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CONNECTICUT
GENEALOGY EXPRESS
A Part of Genealogy Express
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Welcome to
Hartford County, Connecticut
History & Genealogy
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History of Hartford
County
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After Dutch explorer Adriaen Block visited the area in 1614, fur
traders from the New Netherland colony set up trade at Fort Goede
Hoop (Good Hope) at the confluence of the Connecticut River and the
Park River[4] as early as 1623 but abandoned their post by 1654. The
neighborhood near the site is still known as Dutch Point. The first
English settlers arrived in 1635. The settlement was originally
called Newtown, but was renamed, Hartford in 1637. One theory about
the origins of the name "Hartford" was to honor the English town of
Hertford.
The pastor of the church that founded Hartford, Thomas Hooker,
delivered a sermon which inspired the writing of the Fundamental
Orders of Connecticut, a document (ratified January 14, 1639)
investing the people with the authority to govern, rather than
ceding it to a higher power. Some historians credit Hooker's
concepts of self-rule as being the father of the Connecticut
Constitution.[5]
On December 15, 1814, delegations from New England gathered at the
Hartford Convention to discuss secession from the United States.
Later in the century, Hartford was a center of abolitionist
activity.
In July 6, 1944, the Hartford Circus Fire became one of the
deadliest fires in the history of the United States.
On November 3, 1981, Thirman L. Milner became the city's first
African-American mayor and the first black mayor elected in New
England. [citation needed] In 1987, Carrie Saxon Perry was elected
mayor of Hartford, the first African-American woman mayor of a major
American city. [citation needed]
Starting in the late 1950s, as the suburbs ringing Hartford
continued to grow and flourish, the capital city began a long
economic decline. This decline may have been accelerated by
construction of automobile highways (including I-84 & I-91 which
intersect in downtown Hartford) built to make access to the suburbs
easier. People with the means to do so started moving out of the
city and into the suburbs and as the years went by people kept
moving farther out. By the beginning of the twenty-first century,
many workers in Hartford lived in towns located more than a
twenty-minute daily commute from the city. In the last few years,
development, both commercial and residential, has increased
downtown. |
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For More on Thomas Hooker,
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