Connecticut Historical Society - The state's foremost history museum and library, complete with genealogical resources. Of special note: online photographs of the Hartford Fire Department taken in the early part of the 20th century. In September 2003, the CHS assumed management of the Old State House in downtown Hartford. (Press release.)

Mark Twain House - The one-of-a-kind, High Victorian mansion on Farmington Avenue where the author of "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" lived from 1874 to 1891. The Web site gives information on tours and events at the house, along with an excellent history. Click on the "Mark Twain's Hartford" icon for a look at the attractions that influenced his life and work in the city.

Hartford Studies Project - A Trinity College program that includes an archive documenting the city’s history since the 1880s and a course, “The History of Hartford,” offered twice a year to undergraduate and graduate students. Many primary-source documents can be accessed, as can many student papers and about 250 vintage photographs.

Old State House - The city's most historic building. Constructed in the late 18th century, it served as the seat of state government until 1878 and as City Hall until 1915. Recently restored, it's a "must-see" for Hartford visitors. The Web site includes vintage Hartford photos, this-day-in-history factoids, and a calendar of events.

Governor's Residence - A 19-room mansion located on the western edge of the city, at the corner of Prospect and Asylum avenues. It's open for tours at certain times of the year.

New England Air Museum - Located adjacent to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, two towns north of Hartford.

Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation - An organization dedicated to protecting "the character and beauty of Connecticut's historic architecture, streetscapes, urban neighborhoods and country landscapes."

First Company Governor’s Foot Guard - Organized in Hartford in October 1771 and still a fixture of important ceremonies throughout Connecticut.

Hartford, Connecticut: Landmarks, History, Neighborhoods - A photographic survey of some of the places, architecture, and people that make Hartford a special place. Built by Karen O'Maxfield, whose work also graces this site.

Hartford Black History Project - An information-packed site "that celebrates the contribution of the Black community to Hartford's history."

Hartford Friends and Enemies of Wallace Stevens - A site dedicated to the poet, who worked as a vice-president of the Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company. Offers samples of his poetry, a map for retracing his walks, event notices, an online discussion group, and artwork.

A Shoeleather History of Hartford - Articles on Hartford history written from the perspective of the political left. This is a section of Homefront, a site that "documents and explores the progressive organizing for social and economic justice by the people of Hartford, Connecticut."

Connecticut Women's Hall of Fame - Founded by the Connecticut Forum and the Hartford College for Women at the University of Hartford. The inductees include many women with Hartford connections, like department store owner Beatrice Fox Auerbach.

WTIC Alumni - Dedicated to those who worked at radio stations WTIC-AM and -FM and television station WTIC-Channel 3 before 1974, when The Travelers sold them. WTIC-AM went on the air in 1925.

WDRCOBG.com - A highly informative tribute to radio stations WDRC-AM and -FM. Loaded with photos, articles, and sound files. WDRC-AM, which began in New Haven in 1922, is Connecticut's first commercial station. It moved to Hartford in 1930.

StephenGoddard.com - Site of a local author whose works include "Colonel Albert Pope and His American Dream Machine: The Life and Times of a Bicycle Tycoon Turned Automotive Pioneer."

Ancient Burying Ground - The oldest historic site in Hartford and the only one surviving from the 1600s. Until the early 1800s, it was Hartford's only graveyard. Notables buried there include the Rev. Thomas Hooker, leader of the settlers who founded the city, and Jeremiah Wadsworth, a wealthy businessman who served as quartermaster of the Revolution and played host to George Washington.

Cedar Hill Cemetery - This elegant 19th-century cemetery is the final resting place for Samuel Colt, J.P. Morgan, Gideon Wells, Wallace Stevens, Jacob Weidenmann, Morgan Bulkeley, and many other figures in local and national history.

Find-a-Grave - Trying to dig someone up? Search this database for the graves of the famous and not so famous "around the world." For gravesites of the famous in Connecticut, click here.

The Political Graveyard - This link to the Hartford County page allows you to track down the graves of Hartford County political figures. Did you know, for instance, that former Republican National Chairman Marshall Jewell and former Democratic National Chairman John Bailey rest in the same Hartford cemetery?

University of Hartford - Created in 1957 through the merger of Hillyer College, the Hartford Art School, and the world-famous Hartt School of Music. The Web site includes a detailed history of the university, which among other things hosts the Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies and the Museum of American Political Life

Trinity College - Founded in 1823 as Connecticut's second college and now "one of the nation's leading independent liberal arts colleges." Read about Trinity's history and about the Hartford Studies Project, in which students try to illuminate the city's past and present. There's also the Neighborhood Revitalization Initiative, a high-profile effort to revive the neighborhoods surrounding the Trinity campus, in the city's South End.

University of Connecticut - The main campus is in Storrs, but the UConn School of Law is located in Hartford's west end.

Hartford Seminary - Founded in 1834, the seminary provides nondenominational training. Its library contains special collections on New England history. Read a history of the institution.

Hartford Conservatory - Offering instruction in the performing arts since 1890.

Rensselaer at Hartford - Founded in 1955 as the Hartford Graduate Center, it became a branch of the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., in 1997.

Capital Community College - Occupying the former G. Fox department store in downtown Hartford since 2002. The college is the result of the July 1992 merger of Greater Hartford Community College (founded in 1967) and the Hartford State Technical College (founded as the Connecticut Engineering Institute in 1946.) See the history page for more background.

American School for the Deaf - Founded in Hartford in 1817, this is the country's oldest school serving the deaf community. It's now located in West Harford. Site has an excellent history page.

Hartford Public Schools

City of Hartford - The city's official Web site.

Hartford Police Department - Features an exhaustive history page that details what happened under every chief.

Hartford Fire Department - The history page includes a brief narrative, along with lists of past chiefs, major fires, and firefighters who died in the line of duty or from service-related illness.

Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) - A non-profit municipal corporation chartered by the General Assembly in 1929 to provide potable water and sewerage services to Hartford and surrounding towns.

State of Connecticut - The gateway for pages maintained by the governor and other constitutional officers, state agencies, the legislature, and the judiciary. Among the pages that concern state and local history:

• State Sites and Symbols
  
  

• Selected Important Dates in Connecticut History
  
  
• Connecticut Freedom Trail

Bushnell Park Foundation - This group celebrates "Hartford's parlor" with a Web site that features a virtual-reality tour of the downtown park in QuickTime, along with many photographs and lots of information, including a detailed history section.

Elizabeth Park - Home of the oldest municipally operated rose garden in the country. The 2 1/2-acre garden has about 800 varieties of roses, amounting to 15,000 plants. The Web site features a "rose of the month," along with a small history section and some great "images of the past."

Greater Hartford Convention & Visitors Bureau - A nonprofit group created to draw conventions and tourism to the Hartford area. Offers information on travel, accommodations and events.

MetroHartford Chamber of Commerce - The leading business group of the Hartford area. Formerly called the Greater Hartford Chamber of Commerce.

Heritage Trails Hartford Sightseeing Tours - A business that offers tours of historic landmarks. Its site contains some stunning photos.

Colt Firearms - Maker of the six-shooter and a host of other important firearms. The factory has been converted to living and office space, but its blue "onion dome" remains a striking landmark, greeting those who enter the city from the northbound lanes of Interstate 91.

Columbia Bicycles - Founded in 1877 by Col. Albert Pope. Mass production began at the Weed Sewing Machine Company factory on Capitol Avenue. The company is now headquarted in Westfield, Mass.

Greater Hartford Festival of Jazz - The 2004 edition will be held July 16-18 in Bushnell Park.

Wadsworth Atheneum - The nation's oldest public art museum. From the original, castle-like building bestowed by founder Daniel Wadsworth in 1844, the museum has expanded twice over the years, with the assistance of Elizabeth Colt (widow of gunmaker Samuel Colt) and J. Pierpont Morgan, the financier and Hartford native. Its Web site offers a brief history.

Hartford Stage - A mainstay of downtown Hartford and "one of the leading resident theatres in the nation." Since 1964 it has staged more than 260 productions, including world or American premieres of works by the likes of Edward Albee, Horton Foote, Vladimir Nabakov, and Tennessee Williams.

Cinestudio at Trinity College - An ornate and immaculately maintained movie theater, recalling the movie palaces of the 1930s and 1940s.

Real Art Ways - One of the seminal "alternative spaces" for art in the U.S. since 1975. It occupies the former Underwood typewriter factory on Arbor Street, in the Parkville section. The Web site offers short and long versions of the organization's history.

Artists' Collective - Established in 1970 by world-renowned alto saxophonist and educator Jackie McLean and his wife, actress and dancer Dollie McLean. The Collective "has made a world of difference to hundreds of children in Hartford's poorest neighborhoods" by giving them training in the performing arts.

Hartford Symphony - "Widely recognized as one of America’s leading regional orchestras." It began in 1934, as a federal program to employ musicians thrown out of work by the Great Depression. Today, it is supported by more than 8,000 subscribers and nearly 3,000 donors.

Connecticut Opera - The sixth-oldest professional opera company in the United States. It received international publicity in the 1980s with its pioneer arena productions of Aïda and Turandot. See the brief history page on its Web site for more.

Webster Theatre - Built in 1934 as a movie theater, now one of the city's prime venues for live rock. The theater, sitting on the edge of Barry Square in the city's South End, is one of the best examples of art deco design in Hartford.

The Hartford Courant - The only statewide daily newspaper in Connecticut and the only daily serving Hartford. For city news, click here. For articles that appear in the Sunday "Place" section, click here.

Hartford news at Yahoo! - Stories provided by the Courant. (Great for those who would rather not register to use the Courant's site, though not every story is carried.)

Hartford Advocate - A weekly "alternative" newspaper. Like the Courant, it is owned by the Tribune Company of Chicago.

The Hog River Journal - A new magazine devoted to the history of Hartford and surrounding towns.

Hartford Magazine - An "upscale" lifestyle magazine with the aim "showcasing all that Greater Hartford has to offer in a fresh, contemporary presentation."

Other Connecticut newspapers - This list, compiled by Newslink.org, includes dailies, weeklies, business journals, and campus papers.

Links to Connecticut radio and television stations - Provided by the Connecticut Broadcasters Association. Includes addresses, telephone numbers, and other contact information.

Hartford Vintage Baseball Tournament - Features clubs "adhering to the rules, uniform styles, equipment and competitive gentlemanly play of the mid and late 19th century game."

Hartford Wolf Pack - An American Hockey League team affiliated with the New York Rangers. Winner of the 1999-2000 Calder Cup.

Hartford Civic Center - Home ice of the Wolf Pack and frequent home court for University of Connecticut basketball.

Greater Hartford Marathon

Hartford Track Club - "Connecticut's largest running club."

Hartford Wanderers - A local rugby football club.

University of Hartford Alumni Athletics Hall of Fame - Inductees include major-league baseball star Jeff Bagwell and pro basketball star Vin Baker.

Return the Hartford Whalers Organization - Dedicated to the former National Hockey League team.