Throughout the duration of the Revolutionary War, Connecticut citizens lived in fear of devastating British raids on shoreline communities. In the eyes of the British, Connecticut was a nest of rebel activity, home to a government that ardently supported the Patriot cause and scores of residents who smuggled, spied, and fought against the King’s…
Tag: july
July 6: The Hartford Circus Fire
What began as an innocent day at the circus ended in one of the worst fire disasters in U.S. history, today in 1944. In early July of that year, the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus had set up one of their largest “Big Top” tents in a field in Hartford’s North End…
July 5: New Haven Builds A New State Capitol Building.
From 1701 through 1878, the Colony (and later State) of Connecticut had not one, but two capital cities: Hartford and New Haven. During these 177 years of of shared governance, each co-capital built a series of State Houses to host the Connecticut General Assembly, which would meet in Hartford and New Haven on alternating…
July 2: Connecticut Refuses to Fight in War of 1812
It would be an understatement to say that the War of 1812 was unpopular in Connecticut. As a region, New England as a whole was fiercely opposed to the War of 1812, which they viewed as a frivolous and economically disastrous war waged by President James Madison against the British Empire. But Connecticut in…
July 1: State Department of Corrections Created
Today in 1968, the Connecticut General Assembly voted in favor of consolidating the state’s prisons into a single organization, creating the State Department of Corrections. Previously, every prison in the state had been independently managed, with its own Board of Directors, administrative staff, and policies for inmate behavior and rehabilitation. This sweeping reform of…
July 31: All Aboard The Branford Trolley Line!
On this day in Connecticut history, one of the first electrically-powered trolley lines in the United States began service between Branford and East Haven, Connecticut. July 31, 1900 marked the inaugural run of the Branford Electric Railway, which was hailed as a more efficient and sanitary way to transport people along the Connecticut shoreline…
July 30: Powder Ridge: The Epic Rock Concert That Never Was
On this day in 1970, a sea of nearly 30,000 concertgoers circumvented police roadblocks and hiked up Beseck Mountain in Middlefield, Connecticut with high hopes of attending a rock concert — and party — for the ages. In an attempt to ride the momentum of the wildly popular rock n’ roll megaconcert at Woodstock…
July 29: Heavy Rains Devastate Bridgeport
On this night in 1905, heavy summer rains brought sudden disaster to southwestern Connecticut. In the span of only seventeen hours, more than 11 inches of rain fell on the greater Bridgeport area, causing widespread street and coastal flooding. As the deluge stretched into the early morning hours of the following day, the Ward’s…
July 28: New Haven Serves Up the First Hamburger
July 28, 1900 was shaping up to be an average summer day for lunch wagon owner and German immigrant Louis Lassen, who was serving sandwiches and other hot meals to factory workers in New Haven during their lunch breaks. Suddenly, a local businessman, Gary Widmore, rushed up to Lassen’s wagon and desperately asked for…
July 27: The Connecticut River Becomes an “American Heritage River”
On this day in Connecticut history, twenty years ago, Vice President Al Gore officially designated the Connecticut River as an American Heritage River, one of fourteen such waterways to be labeled as such. In his remarks, Gore recognized the central role major waterways like the Connecticut played in shaping not only the environment and…
July 26: The “Wide Awakes” Rally for Abraham Lincoln in Hartford
1860 proved to be one of the most intense election years in American history, with political tensions over slavery and secession reaching a breaking point. Connecticut’s hotly-contested race for the governor’s seat, pitting Democrat Thomas Seymour against Republican William Buckingham, was viewed as a bellwether for the national presidential election that would take place…
July 25: The Carpenters Top the Charts
On this day in 1970, The Carpenters, the iconic pop music duo consisting of New Haven-born siblings Richard and Karen Carpenter, experienced the first major breakthrough of their musical careers as their second album, “Close to You,” reached #1 on the Billboard charts, where it remained for the next four weeks. Born in 1946…