Connecticut, the southernmost of the
Eastern United States, is bounded north by Massachusetts, east by
Rhode Island, south by Long Island Sound, and w. by New York. It is
between 41° and 42° 2' north latitude and 71° 20' and 73° 15' west longitude,
and between 3° 16' and 5° 11' east longitude from west. It contains 4,674
square miles, or 2,991,360 acres.
The population in 1790 was 237,946; in 1800, 251,002; in 1810,
261,942; in 1820, 275,248; in 1830, 297,711; in 1840, 300,015.
Of these 148,300 were white males, 153,556 white females, 3,881
free colored males, 4,214 free colored females. Employed in agriculture,
56,955; in commerce, 2,743; manufactures and trades, 27,932;
navigating the ocean, 2,700; navigating the rivers, &c, 431; learned
professions and engineers, 1,697.
The capitals are Hartford, on the Connecticut river, at the head of
sloop navigation, 50 miles from its mouth; and New Haven, on a
bay which sets up 4 miles from Long Island Sound.
The state is divided into 8 counties, which, with their
population in 1840, and their capitals, were as follows:
County, Population, Capital
Fairfield, 49,917, Fairfield
and Danbury |
New Haven, 49,532, New Haven |
Hartford, 55,629, Hartford |
New London, 44,463, New London
and Norwich |
Litchfield, 40,448, Litchfield |
Tolland, 17,980, Tolland |
Middlesex, 24,879, Middletown |
Windham, 28,089, Brooklyn |
These counties are divided into 144
cities and townships.
Connecticut is in general a hilly country, but the hills are not
of great elevation. In passing over the state east and west they
occur very frequently, but much less so north and south. A range of
hills 8 or 10 miles east of Connecticut river, passes through a
considerable portion of the state. Another and higher range
commences at a high bluff called East Rock, a little north east of
New Haven, and passes northwardly through the state into
Massachusetts; a yet higher commences at West Rock, still more
elevated than East Rock, a little to the north west of New Haven, and
proceeds northwardly through the state, and constitutes the
southern portion of the Green Mountain range. In the north west parts
of this state, this range deserves and receives the name of
mountains. The soil is generally good, but better adapted to
grazing than to tillage. The interval land on the Connecticut
river is exceedingly fertile, and very easily tilled. The soil
in general is well cultivated, and produces Indian corn, rye, in
some parts wheat, oats, barley, buckwheat, flax abundantly, some
hemp, potatoes, pumpkins, turnips, pease, beans, &c. Apples are
abundant, and some other fruits. Neat cattle, horses, sheep,
butter, and cheese are produced extensively. In 1840 there were
in the state, 34,650 horses and mules, 238,650 neat cattle,
403,462 sheep, 131,961 swine; poultry to the amount of 8176,629.
There were produced 87,009 bushels of wheat, 33,759 of barley,
1,453,262 of oats, 737,424 of rye, 303,043 of buckwheat,
1,500,441 of Indian corn, 839,870 pounds of wool, 3,414,238
bushels of potatoes, 426,701 tons of hay, 83,764 pounds of hemp
and flax, 471,657 of tobacco, 17,533 of silk cocoons, 51,764 of
sugar. The products of the dairy amounted to $1,376,534, and of
the orchard to $296,232; value of lumber, $147,841; and 2,666
gallons of wine were made.
The shore of Connecticut is indented with numerous bays and
creeks, which furnish many harbors. The principal seaports are
New London, which has one of the finest harbors in the country;
New Haven, which has a safe harbor that in many parts is
shallow, and is said to be gradually filling up; and Bridgeport.
Long Island Sound extends the whole length of the state, and
greatly facilitates the coasting trade, by warding off the swell
and dangers of the Atlantic. The principal trade is with the
West Indies. New London has engaged extensively in the whaling
business. The exports of this state consist of beef, pork,
horses, cattle, mules, butter, cheese, Indian corn, rye, flaxseed,
fish, candles, and soap.
Iron ore of a superior quality is found in Salisbury and Kent,
and the former has long been, on account of its tenacity,
manufactured into anchors. Fine marble is found in Milford and
the vicinity, and an excellent freestone in Chatham and Haddam,
easily wrought, and extensively used in building in the
neighboring cities, and New York, for basements, lintels, &c.
There are mineral springs at Stafford and Suffield, the former
of which is very celebrated, and much frequented.
The climate of Connecticut is healthy, though subject to
extremes of heat and cold; the sea coast is particularly
variable. The north west winds, in the winter season, are cold and
piercing; those which blow from the south are more mild; and a
great change in the weather generally occurs with a change of
the wind.
The 3 principal rivers are the Connecticut, navigable for
vessels drawing 8 feet of water 50 miles to Hartford, crossing the
state nearly in the middle, and entering the sound between
Saybrook and Lyme; the Housatonic, navigable for small vessels
12 miles to Derby, and entering the sound between Milford and
Stratford; the Thames, navigable 14 miles to Norwich, and entering
the Atlantic at New London. Farmington and Naugatuck are
considerable streams, furnishing extensive water power.
There are 6 cities in Connecticut, Hartford, New London, New
Haven, Middletown, Bridgeport, and Norwich. The other principal
places are Stonington, Danbury, New Milford, Norwalk, Meriden,
Wethersfield, East Windsor, Litchfield, and Waterbury.
The exports of this state in 1840 amounted to $518,210, and the
imports to $227,072. There were 10 commercial and 13 commission
houses engaged in foreign trade, with a capital of $565,000; 1,630
retail dry goods and other stores, with a capital of $6,637,636;
582 persons in the lumber trade employed a capital of $433,425;
293 persons engaged in transportation, with 76 other persons as
butchers, packers, &c, employing a capital of $162,065; 2,215
persons were employed in the fisheries, with a capital of
$1,301,640.
The manufactures of Connecticut are not less extensive than its
commerce. There were in 1840, home-made or family goods produced
to the amount of $226,162; 119 woolen manufactories, employing
2,356 persons, producing articles to the value of $2,494,313,
and employing a capital of $1,931,335; 116 cotton factories,
with 181,319 spindles, employing 5,153 persons, producing
articles to the amount of $2,715,964, and employing a capital of
$3,152,000; 23 furnaces, producing 96,405 tons of cast iron, and
44 forges and rolling mills, producing 3,632 tons of bar iron,
the whole employing 895 persons, and a capital of $577,300; 36
paper manufactories, produced articles to the amount of
$536,500, and other paper manufactures produced $64,000, the
whole employing 454 persons, with a capital of $653,800; hats
and caps were manufactured to the amount of $649,530, and straw
bonnets to the amount of $236,730, the whole employing 1,814
persons, and employing a capital of $350,823; 197 tanneries
employed 1,359 persons, with a capital of $494,477; 408 other
leather manufactories, as saddleries, &c, produced articles to
the amount of $2,017,931, and employed a capital of $829,267; 2
glass houses with 64 persons, produced $32,000, with a capital
of $32,000; 14 potteries, employing 44 persons, produced
$40,850, with a capital of $31,880; 8 powder mills, employing 26
persons, produced 662,500 pounds of powder, with a capital of
$77,000; 335 persons produced machinery to the value of
$319,630; 1,109 persons produced hardware and cutlery to the
amount of $1,114,725; 55 persons manufactured granite, marble,
&c. to the amount of $50,866; bricks and lime were produced to
the amount of $151,446; soap and tallow and wax candles employed
a capital of $46,000; 1,289 persons produced carriages and
wagons to the amount of $929,301, with a capital of $513,411; 7
flouring mills produced 15,500 barrels of flour, and with grist
mills, saw mills, and other mills, employed 895 persons, and
manufactured articles to the value of $543,509, and employed a
capital of $727,440; 70 distilleries employed 42 persons,
produced 215,892 gallons of spirits, with a capital of $50,380;
ships were built to the amount of $428,900; 16 rope walks
employed 107 persons, and produced articles to the amount of
$150,775, with a capital of $85,700; 786 persons manufactured
furniture to the amount of $253,675, with a capital of $342,770;
95 brick, and 517 wooden houses were erected by 1,539 men, to
the value of $1,086,295; there were 36 printing offices, and 17
binderies, 2 daily, 27 weekly, and 4 semi-weekly newspapers, and
11 periodicals, the whole employing 368 persons, and a capital
of $217,075. The whole amount of capital employed in
manufactures was $13,669,139.
This state has 3 colleges. Yale College, at New Haven, is one of
the oldest, and is the most flourishing institution of the kind
in the United States. It was founded in 1701, and removed from
Saybrook to New Haven in 1717. Washington College, at Hartford,
under the direction of the Episcopalians, was founded in 1826,
and is flourishing. The Wesleyan University, at Middletown, is
under the direction of the Methodists, and is a growing
institution. The Asylum for the Deaf and Dumb, at Hartford, is
the oldest and most respectable institution of the kind in the
United States, and has generally 130 students. In 1840 there
were in the 3 colleges, 700 students; there were in the state
127 academies and grammar schools, with 4,865 students; 1,619
common and primary schools, with 65,739 scholars; and 526
persons over 20 years of age who could neither read nor write,
the least number of any state in the Unlongitude Connecticut has a
larger productive school fund, in proportion to its population,
than any other state, amounting to about $2,000,000. This
originated chiefly from the sale of the Western Reserve,
constituting a large part of the northern portion of the state
of Ohio, included in its original charter, and ceded to it by
the United States, by way of compromise.
The principal religious denominations are the
Congregationalists, the Baptists, the Episcopalians, and the
Methodists. In 1835 the Congregationalists had 232 churches, 271
ministers, and 29,579 communicants; the Baptists 92 churches, 90
ministers, and 10,039 communicants; the Episcopalians 1 bishop
and 63 ministers; the Methodists 73 ministers. Besides these,
there were a few Roman Catholics, Unitarians, and Universalists.
At the commencement of 1840, there were 33 banks and branches,
with a capital of $8,832,223. It had no state debt.
There is a state prison at Wethersfield, erected in 1826.
The government of the state is vested in a governor,
lieutenant-governor, who is president of the senate, and in a
senate and house of representatives. The senate consists of not
less than 18 nor of more than 24 members. Most of the towns
choose 2 representatives; some, of less population, but one. The
sessions of the legislature are held annually, alternately at
Hartford and at New Haven. The supreme court consists of 5
judges, appointed by the legislature, holding their offices
during good behavior, or until they are 70 years of age. These
judges hold separately a court twice a year, in each county; and
all the judges together hold one court annually in each county,
as a court of errors. The county courts consist of 3 judges in
each county, appointed annually by the legislature. There are
justices of the peace in the several towns, who have cognizance
of all cases where the demand does not exceed $35. The cities
have city courts, consisting of the mayor and 2 senior aldermen,
having cognizance of all civil actions, which do not respect the
title of land.
The principal internal improvements in Connecticut are the
Farmington canal, extending from New Haven, 56 miles, to the north
line of the state, whence it is continued to Northampton, Massachusetts;
at Enfield, a canal extends around the falls in Connecticut
river of 5� miles, which, with other improvements above, is
designed to make the river navigable for boats and steamboats to
White River, in Vermont; the Norwich and Worcester railroad, 58�
miles, extends from Norwich north through the state; the New Haven
and Hartford railroad, 36 miles, connects the two places, and is
to be extended to meet the Western Massachusetts railroad at
Springfield; the Housatonic railroad commences at Bridgeport,
and extends to North Canaan, at the north line of the state, 73
miles, and is continued to meet the Western railroad of
Massachusetts, at West Stockbridge.
The state consisted, at its first settlement, of two colonies,
denominated Connecticut, having the seat of government at
Hartford; and New Haven, at New Haven. The colony of Connecticut
was settled in 1633, at Windsor, by emigrants from
Massachusetts, who penetrated through the wilderness. Hartford
was settled by the English in 1635, the Dutch having previously
built a fort there, which they did not permanently hold.
Wethersfield was settled in 1636. The colony at New Haven was
settled by the English in 1633. By a charter granted by Charles
II, in 1665, these colonies were united. During the tyranny of
Andros, an attempt was made to procure a surrender of the
charter. The subject was publicly debated in the evening, at
Hartford, when suddenly the candles were extinguished, and the
charter was hid in the hollow of an oak tree, which has become
famous since as the Charter Oak. This charter continued to be
the basis of the government until the year 1818, when the
present constitution was formed.
In 1703, the celebrated Saybrook Platform, or constitution of
the Congregational churches, was adopted.
Connecticut took a very active part in the revolutionary war,
and a number of her towns, particularly Danbury and New London,
were burned by the enemy; the latter under the command of the
traitor Arnold.
The constitution of the United States was adopted in a
convention, January 9, 1783; yeas 128, nays 40; majority 83.
Table of Contents
Source: A Complete Descriptive And
Statistical Gazetteer Of The United States Of America, By Daniel
Haskel, A. M and J. Calvin Smith, Published By Sherman & Smith,
1843
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