What Hartford is known for

Hartford, a city in the Hartford Region, is the capital of Connecticut. Hartford is also a major commercial and industrial center. It is a port at the head of navigation for the Connecticut River, which is located 38 miles from Long Island Sound.[10] Hartford is home to various attractions and exhibits, along with a population of 121,203 people.[8] Hartford was found by Dutch fur traders who came from New Amsterdam in 1623. Over the years, buildings were built and a population formed. It became the state's capital. Hartford is named after the English town of Hertford.[1] In Hartford, there is an assortment of things to do. Some of these features include the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Elizabeth Park, the Connecticut State Capitol, the Connecticut Science Center, the Mark Twain House and Museum, Bushnell Park, and the Mortensen Riverfront Plaza. The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art was founded in 1842. It opened two years later, in 1844. It is one of the oldest museums in the U.S. The museum holds American Impressionist paintings, art pieces by contemporary artists, and decorative arts and furniture. The Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art is 196,000 square feet, making it the largest museum in Connecticut. [3]

The Connecticut State Capitol is a building made out of marble and granite, and it opened in 1871. The building can be toured by school and business groups, along with tours for visitors to the area. The capital is home to the Connecticut State Senate, House of Representatives, and serves as the office for the governor. The Connecticut Science Center opened in 2009 and has 40,000 square feet of interactive activities. The facility itself is 154,000 square feet. Some of the exhibits involve audio, visual exhibits, tactile, and more. Specific exhibits have specific activities and learning experiences that are based on the exhibit's theme.[3] 

The most popular time to visit the city of Hartford is in April, with other common months being in June, July, and October.[5] In 2019 the tourists in Hartford spent $15.5 billion dollars. $2.2 billion of their total contributed to taxes. Eighty-four thousand two hundred fifty-four jobs in the city of Hartford contributed to tourism. Because of recent events, the number of tourists has dropped down, but as of late has been increasing.[9] New Haven is a city within the Hartford Region. The city has multiple things people can participate in, such as Yale University, the Yale University Art Gallery, the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History, East Rock Park, the Pardee Rose Gardens, the Green, and the Knights of Columbus Museum. Yale University became a school in the early 18th century. Visitors can tour the campus and learn about the function of different buildings. Most of the buildings on the campus are in the Gothic Revival style. Within the campus are also things such as history museums, libraries, and art museums. The Yale University Art Gallery was first established in 1832. It is the oldest university art gallery museum in the U.S. There are multiple collections from the ancient Mediterranean world, including more than 13,000 objects. African art in the museum has around 2,000 objects, while art from the ancient Americas has a collection of 1,500. Other exhibits have furniture, paintings, and architecture. Exhibits in the Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History include the Great Hall of Dinosaurs, Earth and Space, Birds of Connecticut, the Hall of Minerals, the Hall of Native American Cultures, and the Hall of Mammalian Evolution. The museum does not have very many interactive exhibits but can still cater toward kids.[4]

Geography

The Hartford Region is located in Connecticut. The border of the destination goes along the state borders between Connecticut and New York, along with the border between Connecticut and Massachusetts. The east side of the border goes along the state line between Connecticut and Rhode Island. The territory has an overall rectangular shape. The west side of the border branches out around the city of Stamford. Cities within the zone include Hartford, New Haven, Stamford, Middletown, Waterbury, Bristol, New Britain, and Torrington. 

The destination has fields, small mountains, lakes, rivers, beaches, and cities. There are a lot of trees within the area, along with forests. Wildlife in the territory includes animals like bats, beavers, black bears, bobcats, chipmunks, squirrels, coyotes, deer, cottontail rabbits, fishers, Florida manatees, gray foxes, harbor seals, and lemmings. Other mammals include mice, minks, moles, moose, opossums, porcupines, raccoons, rats, red foxes, skunks, river otters, snowshoe hares, and weasels. There is also an assortment of birds and fish within the surrounding landscape.[6] Plants native to the area are trumpet honeysuckles, narrow-leaved mountain mints, eastern purple coneflowers, bluets, royal ferns, blue-stemmed goldenrod, and Eastern red columbine.[7] 

The weather in the Hartford Region fluctuates throughout the year, with the hottest time being in July and the coldest month being February. The average high temperature in the destination is around 76 degrees Fahrenheit while the average low is about 28 degrees. The area gets rain throughout the year. The highest chance of rain is in June, with other high months being May, April, March, February, July, and October. It does now snow in the zone. The best time to visit the city of Harford because of the weather is from the beginning of May to the beginning of July.[5]

History

Harford, the city that the Harford Region is named after, was first discovered by Dutch fur traders as early as 1623. Many of the traders came from New Amsterdam, which is now New York City. The Dutch created a post and named it Fort Goede Hoop, beaning Hope House. The Dutch traders also helped to expand the New Netherland colony. Before the Dutch traders came, the area where Hartford is today was inhabited by Native Americans that called the land Suckiaug. In 1633, Jacob van Curler created a blockhouse and palisade to the post. New Amsterdam has sent canons and a small garrison. By 1654 the fort was abandoned, but the neighborhood near it still remains and is known as Dutch Point. In 1635, the first English settlers arrived to the area. Two men by the names of Thomas Hooker and John Haynes led 100 settlers with 130 cattle on a trek from Newton, which is now Cambridge, Massachusetts. The group of people started their own settlement north of the Dutch fort. The settlement was originally named Newton, but the name was changed to Hartford in 1637. The name Hartford was given to the city in honor of the English town of Hertford. For a time, Hartford struggled with authority until Thomas Hooker wrote the Fundamental Order of Connecticut. The Hartford Convention occurred in Hartford in December of 1814. Five New England delegates were sent to Hartford to discuss New England's probably secession from the United States.[11]

In the early 19th century, Hartford was the center of abolitionist activity. The most popular abolitionist family in the area was the Beechers family. Many of the Beechers went on to do famous things, including publishing books and leading movements. The city of Hartford supported Abraham Lincoln and was the site of the first "Wide Awakes" abolitionist supporters of Lincoln. The supporters in the city held parades to celebrate Abraham Lincoln's visit to the city. In 1944 on July 6, there was a large fire at the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus. The fire is known as the Hartford Circus Fire. After World War II, many people moved from Puerto Rico to Hartford, and many Puerto Rican flags can still be found around the city. In the late 1950s, large companies moved from Hartford, and much of the population moved with it. In the 1990s, the population further declined before rising again in 2000.[1] Before settlers came to the territory, the Podunk tribe lived in the Hartford area. They build wooden structures called wigwams to serve as their homes. Later, when English settlers came to the land, they began constructing simple buildings made from local timber. As the population of the city grew, so did the number of buildings. The architecture mimicked European-style homes during this period of time. From 1860-1945 there was a third phase of buildings that came into the area. Many immigrants came to the city. Manufacturing companies began to build buildings near the railroad tracks that were located within the city. Wealthier residents moved to the edge of the city and built more modern homes. After World War II, downtown Harford began to change. A highway was built through the city, bringing more people and businesses. Today, Hartford is a city with multiple companies and many employees, along with a series of buildings and other houses in the main part of the city and in the outskirt of Hartford.[2] 

Today, the city of Hartford, which is in the Hartford Region, has a population of 121,203. The population has decreased since its rise in the 1960s to become what is today. 37.70% of the population today is black or African American, while 31.25% is white. Other races make up 21.48%, while the rest of the city is made up of Asians, Native Americans, and Native Hawaiians or Pacific Islanders. The median age of the inhabitants of Hartford is 32.1 (30.9 for males and 33.2 for females). The sex ratio is 52.39% female and 47.61%, male.[8]