Hartford, Connecticut, USA
1895 - Hartford

Hartford, a noted city, the capital of Connecticut, and seat of justice of Hartford co., was permanently settled in 1636 by a colony of one hundred persons from Cambridge, Mass., led by John Hooker, was incorporated as a city in 1784, and in 1873 became sole capital of the state, having previously divided that honor with New Haven. It is situated upon the W. bank of the Connecticut River, at the head of navigation, 50 miles from Long Island Sound, and by rail 112 miles N.E. from New York and 117 miles W.S.W. from Boston. Lat. 41° 45'59" N.; Lon. 72°40'45" W. Territorially, it extends, with the river as its E. boundary, about five miles from N. to S. and some two miles back, its area being 10,570 acres (16.5 square miles). Most of the residence portion is considerably elevated above the river level, and the surface is somewhat broken. There are upwards of 300 streets and alleys, some of which run parallel with the river and are intersected at right angles by those passing from E. to W., while others are very irregular. Main street extends from the N. boundary through the heart of the city. On this street, which is broad and several miles in length, are many of the public buildings and churches, and also a large number of the retail stores. State street extends from Main street to the river; on it is done much of the wholesale business; near its junction with Main street it divides into two parts, enclosing the public square, in which are the new post-office and the old state-house. Asylum street passes westward to the principal railroad station, and is the seat of important wholesale and retail business. Facing this street is the city's most attractive feature, - Bushnell Park, - which, including the former site of Trinity College, embraces a tract of about 50 acres, with, as its central figure, upon a commanding eminence, the capitol or state-house, built of white marble in the modern Gothic style. This building is 295 feet long, 189 feet deep, and 256 feet in height, and was completed for occupancy in 1878 at a cost of $2,500,000. Other noteworthy edifices are Trinity College buildings, in the S.W. part of the city; the Memorial Arch, at one of the park entrances; St. Joseph's Cathedral, consecrated in 1892; Hosmer Hall, the home of the Hartford Theological Seminary; the high school, the post-office, the county court-house, the Young Men's Christian Association building, those of the Phoenix, Hartford, and Exchange banks and the "Society for Savings," while the insurance interests are prominent in the massive structures of the Connecticut Mutual and Aetna Life, the Traveller's Life and Accident, and the Hartford, Aetna, Connecticut, Phoenix, and National Fire companies. Hartford has 58 churches and chapels (12 Congregational, 9 Episcopal, 9 Baptist, 6 Methodist, 6 Roman Catholic, and others), 18 banks, including 5 trust companies, 4 savings banks and several private banking institutions, Trinity College (Episcopal), founded in 1823, the Hartford Theological Institute, and, besides an excellent public school system, a large number of private schools of high grade. It has a free public library of 36,000 volumes, and in the same building, the Wadsworth Athenaeum, the Watkinson free reference library of 44,000 volumes; besides these are the libraries of Trinity College (34,000 volumes) and the theological seminary (45,000 volumes). The American Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, founded in 1816, is located here, also a retreat for the insane, a large hospital, old people's home, orphan asylum, and inebriate asylum. Hartford is the see of a Roman Catholic bishop, and has 3 convents and several parochial schools. Four daily and 16 weekly newspapers are published here, besides a number of monthlies and quarterlies, devoted to special interests. More capital is employed in the insurance business in this city than in any other of its size in the United States. It has 8 fire insurance companies, with aggregate assets of over $30,000,000, and many life insurance companies, the assets of the 5 leading ones reaching $125,000,000. Its manufacturing industries give employment to about 6000 men and over 1500 women, disburse nearly $4,000,000 annually in wages, and turn out an annual product of $14,500,000. Fire-arms (Colt's pistols, Gatling guns, &c.), steam-engines, boilers, bicycles, sewing-machines, hard ware, machinists tools, carriages, silver-plated ware, type setting machines, belting, envelopes, and pumps are among the foremost of these. A large amount of Hartford capital is invested in manufactories at Collinsville, Willimantic, South Manchester, Thompsonville, and Windsor Locks.

Hartford has a paid fire department, an electric fire alarm and police telegraph, and a water supply from a system of six reservoirs, with an aggregate capacity of over 2,200,000,000 gallons, with an auxiliary supply when needed from the Connecticut River, obtained by powerful pumping engines, These water-works cost about $1,900,000. This city is a central market for tobacco, which is the staple product of the fertile Connecticut valley. It is the head of steamboat navigation, and communicates with New York City by a daily line of steamboats. It is also the port of entry for the customs district of Hartford, its collections exceeding $250,000 per annum. The lines of the New York, New Haven & Hartford and New York & New England Railroads pass through the city, which is also the N. terminus of the Valley division of the first-named road, the S. terminus of the Springfield division of the New England, and the E. terminus of the New England division of the Reading system, formerly the Connecticut Western. Street railways occupy the leading thoroughfares, and connect the city with East Hartford, Glastonbury, Wethersfield, and west Hartford. Pop. in 1830, 9789; in 1850, 13,555; in 1870, 37,743; in 1880, 42,553; in 1890, 53,230.

Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

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