History in Connecticut

Discover 13 places to experience unusual history in Connecticut.

Haddam, Connecticut

Haddam Shad Museum

Springtime is go time for this repurposed shack and the fish it venerates.

Hartford, Connecticut

Charter Oak Frame

A portrait of the Charter Oak hangs in a frame made from the Charter Oak.

The ruins of the burned down mill.

Hebron, Connecticut

Gay City State Park

The ruins of an abandoned 18th-century town that is slowly being reclaimed by the forest.

American Museum of Tort Law

Winchester, Connecticut

American Museum of Tort Law

It was founded by Ralph Nader to educate the public about an often-maligned area of law.

A close-up view of the marker.

Hartford, Connecticut

Flood 1936 Marker

A tiny memorial for the year the Connecticut River almost destroyed New England.

Farmington, Connecticut

Shade Swamp Sanctuary

An abandoned Depression-era zoo hidden just off the highway.

The monument near the grave of Dr Horace Wells.

Hartford, Connecticut

Horace Wells Memorial

The tragic tale of the dentist who pioneered the use of anesthesia.

The Nathan Hale Schoolhouse

East Haddam, Connecticut

Nathan Hale Schoolhouse

One of America's first spies started out as a teacher in this little red one-room schoolhouse.

Judges Cave.

New Haven, Connecticut

Judges Cave

The cave where two British judges hid in exile after sentencing the king to death.

Permanently Closed

Hartford, Connecticut

Abandoned Comet Diner

An iconic steel and chrome diner from the 1940s left empty for nearly 20 years is in danger of being demolished.

Early tavern signs at the Connecticut Historical Society.

Hartford, Connecticut

Colonial America Tavern Signs Collection

The early American colonists were such ferocious drinkers the law actually required every town to have a tavern.

The Ancient Burying Ground in downtown Hartford.

Hartford, Connecticut

Ancient Burying Ground

The oldest place in Hartford is a cemetery with thousands of bodies stacked beneath the grass.

Hartford, Connecticut

Coltsville

An abandoned gun-funded 19th century utopia.

Are we missing something unusual in Connecticut?