Connecticut General Information
GENERAL
Connecticut is a US state and part of New England. The postal abbreviation is CT according to ABBREVIATIONFINDER.ORG.
Nickname
The Constitution State
Capital
Hartford
Biggest town
Bridgeport
Area
Rank (within the US): 48th out of 50 states
Total: 14,371 km²
Land: 12,559 km²
Water (%): 1,809 km² (12.6%)
Residents
Rank (within the US): 29th out of 50 states
Total (2000): 3,405,565
Density: 271 / km²
State membership
5th place
Since: January 9, 1788
GEOGRAPHY
Time zone: Eastern: UTC -5 / -4
Latitude: 48 ° 58’N to 42 ° 3’N
Longitude 71 ° 47’W to 73 ° 44’W
Width: 113 km
Length: 177 km
Highest position: 725 m
Average location: 152 m
Lowest position: 0 m
Connecticut, the third smallest state in the USA, is located in the NE of the USA on the Atlantic Ocean. The state is traversed by the largest river in New England: the Connecticut River. 56–63% of the land area is covered with forest, otherwise hills, lakes and plains (including the 16 km wide coastal plain) characterize the country. Connecticut is bordered by Massachusetts to the north, Rhode Island to the east, Long Island Sound to the south, and New York to the west. A piece of the Appalachian Mountains forms the highest peaks (Mount Fissel 725 m) in the state.
HISTORY
1614 The Dutch Adriaen Block was the first European to come to Connecticut. At that time there were 16 Algonquin Indian tribes with 6,000–7,000 people. 1633 The first English came to the country from Massachusetts 1635 The city of Windsor is founded by the English; the Pequet show resistance to the existence of the Europeans 1639 Establishment of Connecticut 1662 Connecticut breaks away from the English motherland and receives an approved autonomy from Charles II, as well as its own constitution 1664 affiliation to New Haven 1685 planning of a merger with New England 1687 Philip I. wants to regain Connecticut as a completely English colony 1776 July: With the overthrow of King Philip I in 1689 Connecticut was able to completely break away from England 1776 October:
POPULATION
Connecticut has a population of about 3.2 million. 87% of the population are white and 8% are black. 6,000 Indians still live in Connecticut. The Connecticut people are believed to be the original embodiment of the Yankee.
ECONOMY
The main crops in Connecticut are cereals, potatoes, tobacco, corn and oats. Ordinary animal husbandry is practiced in the state. Connecticut is a very industrial state, manufacturing aircraft engines, machines, metal goods, textiles and various chemical products, among other things. It is said that the Frisbee was also invented there.
HARTFORD, CT – THE CITY ON THE CONNECTICUT RIVER
Hartford, located on the river of the same name, likes to call itself the world capital of the insurance industry. The skyscrapers of the insurance buildings therefore determine the character of modern Hartford, which is also one of the most historic places in New England.
Landmarks
Old State House, 800 Maine Street
The oldest parliament building in the United States, designed by Charles Bulfinch in the so-called federation style, now a museum with exhibits on the history of Connecticut and the Native Americans. Open Mon – Sat 10 a.m. – 5 p.m., Sun 12 p.m. – 5 p.m., free admission
State Capitol
Above Bushnell Park, this magnificent classical building from 1878 with a gold dome-crowned facade and a pompous interior designed by Richard Upjohn. A bas-relief outside shows historical scenes. Visits as part of free tours or self-guided.
Bushnell Park
The first public park in the USA with the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch (remembering the fighters of the Civil War) and a carousel from 1914, as well as the Pumphouse Gallery.
Mark Twain House, 351 Farmington Ave.
The Mark Twain House was built in 1874 at Nook Farm on the edge of what was then Hartford. This is where Mark Twain’s most important works such as Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn were created. The house contains numerous memorabilia from the writer. Open daily from 9.30 a.m. to 4 p.m., closed on Mondays from January to May and November.
The novels “The Adventures of Tom Sawyer” from 1876 (German version on Amazon) and “Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” from 1884 (German version on Amazon) made Mark Twain world famous. Here the writer, whose real name is Samuel Langhorne Clemens (1835 – 1910), processed his memories of the youth in Hannibal ( Missouri ) on the Mississippi and gave an apt description of contemporary living conditions. Twain was also successful as an ironically distant travel writer.
Harriet Beecher Stowe House
Next to the Mark Twain House is the residential building of Harriet Beecher Stowe, the author of the novel Onkel Toms Hütte. The building still contains the original furniture and is accessible on guided tours. Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896) published her most famous work “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”As a serialized story in a Washington newspaper. It immediately sparked great interest and was translated as a book into over 20 languages. The book became a classic, partly humorous, partly accusatory, of the living conditions of the colored slaves in the USA in the 19th century, a novel that sees itself as a declaration of war against slavery.
Wadsworth Atheneum, 600 Main Street
The oldest museum open to the public in the USA (opened in 1841) with more than 45,000 works of art in one large complex.
The most important exhibits include Monet’s “Trouville Beach”, Matisse’s “Woman with a Feathered Hat”, van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait”, Caravaggio’s “The Rapture of St. Francis” and Holman Hunt’s “The Lady of Shalott”. There are also paintings by Picasso, Dali, Walhol, Rauschenberg, Thomas Cole and Frederic church, European porcelain from the 17th and 18th centuries as well as costumes and furniture from Connecticut and Massachusetts.
More Attractions
- Elizabeth Park, Prospect Ave.
The oldest rose garden in the USA. - The Museum of American Political Life, University of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue
Politics from George Washington’s time to the present day, women’s rights and prohibition movements. - Connecticut State Museum of Natural History at the University of Connecticut at Storrs
- Science Center of Connecticut, 950 Trout Book Drive, West Hartford.
Excursion destinations in the area
- The New England Air Museum, Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks
- New Britain Museum of American Art, New Britain
- Connecticut Trolley Museum, East Windsor, on Route 140.
The trams run a 2 km section of the former Hartford-Springfield-Street Railway. - Lake Compounce, Bristol
The oldest amusement park in the United States, open Memorial Day through September - Connecticut River Museum, Essex
Reports on river life and the history of shipping. A replica of the first submarine (American Eagle) is also on display. - Lamothe’s Sugar House, Burlington
Learn all about the making of maple syrup. - Dinosaur State Park, on Route 91 at Rock Hill
Shows about 500 footprints of dinosaurs that they left in the lake about 185 million years ago, as well as life-size replicas of dinosaurs.
Connecticut Counties and County Seats
According to Countryaah, there are a total of 8 counties in the state of Connecticut.
- Fairfield County (County Seat: Bridgeport)
- Hartford County (County Seat: Hartford)
- Litchfield County (County Seat: Litchfield)
- Middlesex County (County Seat: Middletown)
- New Haven County (County Seat: New Haven)
- New London County (County Seat: New London)
- Tolland County (County Seat: Rockville)
- Windham County (County Seat: Willimantic)
