Surprising Connecticut Capitol Facts

You came to the right place to learn ten fun and surprising Connecticut Capitol facts. Find cool facts about the state capitol building. Did you know that Connecticut has not only a state hero, but also a state heroine? Or that Connecticut passed a “black law”, keeping schools segregated? I hope you know what the state capital of Connecticut is.

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About the Connecticut Capitol

You can find the Connecticut Capitol in Hartford, the current capital of Connecticut. When we visited on our Capitols Quest, we learned many interesting and fun facts. In 1971, this state house was declared a National Historic Landmark. Did you know that the word “Connecticut” is a French corruption of the Native American word quinetucket?  Quinetucket means “beside the long, tidal river”. Find out ten more fun facts about the Connecticut Capitol!

Top Ten Fun and Surprising Connecticut Capitol Facts

1. Co-Capitals: Connecticut used to have two capitals
2. The State Heroine: Prudence Crandall was way ahead of her time in regards to African Americans.
3. Touch the Liberty Bell. A full sized replica of the Philadelpia liberty bell.
4. The Genius of Connecticut. An angel protecting her people.
5. Historical Hoax or Not? Is this trunk with a cannonball for real? Or is it an old urban legend?
6. Nathan Hale, the State Hero. A brave young man who was killed way too young.
7. Sleep tight. Marquis de Lafayette’s camp bed shows where this expression came from.
8. The Forlorn Soldier. A sentinel from Connecticut’s Civil War past.
9. A Globetrotting Gun.
10. Italian Marble. The gun wasn’t the only globetrotter.

Co-Capitals

When I started researching the Connecticut State Capitol, I read on wikipedia that this was the third capitol building. But when I fact checked that, it turns out that it was much more complicated. At first, New Haven and Hartford were co-capitals of Connecticut from 1717 until 1878. Back then Connecticut held legislative sessions twice a year, in May and in October. Each May the sessions were in Hartford, each October they were held in New Haven.

New Haven had three meeting houses before they built their first state house in 1764. Then they built two more state houses. This is a total of six buildings just in New Haven alone. In 1889, they took down their last state house after they lost their co-capital status.

In co-capital Hartford, a fire in their first state house required them to build a new one. You can still visit that one ( Old State House in Hartford) which was believed to be Charles Bullfinch’s first design. That is two state houses for Hartford and counting. This was not the end of the Statehouse Story yet.

In 1875, having two capitals became too bothersome. There was a lot of competition between New Haven and Hartford to become the sole capital of the Connecticut. In the end, Hartford already had a plot of land available for a new capitol building to permanently house the legislature. To sweeten the deal even more, they offered to contribute $500,000 toward construction of the new capitol. This was the deciding factor in favor of Hartford over New Haven. After Hartford became the sole capital, they built the new and current state Capitol building. Which by my counting is the ninth one! (6 in New Haven, 3 in Hartford)

A State Heroine!

Did you know that Connecticut has its very own state heroine? The only other state which has a state heroine is Massachusetts. In the past, Connecticut had only a state hero, Nathan Hale. When some elementary school students found out about the lack of a state heroine, they petitioned the legislature to appoint an official state heroine and were successful.

The plaque accompanying the statue of Prudence Crandall reads:

Prudence Crandall (1803-1890)

Connecticut State Heroine

Prudence Crandall was educated at a Society of Friends school in Plainfield, CT, after which she established her own private academy for girls at Canterbury. The school was a great success until she admitted an African-American girl which made local people furious.

A committed Quaker, Prudence refused to change her policy of educating black and white students together and parents began taking their children away from the school. As a result, on April 1, 1833, with the support of William Lloyd Garrison and the Anti-Slavery Society, she founded a school for “Young Ladies and Misses of Colour”. The school was forced to close after being harrassed and attacked by a mob.

In 1995, students from Connecticut’s New Canaan Country Day School proposed the idea of a state heroine. Soon after, students from the Ellen P. Hubball school in Bristo came up with the idea of erecting a stature in her honor at the State Capitol building.

At a meeting with state representatives Betty Boukus, the concept of “Pennies for Prudence” was born with individuals and students from across Connecticut, especially those from Bristol, Plainville and South Windsor, augmenting the grant allocated by the General Assembly for this purpose.

Prudence Crandall and student

The Black Law

Because of all the controversy around Prudence’s school, Connecticut passed the so-called “Black Law” in 1833. This law prohibited the teaching of out-of state African-Americans unless a town specifically allowed it. The reasoning was “this would greatly increase the colored population of the State, and thereby lead to the injury of the people” It took more than a century before African-American students nation-wide finally had a legal right to unsegregated education (in 1954). This sure is not a very pretty part of Connecticut history.

A Liberty Bell You Can Touch

Inside the Capitol, you can find a full size replica of the Liberty Bell. Unlike the original one in Philadelphia, you can actually walk around and touch this one. And unlike the one in Boston, where they locked up their Liberty Bell. It is part of a collection of bells celebrating President Truman’s U.S. Savings Bond Drive “Save For Your Independence”. In 1950, the Treasury Department donated a bell to each state, to be displayed for all its citizens.

Dedicated to You, a Free Citizen in a Free Land

In standing before this symbol you have the opportunity to dedicate yourself as did our founding fathers, to the principles of the individual freedom for which our nation stands.

When we found our first liberty bell replica in Concord NH, it inspired us to find out more about the replicas. Therefore we are now on a quest to visit all 55 state Liberty Bell replicas. This marked our fifth liberty bell replica. This one is in good working order and is rung on special occasions.

The Genius of Connecticut

In 1877, Randolph Rogers designed this bronze statue of the “Genius of Connecticut”, who is the symbolic protector of Connecticut. She has a crown of white oak leaves to represent the strength and vitality of the state tree. When you look at her right hand, you see a wreath of dried flowers to embody long life. The wreath in her left hand is mountain laurel, the state flower. Her wings were to allow her to fly high to protect the people in Connecticut. Her name, Genius, reflects the state’s spirit of innovation.

The Genius was executed in Rome, Italy and cast in Munich, Germany.
For 60 years, until the 1938 hurricane caused her removal, Genius soared over the Capitol. During World War II, Connecticut donated the bronze Genius statue to the federal government. They melted her down as part of the war effort to make ammunition and machine parts.

In 2009, a replica was cast with the intention that Genius would once again crown the capitol’s dome, restoring the capitol to its original splendor. We hope that this will happen in the near future.

Historical Hoax or Not?

Surprisingly, we found a tree trunk with a cannon ball in it. It was touted as a tree trunk from the Civil War battlefield of Chickamauga, serving as a reminder of the horrors of war.

After we read the plaque next to it, we thought we understood the story of this tree trunk. It claims

From the battlefield of Chickamauga

September 19-20, 1863

This tree trunk stood on Snodgrass Hill where the fiercest fighting occurred in this bloody Civil War battle on the Georgia / Tennessee border. Half of the participants were killed or wounded during the two day battle from which the Confederate side emerged victorious. No Connecticut troops took part in the fighting. The trunk was removed from the battlefield after the war by E.S. Yargeson, a Hartford interior decorator, who donated it to the state of Connecticut so that all citizens could see the horrors of war.

In 1969 Governor John Dempsey ordered the tree trunk sent to Fort Devens, Massachusetts to check it for the possibility of live gunpowder. A small amount was found and removed from one cannonball and one projectile

An Alternative Explanation

Seems pretty straightforward, right? Well, that is until I found the article: Connecticut’s Chickamauga Tree: An Investigation It starts out with

Within the halls of the Connecticut State Capitol is the remnant of an oak tree containing pieces of artillery fire that were supposedly from the Civil War battle of Chickamauga. There is evidence, however, that suggests it was not from Chickamauga but, instead, may have been fabricated to “fool” viewers. Is the relic the result of deception? If the tree is authentic, then it is an impressive artifact from a bloody Civil War battle. If forged, then what is its story?

After this, the author goes on to make a case for its authenticity, followed by a conflicting case for it being a manufactured object. It turns out that there was a pair of farmers in Chattanooga who admitted to faking Chickamauga trees. Essentially, they put cannon balls in the trees to create the appearance that the trees were in a Civil War battle. The farmers had a prosperous business and had many trees in their possession.

Go read the article and decide: Is the tree trunk authentic or was it the 19th century version of an urban legend?

Nathan Hale, the State Hero

In addition to Prudence Crandall, the state heroine, Connecticut also has a state hero. Nathan Hale was born in Coventry, NH and he became a spy for General George Washington during the Revolutionary War. In 1776, the American army moved to Manhattan Island to prevent the British from taking over New York City. In September that year, General Washington was desperate to determine where the British were planning to invade. To that end, Washington needed a spy behind enemy lines, and Hale was the only volunteer.^[

His mission did not end well. When British soldiers captured him in Manhattan, his last words were “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country”. The inscription on the granite base of his statue shows these last words.

Sleep Tight!

In the Hall of Flags, you can find Marquis de Lafayette’s Camp Bed.

Marquis de Lafayette was a French citizen who served as a major general under George Washington during the Revolutionary war. These bed were made out of canvas, with strings to hold the two sides together. It was important to pull the strings as tight as possible to prevent the bed from sagging in the middle. This is the origin of the expression “Sleep tight!”.

The Forlorn Soldier

The “Old Soldier” also known as the Forlorn Soldier, is the nation’s oldest carved soldier figure. James G. Batterson, from downtown Hartford, created him in 1866. After a long time outside, decay started to impact the carving.

In 2013 the Forlorn Soldier moved to the Capitol building where he will be shielded from harm. He stands as a sentinel that guides Connecticut’s citizens to their Civil War past.

A Globetrotting Gun

In 1867, Benjamin B. Hotchkiss, a Connecticut born engineer, designed the so-call Hotchkiss revolving cannon. Unable to sell his design to the US government, he moved to Paris, France and set up a gun manufacturing plant. Soon after, the Spanish government bought one of his cannons and installed it on its battleship Vizcaya.

In 1898, the Vizcaya fired this cannon against the Americans during the Spanish – American war at the Battle of Santiago de Cuba . When the Vizcaya ran aground and its ammunition exploded, the Americans were able to obtain this gun. Eventually it made its way to the Connecticut Capitol as a reminder of contributions of Connecticut citizens to the American victory.

Italian Marble

The floor in the capitol is very elaborate. Just like in the Massachusetts statehouse, some of the marble in this building came from Italy. They used white marble and red slate from Connecticut, but the colored, very decorative marble is Italian.

It seems quite ambitious to get this marble all the way from Europe!

Conclusion

I hope you enjoyed finding out these surprising Connecticut Capitol facts. Go visit this cool building when you are in Hartford! It is free and you will learn so many more fun facts and immerse yourself in history.

Have you ever visited Connecticut? Maybe even been to the Capitol? Or tell us about your state’s capital building! Check out interesting facts about other statehouses:

Fun Facts

• Ten Surprising New Hampshire State House Facts New Hampshire people are cheapskates!
• Ten Surprising Vermont State House Facts Discover ancient fossils;
• The Maine State House With bells on;
• The Massachusetts State House Where the Boston Italian North End was born;
• The Old State House in Boston, site of the Boston Massacre.
• Connecticut Capitol Fun Facts Home of the so-called “Black Law”;
• Rhode Island State House: Ten Surprising Facts Discover its Dutch history;
• New York State Capitol. An expensive boondoggle;
• Alaska Capitol. Which animal guards it?
• Washington State Capitol. Women’s suffrage for the win!
• Breaking news: why Puerto Rico has a State House of its own!
• The US Virgin Islands have a Capitol Building in Charlotte Amalie, St. Thomas. Voted the state Capitol building with the best view!
• Get inspired by our Travel Quests and start your own!

When you visit any of these state houses, make sure to check whether they have a State Liberty Bell replica.

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Further Reading

• Directions to the Connecticut Capitol. Official site of the Connecticut State Capitol.
• Connecticut State Capitol Tours. Find out when you can join tours and it even has streaming videos of some of the tours, so you can see some of the building even if you can’t visit in person.
• Connecticut State Capitol. Wikipedia page.
• History of the State Houses. Enjoyable read with pictures of the original Connecticut State Houses, both in Hartford and New Haven. By the Office of the House Clerk at the Connecticut General Assembly.
• Hartford and New Haven: a tale of two capitals. On the Connecticut History website.
• Prudence Crandall Wikipedia entry.
• Prudence Crandall Fights for Equal Access to Education. A good article about Prudence on the Connecticut History website.
• Connecticut’s Chickamauga Tree: an investigation. Well researched and interesting article about the cannonball tree in the Connecticut Capitol.
• Nathan Hale. Wikipedia page about the state hero of Connecticut.
• Marquis de Lafayette. Wikipedia page about this general major.
• Connecticut State Capitol Tours. Find out when you can join tours and it even has streaming videos of some of the tours, so you can see some of the building even if you can’t visit in person.
• Connecticut State Capitol. Wikipedia page.
• History of the State Houses. Enjoyable read with pictures of the original Connecticut State Houses, both in Hartford and New Haven. By the Office of the House Clerk at the Connecticut General Assembly.
• Hartford and New Haven: a tale of two capitals. On the Connecticut History website.
• Prudence Crandall Wikipedia entry.
• Prudence Crandall Fights for Equal Access to Education. A good article about Prudence on the Connecticut History website.
• Connecticut’s Chickamauga Tree: an investigation. Well researched and interesting article about the cannonball tree in the Connecticut Capitol.
• Nathan Hale. Wikipedia page about the state hero of Connecticut.
• Marquis de Lafayette. Wikipedia page about this general major.