Timeline of Hartford, Connecticut

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Hartford, Connecticut, USA.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

Prior to 19th century

• 1623 – Fort Hoop built by Dutch West India Company.
• 1635 – English settlers arrive.
• 1636 – First Church congregation relocates to "Newtown", Connecticut, from New Town, Massachusetts.^[1]
• 1637
  • Settlement renamed Hartford.
  • Town square laid out.^[1]
• 1638 – Latin school founded.
• 1640 – Burying Ground established (approximate date).
• 1647 – Alse Young hanged for witchcraft.^[2]
• 1662 – Hartford serving as capital of Connecticut Colony.^[1]
• 1670 – Indian treaty signed.^[3]
• 1701 – Hartford and New Haven designated joint capitals of Connecticut Colony.
• 1720 - “Hartford Hills” separate to form the town of Bolton.
• 1758 - Noah Webster born here, publisher of Grammatical Institute of the English Language^[1]
• 1764 – Connecticut Courant newspaper begins publication.^[4][1]
• 1774 – Library Company formed.
• 1775 – 4th Connecticut Regiment organized.
• 1783 – Town of East Hartford separates from Hartford.
• 1784
  • City chartered.^[1][5]
  • American Mercury newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1788 – Woollen mill in operation.^[1]
• 1790 – Population: 2,683.^[6]
• 1792 – Hartford Bank incorporated.^[7]
• 1796
  • American Cookery published.
  • State House built.
• 1797 – Joseph Steward's museum opens.

19th century

• 1810 – Hartford Fire Insurance Company incorporated.^[7]
• 1812 – Chauncey Goodrich elected mayor.
• 1814
  • Hartford Convention.
  • Phoenix Bank incorporated.^[7]
• 1818
  • Bridge over Connecticut River built.^[1]
  • American Asylum for Deaf-mutes incorporated.
• 1819 – Aetna Insurance Company^[8] and Society for Savings^[7] incorporated.
• 1820 – Population: 4,726.
• 1823
  • Washington College founded.
  • Hartford Female Seminary established.
  • Connecticut River Steamboat Co. incorporated.^[7]
• 1824
  • Nathaniel Terry becomes mayor.
  • Connecticut Retreat for the Insane opens.
• 1825
  • Connecticut Historical Society established.
  • Times & Hartford Advertiser newspaper begins publication.^[4]
  • Connecticut River Banking Co.^[7] and Protection Insurance Co. incorporated.^[7]
• 1826
  • The Hartford Times newspaper begins publication.
  • African Religious Society church built on Talcott Street.^[9]
• 1827 – Christ Church Cathedral built.
• 1830 – Population: 7,074.
• 1833
  • Miss Draper's Seminary for Young Ladies in operation (approximate date).^[10]
  • Hartford Literary and Religious Institution^{[citation needed]} and Colored Methodist Episcopal congregation formed.^{[citation needed]}
  • Farmers & Mechanics Bank incorporated.^[7]
• 1834 – Exchange Bank incorporated.^[7]
• 1835 – Patriot and Democrat newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1836
  • Firemen's Benevolent Society organized.^[7]
  • Northern Courier newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1837 – Daily Courant newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1838 – Hartford Young Men's Institute formed.
• 1840
  • Hartford Times newspaper begins publication.^[4]
  • Population: 9,468.^[6]
• 1841 – Washington Temperance Society, Martha Washington Temperance Society, and Young Men's Temperance Society organized.^[7]
• 1843 – Hartford Journal newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1844
  • Hartford and New Haven Railroad and Hartford and Springfield Railroad begin operating.
  • Wadsworth Atheneum opens.
• 1847 – I. & G. Fox Co. established.
• 1848 – Colt's Patent Firearms Manufacturing Company founded.
• 1849 – The Republican newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1850 – Population: 13,555.
• 1853 – Aetna Life Insurance Company incorporated.
• 1854
  • Henry C. Deming becomes mayor.
  • West Hartford municipality splits from Hartford.
  • Connecticut State Library and Hartford Hospital established.
• 1856
  • City rechartered.
  • Charter Oak felled in storm.
  • Hartford Evening Press newspaper begins publication.^[4]
  • Armsmear built for Samuel Colt.
• 1858
  • The Putnam Phalanx, a ceremonial honor guard, established.^[11]
  • Hartford Daily Post newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1860
  • Boys' Club founded.
  • Population: 26,917.
  • Police department established.^{[citation needed]}
• 1864 – Travelers Insurance Company founded.
• 1865 – Theological Institute of Connecticut relocates to Harford.
• 1866 – Charles R. Chapman becomes mayor.
• 1868
  • Bushnell Park laid out.
  • Cedar Hill Cemetery consecrated.
• 1869 – Travelers Journal newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1872
  • New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and Ados Israel Synagogue founded.
  • Windsor Avenue Congregational Church built (approximate date).
• 1873 – Metropolitan African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church built.
• 1874 – Mark Twain's house built on Farmington Avenue.
• 1876 – Cheney Building constructed.
• 1877 – Hartford Society for Decorative Art formed.
• 1878
  • George G. Sumner elected mayor.
  • State Capitol building constructed.
  • Pope Manufacturing Company in business, making Columbia Bicycles.^[12]
• 1880 – Morgan Bulkeley becomes mayor.
• 1881 – Watkinson School founded.
• 1882 – Post Office and Custom House built.
• 1883
  • Hartford Telegram newspaper begins publication.^[4]
  • Hartford Electric Light Co. organized.^[13]
• 1884 – The Wooden Nutmeg begins publication.^[4]
• 1885 – Hartford Camera Club organized.^[14]
• 1886 – Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch dedicated.
• 1888 – Hartford Morning Record newspaper begins publication.^[4]
• 1889 – Union Station built.
• 1890 – Population: 53,230.
• 1892 – Hartford Public Library opens.
• 1896 – City consolidated.^{[citation needed]}
• 1897 – Elizabeth Park laid out (approximate date).
• 1898
  • Pope Park laid out.
  • La Salette Missionary college in operation.^[1]
  • Sage-Allen building constructed.
• 1899 – Corning Fountain in Bushnell Park dedicated.
• 1900 - Population: 79,850.^[1]

20th century

• 1901 – Underwood Typewriter Company factory in operation.
• 1908
  • Bridge over Connecticut River rebuilt.^[1]
  • Royal Typewriter Company manufactory in operation.
  • Morgan art gallery built.^[1]
• 1909 – Flood.
• 1910
  • Connecticut State Library and Supreme Court Building constructed.
  • Population: 98,915.^[1]
• 1919 – Travelers Tower built.
• 1920 – The Hartt School founded.
• 1921 – University of Connecticut School of Law established.
• 1925 – WTIC (AM) radio begins broadcasting.^[15]
• 1930 – Horace Bushnell Memorial Hall opens.^[16]
• 1931 – Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford organized.^[17]
• 1934
  • February 7: Premiere of Thomson's opera Four Saints in Three Acts.^[18]
  • Symphony Society of Greater Hartford formed.^[19]
• 1935 – Thomas J. Spellacy elected mayor.
• 1938 – Hurricane.
• 1941 – Windsor Locks airfield active.
• 1942 – Connecticut Opera formed.
• 1944
  • Interstate 84 constructed.
  • Circus fire.
• 1945
  • Hartford Collection of local history established at the public library.^[20]
  • State governor's residence locates to Prospect Avenue in Hartford.
• 1947
  • Edward N. Allen becomes mayor.
  • Bradley International Airport established.
  • Hillyer College established.
• 1950 – Population: 177,397.
• 1955 – Hartford Graduate School established by Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
• 1957 – University of Hartford chartered.
• 1962 – Cathedral of St. Joseph rebuilt.
• 1963
  • Hartford Stage founded.
  • Phoenix Life Insurance Company Building constructed.
• 1964 – Constitution Plaza built.
• 1967 – Greater Hartford Community College established.
• 1968 – Harriet Beecher Stowe House museum opens.^[21]
• 1970
  • Racial unrest.^[22]
  • Cinestudio founded.
• 1974
  • Mark Twain House museum opens.
  • Hartford Advocate begins publication.
• 1975
  • Hartford Civic Center opens.
  • Real Art Ways established.
  • Valley Advocate and Hartford Inquirer newspapers begin publication.^[4]
• 1976 – Connecticut Transit Hartford founded.
• 1979
  • Hartford Whalers hockey team active.
  • Charter Oak Cultural Center established.
• 1980
  • Population: 136,392.^[23]
  • City Place I built.
• 1987
  • Hartford Karma Thegsum Choling established.^[24][25]
  • Carrie Saxon Perry elected mayor.
  • Hartford News begins publication.^[4]
• 1992
  • Capital Community College established.
  • Connecticut Forum founded.
• 1998 – City website online (approximate date).^{[26][chronology citation needed]}
• 1999 – Hartford Magnet Trinity College Academy established.

21st century

• 2001 – Eddie Perez elected mayor.
• 2004 – University High School of Science and Engineering established.
• 2005 – Connecticut Convention Center opens.
• 2008 – Global Communications Academy opens.
• 2009 – Connecticut Science Center opens.
• 2010
  • Population: 124,775.
  • Pedro Segarra becomes mayor.^[27]
• 2011 – Hurricane Irene.
• 2016 – Hartford Connecticut Temple of The Church of Jesus-Christ of Latter-day Saints dedicated in Farmington, Connecticut, a suburb. It is the second Latter-day Saint temple dedicated in New England.

See also

• History of Hartford, Connecticut
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hartford, Connecticut

References

1. Britannica 1910.
2. Laurel Ulrich, ed. (2006). "Timeline". Inventing New England: History, Memory, and the Creation of a Regional Identity. Harvard University. Retrieved July 30, 2014. Historical Studies B-41
3. Porter 1842.
4. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington, D.C.: Library of Congress. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
5. "Timeline of Connecticut History". Connecticut Society of Genealogists. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
6. Population of the 100 Largest Cities and Other Urban Places in the United States: 1790 to 1990, US Census Bureau, 1998
7. Geer 1845.
8. Annual Cyclopedia of Insurance in the United States: 1897-8. Hartford, Conn.: H.R. Hayden. 1898.
9. Connecticut Freedom Trail. "Faith Congregational Church (Talcott Street Congregational)". List of Sites. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
10. Connecticut Courant, 04-09-1833
11. Giddings, Emory B. (July–August 1900). "Historical Sketch of the Putnam Phalanx". The Connecticut Magazine. VI (5). Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
12. Jeroen Heijmans; Bill Mallon (2011). "Chronology". Historical Dictionary of Cycling. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7175-5.
13. Geer 1903.
14. "American and Western Photographic Societies", International Annual of Anthony's Photographic Bulletin, New York: E. & H. T. Anthony & Company, 1890
15. "CT Radio History Timeline". West Hartford: WWUH. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
16. The Bushnell. "History". Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts. Archived from the original on May 11, 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2012.
17. Society of the Descendants of the Founders of Hartford. "About Us". Retrieved August 18, 2012.
18. "Timeline of opera", Oxford Music Online, Oxford University Press, retrieved May 30, 2015
19. Hartford Symphony Orchestra. "About". Retrieved August 18, 2012.
20. "Hartford History Center". Hartford Public Library. Retrieved May 30, 2015.
21. Harriet Beecher Stowe Center. "About Us". Retrieved August 18, 2012.
22. Robin D. G. Kelley and Earl Lewis, ed. (2005). "Chronology". To Make Our World Anew: a History of African Americans. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-983893-6.
23. United States Census Bureau (1984), County and City Data Book, 1983, Statistical Abstract, Washington, D.C., OL 14997563M
24. "Practice Centers, USA". Woodstock, New York: Karma Triyana Dharmachakra. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
25. Pluralism Project. "Hartford, Connecticut". Directory of Religious Centers. Harvard University. Retrieved October 13, 2013.
26. "Welcome to Hartford". Archived from the original on 1999-05-08 – via Internet Archive, Wayback Machine.
27. "Meet the Mayors". Washington, D.C.: United States Conference of Mayors. Archived from the original on June 27, 2008. Retrieved March 30, 2013.

Bibliography

published in the 19th century

• William Smith Porter (1842), "Hartford in 1640", Historical notices of Connecticut, Hartford: E. Geer's Press, OCLC 6658847, OL 271754M
• Geer's Hartford City Directory for 1845. Hartford: Elihu Geer. 1845.
• Isaac William Stuart (1853), Hartford in the olden time: its first thirty years, by Scæva, ed. by W.M.B. Hartley, Hartford: Brown, OL 23440748M
• Joseph Sabin, ed. (1877). "Hartford, Conn.". Bibliotheca Americana. Vol. 8. New York. OCLC 13972268.
• "Hartford" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 11 (9th ed.). 1880. pp. 496–497.
• The charter and revised ordinances of the city of Hartford, Hartford: Press of the Fowler & Miller Co., 1884, OL 13999518M
• J. Hammond Trumbull (1886), The memorial history of Hartford County, Connecticut, 1633-1884, Boston: E. L. Osgood, OCLC 1187853, OL 13499736M
• Hartford town votes, 1635-1716, Hartford: Connecticut Historical Society, 1897, OL 14010992M

published in the 20th century

• Geer's Hartford City Directory. Hartford: Hartford Printing Co. 1903.
• "Hartford" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 13 (11th ed.). 1910. pp. 32–34.
• "Hartford", Handbook of New England, Boston: Porter E. Sargent, 1916, OCLC 16726464
• Federal Writers' Project (1938). "Hartford". Connecticut: a Guide to its Roads, Lore, and People. American Guide Series. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. hdl:2027/mdp.39015001142218 – via Hathi Trust.. + Chronology
• Ory Mazar Nergal, ed. (1980), "Hartford", Encyclopedia of American Cities, New York: E.P. Dutton, OL 4120668M
• George Thomas Kurian (1994), "Hartford, Connecticut", World Encyclopedia of Cities, vol. 1: North America, Santa Barbara, California: ABC-CLIO, OL 1431653M (fulltext via Open Library)

published in the 21st century

• "Connecticut: Hartford", New England (3rd ed.), Lonely Planet, 2002, p. 476+, OL 24765202M

External links

• Connecticut History Online. Items related to Hartford^[usurped].
• http://www.courant.com/sports/hockey/hartford-whalers/hc-whalers-historical-timeline,0,5898691.story
• Items related to Hartford, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America).