented the cotton gin, received US patent in 1794. In 1798 began making 10,000 muskets for the US Government, in 2 years.
Mrs. Mary (Dixon) Kies (1752-1837, born in South Killingly, CT) - In 1809, First woman in the United States to receive a patent. Invented a "new and useful improvement in weaving straw with silk or thread" to make hats.
Maps
| 1824 Connecticut Map | Connecticut map showing counties |
| CT map with counties & cities (PDF) | Old Maps Online for Connecticut |
| Library of Congress Maps for Connecticut |
