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HARTFORD CO., CONNECTICUT

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Early History of Hartford From the American Guide Series, Connecticut Federal Writers' Project 1938 Early History "A modern electric generating plant occupies almost the exact spot where the first white men landed in Hartford. In 1633, Jacob van Curler, under orders from the Governor of New Amsterdam (Wouter van Twiller) built a fort and mounted two guns at 'Suckiage.' The Dutch called it 'The House of Hope,' but today the site is known as Dutch Point. "The first permanent settlement was made by the English in 1635, when John Steel and sixty pioneers from Newtowne (Cambridge, Mass.) settled here in October, 1635, followed by the Reverend Thomas Hooker and his company in the spring of 1636. The settlement was named in 1637, from Hartford in England. The General Court of the Bay Colony met to consider the authorization of town governments in the Plantation of Connecticut on October 10, 1639, and laid down definite rulings on April 9, 1640. However, when the colonists discovered that they were no longer within the jurisdiction of Massachusetts, representatives of the river settlements met at Hartford to draw up a plan of government. "Connecticut's Fundamental Orders, said to have been the constitution known to history that created a government, setting forth the radical principle that 'the foundation of authority is in the free consent of the people,' was written in Hartford by Roger Ludlow and adopted here by representatives or the River Towns on January 14, 1639. "Hartford County was organized in 1665, but the city and town were not incorporated until the May session of the General Assembly in 1784, although town meetings and town courts were held and community action taken in the usual manner of the New England town. "The British proved to be better colonizers than the Dutch, and their Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford settlements cut off the Dutch trade with the Indians to such an extent that the garrison finally left the fort unoccupied. The Colonial Court met in 1654 and called on Captain John Underhill to occupy the fort in the name of England, a procedure accomplished without firing a shot. The English thereupon posted notices on the doors of 'The House of Hope' and the Dutch were seen no more along the river. "By 1662, the Hartford Colony comprised fourteen towns; it was united with the six New Haven settlements in 1665, and, by decree of the Connecticut General Court, the legislature was ordered to meet in Hartford. For the sake of convenience this agreement was not adhered to, but sessions were held alternately in New Haven and Hartford (both maintaining State Houses) until 1875, when all sessions were held in Hartford." To be continued.

HARTFORD COUNTY TOWNS

Avon * Berlin * Bloomfield * Bristol * Burlington * Canton * East Granby * East Hartford * East Windsor * Enfield * Farmington * Glastonbury * Granby Hartford * Hartland * Manchester * Marlborough * New Britain * Newington Plainville * Rocky Hill * Simsbury * South Windsor * Southington * Suffield West Hartford * Wethersfield * Windsor * Windsor Locks

HARTFORD COUNTY LINKS

Profile of Hartford County
Greater Hartford Attractions
Ct. GenWeb Page
Hartford Co. Genealogy Forum
Conn. State Information
Hartford County Schools
The Political Graveyard Hartford Co.
Important Date in Ct. Histories
Wethersfield, Ct. GenWeb
Lots of Hartford Co. Links
Ct. History & Genealogy Links
Railroad History Ct.
Hartford Co. Historical Sites




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