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Hartford County, Connecticut

History & Genealogy

History of Hartford County
 

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.
For More on Thomas Hooker, CLICK HERE

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