# The New International Encyclopædia/Connecticut

See also Connecticut on Wikipedia; and the disclaimer.
​ CONNECTICUT, kŏn-nĕt′ĭ-kŭt (Algonquin Quinni-tuk-ut, long river). One of the original thirteen States of the United States; a north Atlantic Coast State and the southwesternmost of the New England States (Map: United States, L 2). It is included between latitudes 40° 59′ and 42° 3′ N. and longitudes 71° 47′ and 73° 43′ W., and is bounded on the north by Massachusetts, on the east by Rhode Island, on the south by Long Island Sound, and on the west by New York. It has an extreme length from east lowest of nearly 105 miles, and an average length of about 95 miles; an extreme width from north to south of 76 miles, and an average width of 57 miles, with a total area of 4990 square miles, of which 145 square miles are water surface and 4845 square miles, or 3,100,800 acres, are land. Connecticut is one of the smallest States in the Union, only two States being smaller, but it ranks twenty-ninth in population. The boundary lines between Connecticut and the adjoining States are somewhat irregular, since they depend on old grants and surveys which were very unsystematic.
Topography. The highland region, which commences in Vermont in the Green Mountains and continues across Massachusetts in the Berkshire Hills, descends into Connecticut, at first with considerable height; but southward it gradually loses its mountainous character, and as Long Island Sound is approached it is represented by low hills only. In this hill country, the streams flow in most cases in narrow valleys. East of this region is the broad valley of the Connecticut, with an altitude of less than 100 feet at the north boundary of the State, and less than 500 feet over a breadth of 25 miles. The river leaves this depression at Middletown, the depression continuing southwestward to the coast at New Haven, while the river flows southeastward through a hill country to its mouth at Saybrook. The eastern part of the State is hilly, with altitudes exceeding 1000 feet near the northern boundary, and diminishing in height southward. Here also most of the streams flow in narrow, deep valleys.
In former geologic times the area of Connecticut is believed to have formed a part of the southern slope of a great mountain mass, whose summits are perhaps indicated by the present White, Green, and Adirondack mountains. Long-continued erosion of streams and perhaps of ice reduced this region to a plain, with low relief and shallow stream valleys. A comparatively recent tilting of the land has slightly depressed the coast and elevated the interior. This has revived the cutting power of the streams, which are now actively eroding their valleys, most of them in hard rocks, in which slow progress is made. The Connecticut Valley is, however, largely of relatively softer rocks, which have been eroded away with greater rapidity. In recent geologic times the area of the State was covered by the Laurentian glacier, which did much erosion and deposition, scouring out lake basins, and thus forming the multitude of little lakes and ponds which diversify the surface, and modifying the streams' courses, producing rapids and falls, now utilized for water-power.
Among the highest points in Connecticut are Bear Mountain, 2355 feet; Gridley Mountain, 2200 feet; Riga Mountain, all in Salisbury; Bradford Mountain, in Canaan, 1927; Dutton Mountain, 1620 feet, and Mount Ball, 1760, in ​Norfolk; Above All Mountain, 1456, in Warren; iy Mountain, in Goshen, 1640 feet; and Ellsworth Hill, 1580 feel, in Sharon. The coast of Connecticut is very broken and irregular, and consists of a succession of rocky points and gravel or sandy beaches. It possesses a number of good harbors, and the larger rivers have estuary-like mouths. The coast waters are shallow, but usually deep enough to permit the near approach to land of vessels. Numerous small rocky islands skirt the shores; the largest island on this coast being Fishers Island, off the mouth of the Thames, which, while geographically belonging to the Connecticut coast, politically belongs to New York.
The hydrography of Connecticut is simple in general outline, the streams as a whole following the slope of land from the north toward the south. Since this slope is but a continuation from the higher land to the north, the main streams rise north of the Connecticut boundary and the waters flow in a generally southerly direction across the State and empty into Long Island Sound. There are three main river systems: the Housatonic-Naugatuck in the west; the Connecticut in the middle; and the Thames in the east. The streams tributary to these main rivers are numerous, and some of them of considerable size. In the southern part of the State there are many small streams which have a southerly direction and flow straight to the Sound. The three main rivers receive the drainage of a comparatively small portion of this coast area. The small streams are in few cases more than 25 miles in length in a direct course, except the Quinnipiac, which enters New Haven Harbor, and which has its source well within the Connecticut depression. The Connecticut water-courses have in general deeply cut their path through the highlands, so that on the main streams the fall is less than might be expected from the neighboring elevations. The smaller streams, however, and the larger ones in their upper courses, furnish an enormous water-power.
* COPYRIGHT, 1891 AND 1903, BY DODD MEAD & COMPANY.
AREA AND POPULATION OF CONNECTICUT BY COUNTIES. :
| County | Map Index. | County Seat. | Area in square miles. | Population. | Population. |
| County | Map Index. | County Seat. | Area in square miles. | 1890. | 1900. |
| Fairfield | B 5 | Bridgeport | 641 | 150,081 | 184,203 |
| Hartford | D 3 | Hartford | 677 | 147,180 | 195,480 |
| Litchfield | B 3 | Litchfield | 931 | 53,542 | 63,672 |
| Middlesex | E 3 | Middletown | 373 | 39,524 | 41,760 |
| New Haven | D 4 | New Haven | 612 | 209,058 | 269,163 |
| New London | G 4 | New London | 681 | 76,634 | 82,758 |
| Tolland | F 2 | Tolland | 415 | 25,081 | 24,523 |
| Windham | G 2 | Putnam | 515 | 45,158 | 46,861 |
​ Climate and Soil. In Connecticut the average annual temperature decreases from about 50° F. on the southern coast to about 48° in the northeastern part and 46° in the northwest. In midwinter the average temperatures decrease from about 30° along the southern coast to 24° in the northern part. In all portions of the State the temperature usually descends below zero at times during the winter, and may even fall as low as -10° or -15° F. In midsummer the average temperature is about 72° along the southern coast, but increases to 74° in the middle interior, and decreases again to about 70° in the northwest. During the summer extreme temperatures ranging from 90° to 100° F. may be expected in all parts of the State.
The prevailing winds in Connecticut are from the westward. In the winter the prevailing wind throughout most of the State is from the northwest, and in midsummer from the southwest throughout the State. The general or prevailing southwest winds during the summer months considerably lessen the land temperatures on the southern coast and to some distance inland, while the prevailing northwest winds during the winter carry the inland cold air to the coast. The relative humidity varies from 70 to 80 per cent., and is greater in winter and less in the spring than at other times of year. Throughout most of the State the average rainfall during the year is from 45 to 50 inches. The precipitation is quite evenly distributed over the entire year; on the average a little more than 5 inches falls during each of the spring and summer months and a little over 4 inches during each of the fall and winter months. The snowfall varies very much from year to year, but on an average for a series of years about 40 inches fall on the southern coast, and there is a rather regular increase toward the northern part of the State to 50 inches in the northeast corner and to 60 inches in the northwest corner.
The valley land of Connecticut is usually a rich alluvial deposit, which has left the hill land rather thin in soil and barren, but nevertheless still of great value for fruit, grass, and pasture. The northern part of the Connecticut River Valley, as far south as Middletown, has a rich, deep, loamy soil, often with a clay subsoil. In the southern part of the State, however, and along the coast, the soil is sandy. In the southwest there is a dark argillaceous soil, and in the northeast a light gray loam.
For flora and fauna, see paragraphs under United States.
Geology. The great valley which extends northward from New Haven to the Massachusetts boundary is occupied by a belt 5 to 18 miles in width, of Triassic sandstone, broken through in places by trap-rocks. East and west of this valley crystalline rocks, including granite, gneiss, schist, slate, and limestone, predominate. In the northwestern part of the State these rocks are of metamorphic origin and represent the altered product of Ordovician strata, while the granite and gneiss in the eastern and southern parts probably belong to the Archæan. The whole State lies within the region of glacial drift, and a heavy mantle of sands, gravels, and boulder clay rests upon the rock formations.
Mineral Resources. Tungsten ore is mined near Long Hill, in Trumbull township, but there are no other metallic mines in operation at present, although copper, lead, and iron ores are known to occur. The granite outcrops on Long Island Sound yield a good quality of building-stone, and feldspar is produced at Branchville and South Glastonbury. Portland is noted for its quarries of brownstone (sandstone), large quantities of which have been consumed for building purposes in the large cities on the Atlantic Coast. Marble, limestone, and clay are also produced at various localities. For a long series of years Connecticut has produced granite, limestone, and sandstone in quantities varying in aggregate value from a half-million to a million dollars per annum. Connecticut contains the oldest iron-mines in the United States, the Salisbury Mine having been opened in 1732. The Connecticut mines and furnaces furnished valuable supplies of cannon-balls, shells, etc., for the Continental forces during the War of the Revolution.
Fisheries. The State ranks third among the New England States in the value of its fisheries. Their importance has changed but little in recent years, the product remaining about constant at $1,500,000, while the number of men engaged—2470 in 1897—has decreased as a result of improved methods. There has been a decided ​decrease in the menhaden and cod fisheries, so that at present the industry is almost wholly confined to oyster-fishing, the product of which was valued at $1,250,000 in 1897. Next in importance are the lobster fisheries, with an aggregate value of $83,700.
Agriculture. With the exception of the river valleys, Connecticut soil is not favorable to agriculture. The surface is broken and stony, and generally lacks fertility. With the development of the fertile and easily cultivated plains of the West, Connecticut, in common with the other New England States, found market prices reduced below the point of profit, and its farmers were forced to give up the occupation or improve their methods of farming. Since 1830 there has been a continual decrease in the production of almost every staple crop. In 1899 the acreage of corn (47,900) was twice that of all other cereals, and it was the only cereal which did not lose in acreage during the decade. But proximity to the best markets of the country has been of great advantage to Connecticut, and this, together with improved methods of tilling the soil, particularly the extensive application of fertilizers, has saved the agricultural interests from complete ruin. Hay is by far the most extensive crop, the acreage (480,000 in 1900) being more than three times that of the total for all other crops. Tobacco ranks next to hay in importance. The cultivation of this plant was begun in 1640, if not earlier, and it is confined mostly to the valleys of the Housatonic and Connecticut rivers. The tobacco, which is of superior quality and of mild flavor, is used chiefly for wrappers for cigars made from the stronger-flavored Havana tobacco. The acreage for 1899 (10,120) was the largest for any year recorded, and though constituting but 2 per cent. of the area for all crops, returned 13.9 per cent. of the gross income. The average value of the product per acre was $303, exceeding the corresponding figure for any other tobacco-growing State. Vegetables rank next to tobacco in value of product. The influence of the large city population of the State on agriculture has been to increase the interest in dairying and vegetable and fruit raising, for which purposes the land is well adapted. The dairy cows number about 127,000, and the dairy product for 1899 exceeded in value $7,000,000. The production of milk increased over 30 per cent. during the decade, but this gain was somewhat offset by a decrease in the manufacture of butter and cheese. There has been a decided increase during the last decade in the number of peach orchards, but apple-trees still constitute about three-fifths of the total number of orchard trees. With the exception of dairy cows, horses are the only kind of farm stock showing an actual increase during the last half-century; swine, sheep, and meat cattle have greatly decreased. Of the total land surface of the State, 74.6 per cent. is included in its farms, and of this but 40 per cent. is improved. While the farm area has remained about constant for a number of decades, the percentage of improved land has greatly decreased, particularly during the last decade. This curious fact is explained by the increase in dairying, etc., as stated above. The average size of the farms is 86 acres. Eighty-seven per cent. of the farms are operated by their owners, and among those rented the cash-rent method predominates. The following comparative table for the years 1890 and 1900 includes the more important varieties of crops and domestic animals:
Misc.  vegetables :
| | (acres) | (acres) | (acres) | (acres) | (acres) |
| 1900 | 47,914 | 27,150 | 478,555 | 10,120 | 11,143 |
| 1890 | 40,445 | 23,099 | 511,728 | 6,331 | ......... |
Swine :
| 1900 | 126,434 | 90,624 | 52,576 | 23,021 | 46,447 |
| 1890 | 127,892 | 75,769 | 43,764 | 37,652 | 62,087 |
Manufactures. Connecticut is notably a manufacturing State, 19.5 per cent. of the total population being engaged in that industry. Though one of the smallest States of the Union, it ranks eleventh (1900) in the importance of its manufactures. Influential among the factors which have developed these interests have been the favorable geographical location and the excellence of the land and water communication of the State, the water-power afforded by its streams, and especially the inventive talents and industrious habits of its people. The proverbially ingenious Yankee is indigenous in Connecticut, and from an early day has excelled in the invention and manufacture of ‘Yankee notions.’ The names of Colt, Whitney, Goodyear, and Howe, among others, suggest the State's prominence in the past, while to-day more industries are protected by patents in Connecticut than in any other State; and in proportion to population the State also leads in the number of patents received.
By the Twelfth Census the State surpassed any other State in 11 important industries, producing 75 per cent. in value of the total ammunition output of the country; 56 per cent. of the brass manufactures; 63 per cent. of the clocks; 47 per cent. of the hardware; 76 per cent. of the plated and Britannia ware; 64 per cent. of the needles and pins. The development of manufactures has been steady, and the absolute gain was the greatest from 1890 to 1900, both in the number of establishments and the value of the product. In the seventeen most important industries a tendency toward centralization is evident, inasmuch as the number of establishments has increased less than 5 per cent. during the last decade, while the total product has increased over 45 per cent. In certain industries, however, quite the contrary drift is noticeable. The textile and the brass-manufacturing industries lead in importance, but the two fared differently from 1890 to 1900, the product of the former more than doubling, that of the latter increasing but slightly. The influence of the development of cotton-mills in the South is probably reflected here, the increase in the textile manufactures being in the dyeing, finishing, and silk products—branches which have not yet developed in the South. The cotton-mills of the State are clustered on the streams that flow into the Thames at Norwich. The following table shows the ​number of establishments, the number of wage-earners, and the gross value of the products for 1890 and 1900:
Value of  products,  including custom work and repairing :
| Total for selected industries for State | 1900 | 993 | 110,346 | $205,734,909 |
| Total for selected industries for State | 1890 | 949 | 89,154 | 141,281,406 |
| Increase, 1890 to 1900 | | 44 | 21,192 | 64,453,503 |
| Per cent. of increase | | 4.6 | 23.8 | 45.6 |
| Per cent. of total of all industries in State | 1900 | 10.9 | 62.5 | 58.3 |
| Per cent. of total of all industries in State | 1890 | 13.9 | 63.4 | 56.9 |
| Ammunition | 1900 | 5 | 4,134 | 9,823,712 |
| Ammunition | 1890 | 4 | 1,443 | 3,838,774 |
| Brass manufactures: Total | 1900 | 58 | 12,652 | 48,526,868 |
| Brass manufactures: Total | 1890 | 53 | 10,636 | 22,309,894 |
| Clocks | 1900 | 10 | 3,929 | 4,545,047 |
| Clocks | 1890 | 9 | 2,777 | 3,117,186 |
| Corsets | 1900 | 24 | 5,755 | 6,846,964 |
| Corsets | 1890 | 18 | 4,868 | 6,274,867 |
| Cutlery and edge tools | 1900 | 44 | 4,077 | 5,362,620 |
| Cutlery and edge tools | 1890 | 48 | 2,162 | 2,895,390 |
| Foundry and machine-shop products | 1900 | 260 | 12,646 | 18,991,079 |
| Foundry and machine-shop products | 1890 | 193 | 8,643 | 13,314,156 |
| Fur hats (also hats and caps, not including fur hats, and wool hats) | 1900 | 73 | 5,265 | 8,098,072 |
| Fur hats (also hats and caps, not including fur hats, and wool hats) | 1890 | 50 | 6,065 | 7,527,017 |
| Hardware | 1900 | 63 | 12,056 | 16,301,198 |
| Hardware | 1890 | 70 | 8,108 | 11,995,023 |
| Plated and Britannia ware | 1900 | 26 | 4,491 | 9,538,397 |
| Plated and Britannia ware | 1890 | 21 | 4,159 | 7,569,920 |
| Rubber and elastic goods | 1900 | 22 | 3,006 | 8,246,240 |
| Rubber and elastic goods | 1890 | 16 | 2,245 | 3,476,398 |
| Textiles: Total | 1900 | 197 | 32,587 | 49,265,752 |
| Textiles: Total | 1890 | 208 | 31,991 | 46,757,780 |
| Cotton goods (including cotton small wares) | 1900 | 57 | 13,205 | 15,500,842 |
| Cotton goods (including cotton small wares) | 1890 | 65 | 13,220 | 15,409,476 |
| Hosiery and knit goods | 1900 | 25 | 3,243 | 4,043,977 |
| Hosiery and knit goods | 1890 | 27 | 3,059 | 3,771,567 |
| Silk and silk goods | 1900 | 38 | 6,514 | 12,378,981 |
| Silk and silk goods | 1890 | 35 | 4,964 | 9,788,951 |
| Woolen goods | 1900 | 51 | 4,668 | 8,097,218 |
| Woolen goods | 1890 | 55 | 5,069 | 9,082,493 |
| Worsted goods | 1900 | 10 | 2,198 | 4,539,814 |
| Worsted goods | 1890 | 10 | 2,234 | 4,651,402 |
| Other textile products | 1900 | 16 | 2,759 | 4,614,920 |
| Other textile products | 1890 | 16 | 3,335 | 4,053,891 |
| Product of six other industries | 1900 | 211 | 9,748 | 19,907,960 |
| Product of six other industries | 1890 | 259 | 6,057 | 12,205,001 |
Transportation and Commerce. The railroad system of Connecticut reached an early development, and has been but little extended in recent years. In 1900 the total mileage was 1025, the greater part of which was owned or leased by the New York, New Haven and Hartford Company. There were 53,352,000 passengers carried during the year; the freight carried amounted to 17,393,000 tons. While railroad-building has remained for some time almost stationary, street railways, on the other hand, especially cross-country lines, show a noteworthy growth. These had in 1900 reached a total length of 500 miles, having authorized capital stock amounting to $21,467,000. Transportation within the State is also much helped by the improvement of country roads, in which enterprise the State aids the communities.
The ports of entry are Hartford, Fairfield, New Haven, Stonington, and New London. There is a brisk coastwise trade, particularly with the port of New York, most of the foreign trade of the State passing through that city. Although there are no exports to foreign countries direct from Connecticut, there were foreign imports in 1900 amounting to about $1,800,000, two-thirds of which entered by the port of Hartford.
Government. The present Constitution was approved by the people of the State in 1818. Twenty-nine amendments have since been adopted. An amendment originates in the House of Representatives, is approved by a two-thirds vote of each House at the following session, and in turn by a majority vote of the electors present at the town meetings held for its consideration. Applicants for franchise must be twenty-one years of age, must be able to read, and must have lived one year in the State and six months in the town.
Legislature.—General elections for State officers and the General Assembly are biennial, in even years, on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November. The General Assembly consists of 24 Senators, elected from districts of contiguous territory, no town being divided or part ​of a county attached to any other county, and 252 Representatives, elected from the towns, each town being permitted one or two members, according as its population is below or above 5000. But towns which had two Representatives prior to the amendment of 1874 still retain that number without regard to population. Senators and Representatives are elected for a two years' term, and receive for the regular session $300 each and mileage. Only mileage is allowed for extra sessions. The Assembly convenes on the first Wednesday after the first Monday in January of each odd year.
Executive.—The Governor, Lieutenant-Governor, Secretary, Treasurer, and Comptroller are each elected for two years, and have their salaries fixed by law. The Governor's veto may be overcome by a majority vote of each House. The Lieutenant-Governor presides in the Senate.
Judiciary.—The judiciary consists of a supreme court of errors, with a chief justice and four associate judges; a superior court of six judges (all the foregoing are nominated by the Governor and appointed by the Assembly for eight years); courts of common pleas for Hartford, New Haven, New London, Fairfield, and Litchfield counties, each with one judge, except in New Haven County, where there are judges respectively for the civil and criminal sides; a district court in Waterbury; various city and borough courts, and justices of the peace.
Local Government.—The counties elect sheriffs who serve for a term of four years. The towns annually elect selectmen and other local officers.
State Laws.—Real estate acquired by a married woman's services, or conveyed to her for a consideration, may be held for her own use. The husband is trustee of a wife's personal estate, which upon his death falls to her or her devisees, legatees, or heirs, as though she had never been married; and married women may convey by devise the same as single persons, except that a husband (if he have not abandoned her) must unite in conveying by deed. Divorce may be had for fraudulent contract, adultery, desertion, and neglect of duty for three years, habitual intemperance, cruelty, for imprisonment for life, and for certain crimes; previous residence required, three years; either party may remarry. The sale of liquor is regulated by each town in accordance with local-option laws. The registration of voters is required in this State. Women may vote in an election for school officers. The legal rate of interest is 6 per cent. Judgments outlaw in seventeen years; notes and open accounts in six years.
Militia.—There is a total organized militia of 2774 men—infantry 2589, artillery 128—organized into one brigade and four regiments. There are 207,600 men of military age, of whom 106,500 are liable to military duty.
Finances.—The receipts for the civil-list funds during the fiscal year ending September 30, 1900, aggregated $2,876,856 and expenditures, $2,528,514. The largest items of expense were the common schools ($454,652) and humane institutions ($365,684). The largest sources of income were tax on railroads, $975,143; tax on savings banks, $418,780; tax on mutual life insurance companies, $291,066; and inheritance tax, $165,930. The total State debt, less the civil list funds, was $2,108,873. The total indebtedness of all towns, cities, boroughs, and counties of the State was $27,624,827, much of which was incurred in the support of schools and in the construction of roads.
Banks. On October 31, 1900, there were 103 national banks within the State, 84 of which were in active opcraticm. The capital stuck aggregated $20,546,000; circulation outstanding, $10,390,000. On September 5, 1900, the deposits amounted to $44,304,000 and the reserve, $12,933,000. On October 1, 1900, there were eight State banks, with resources amounting to $10,279,000; capital, $2,340,000; deposits, $6,937,279; and 14 trust companies doing a banking business, whose total resources aggregated $11,408,583; capital, $1,775,000; and deposits, $8,484,690. There were also 89 savings banks, with 410,342 depositors and $183,781,000 deposited.
Population. Population, in 1637, 800; in 1688, 17,000; in 1755, 133,000—3500 slaves; in 1787, 202,000; in 1800, 251,002; in 1840, 309,978; in 1860, 460,147; in 1890, 746,258; in 1900, 908,420. It will be seen that the absolute increase during the last decade exceeds that of any previous decade. Almost two-thirds of this increase was among native whites of foreign-born parents. This class, together with the foreign-born (238,210), constitutes almost three-fifths of the total population. Of the latter class, almost half came from Ireland, the next most important nationalities being Germans, English, and Canadians. For several decades the large emigration of the male population to the West resulted in an excess of females within the State; but the 1900 census shows that the sexes are almost equal in number.
Being of a manufacturing State, the population shows a strong tendency to congregate in the cities. In 1900, 53 per cent. of the population was in cities of over 8000 population. According to the census of 1900, New Haven had 108,027 inhabitants; Hartford, 79,850; Bridgeport, 70,996; Waterbury, 45,859; and New Britain, 25,998. Hartford is the capital. The State has five representatives in the Lower House of Congress.
Education. Connecticut has always been one of the leading States in educational matters. From the earliest colonial period primary education was provided for at the public expense, and the establishment of Yale University in 1701 afforded opportunities for higher instruction. For more than a decade before 1901 the school term exceeded 180 days, although the average for the whole country is only 134 days. Almost five-sixths of the school population attend the public schools, and in 1900, 94 per cent. of all children between the ages of four and sixteen were registered in some school. The expense of education per registered student was $17.58. For the twenty-five-year period 1875-99 the school expenditure was drawn from the following sources: permanent funds, 7.8 per cent.; State taxation, 14 per cent.; local taxation, 67.7 per cent.; and other sources, 10.5 per cent. There were 4079 public-school teachers, of which but 9 per cent. were males. There are 77 public high schools and three normal schools. School districts not having high schools must pay the tuition for such students as may wish to attend the high school of some other school district. The administration is vested in a board of education, or town committee, or board of school visitors, while the general educational supervision of the State is in the hands of a State Board of Education.
​There is no State university. The chief higher educational institutions are Yale University, non-sectarian, though historically affiliated with the Congregationalists; Wesleyan University (Methodist Episcopal), at Middletown, for both sexes: Trinity College (Protestant Episcopal), at Hartford. Schools of science, law, art, and medicine form departments of Yale University. The Congregationalists have divinity schools at New Haven and Hartford; the Protestant Episcopalians, one at Middletown; and the Baptists, a literary institute at Suffield. There are an agricultural college at Mansfield and training schools for nurses at Hartford and New Haven.
Charitable and Penal Institutions. The State has a large number of charitable and penal institutions. The humane institutions alone cost in 1900 $365,000, and the correctional institutions and soldiers' homes, over $300,000, the combined amounts being much greater than the amount which the State government annually expends upon the public schools. There are a State prison at Wethersfield; an industrial school for girls at Middletown; a school for boys at Meriden; a hospital for the insane at Middletown; a school for imbeciles at Lakeville; a retreat for the insane at Hartford; and Fitches home for soldiers at Noroton. Besides these, there are 10 private sanatoriums for nervous and mental diseases; 2 institutions for the deaf; 1 institution for the blind; 21 hospitals, 8 county temporary homes, 16 homes for the aged, and 16 children's homes. In general, Connecticut has assumed an enlightened and progressive policy in the administration of her charitable and correctional affairs. There is a State Board of Charities, consisting of five members, appointed by the Governor for a term of four years. Its powers are largely advisory, being authorized to visit and inspect all institutions, public or private. It embodies some of the functions of a prison commission and of a lunacy commission, and may correct any abuses, providing that this is done in such a manner as not to conflict with any personal, corporate, or statutory rights. The members of the board receive no remuneration; their actual expenses are paid. The policy has been adopted of placing in private families children committed to the reformatory schools, as well as orphans. The State has no reformatory for cases of ‘first offense’ committed between the ages of sixteen and thirty.
Religion. Connecticut was in its early days a refuge for the English Nonconformists, and soon became a Puritanical stronghold. For a long time the Congregational Church had almost the entire field to itself. The Unitarian movement made less progress in Connecticut than in other New England States. With the emigration to Western States of large numbers of the descendants of the original Colonial stock and the incoming of large numbers of foreigners—especially Irish and French-Canadian—a still greater religious change has taken place, and the Catholic Church now numbers more than half of the church-membership of the State.
History. In 1614 Adrian Block, a native of Holland, discovered and explored the Connecticut River, but it was not till 1633 that the Dutch of New Amsterdam began a trading post at Suckiaug (Hartford). Two years earlier the soil from Narragansett Bay to the Pacific Ocean was granted by the Earl of Warwick to Lord Say and Sele, and others, but the transfer apparently had no legal basis. In 1633 traders from Plymouth visited the site of Windsor. Wethersfield in 1634, and Windsor and Hartford in the following year, were settled by emigrants from Massachusetts Bay. In 1635 the Say and Sele patentees sent over John Winthrop, Jr., to act as Governor. He built a fort at Saybrook, preventing the Dutch from getting control of the Connecticut, and gave the settlers in the upper valley a conditional permission to remain. Desire for a more democratic government caused a new exodus from Massachusetts, and in 1636 Hartford, Windsor, and Wethersfield received their chief bodies of immigrants. In 1638-39 the three towns united in an independent commonwealth and adopted a thoroughly democratic constitution. The Massachusetts system of town government, transplanted to Connecticut, attained its fullest development in the three upper settlements, with which Springfield (Agawam) remained nominally associated till 1641. War with the Pequots, the most powerful of the Indian tribes, in 1637, led to their extermination, and the progress of colonization was never again hindered by the enmity of the natives. In 1638 New Haven was founded by a Puritan colony under the Rev. John Davenport, and from 1638 to 1640 Milford, Guilford, and Stamford on the mainland and Southold on Long Island were settled. Together with Branford these towns were united, between 1643 and 1651, into one ‘jurisdiction,’ known subsequently as the New Haven Colony, as opposed to the upper settlements, which constituted the Connecticut Colony. The laws of the Old Testament were made the rule for all courts. A somewhat similar code of laws in Connecticut gave rise in after years to the nickname ‘blue laws’ (q.v.), although Connecticut, unlike New Haven, did not restrict the franchise and the holding of office to church members. In 1644 Connecticut bought the colony of Saybrook from Say and Sele, and gradually (1644-62), by purchase and colonization, acquired the greater part of the present State and a considerable portion of Long Island. In 1657 John Winthrop, Jr., was chosen Governor of Connecticut, and by his skill in diplomacy procured, in 1662, a charter from Charles II. granting absolute autonomy to that Colony. By this charter New Haven was incorporated with Connecticut, in spite of the most vehement opposition on the part of the former. New Haven, nevertheless, was forced to submit (1664). In October, 1687, Sir Edmund Andros came to Hartford and demanded the charter from the General Assembly, but it was carried away and secreted till 1689. (See Charter Oak.) From 1687 to 1689, however, the Colony was subject to the despotic rule of Andros. In 1708 the Congregational Church system was established by the adoption of the Saybrook platform, and this was supplemented by the Act of 1742. Though other denominations were tolerated. Church and State for a long time remained closely connected, and secular and religious affairs were under the control of the same authorities, in 1754 Connecticut bought from the Indians a large tract of land in the Wyoming Valley in Pennsylvania and proceeded to settle it, but was compelled in 1782 to surrender it to Pennsylvania. In 1786 the Colony relinquished its charter rights to the territory west of its present ​limits and received in return the Western Reserve (q.v.). Emigration to the western lands, as well as to Vermont and New York, was active.
The passage of the Stamp Act was vigorously denounced by the General Assembly; in May, 1776 the Colony was declared released from its allegiance to England, and in October Connecticut was constituted an independent State. It contributed more than 30,000 men to the Revolutionary Army, and its Governor, Jonathan Trumbull, was one of Washington's most trusted advisers. In 1777 the British burned Danbury, and in 1779 pillaged New Haven. Forts Griswold and Trumbull, at New London, were taken on September 6, 1781, by Benedict Arnold, and the town was destroyed. In the framing of the Federal Constitution Connecticut took a prominent part, and to its delegates was due the adoption of that feature of the Constitution which provides for State representation in the Upper House of Congress and proportionate representation in the Lower. Connecticut was always a stronghold of federalism; it strongly opposed the War of 1812, and its Capitol was the meeting-place of the celebrated Hartford Convention (q.v.). In 1818 a new constitution was framed. Church and State were separated, and the franchise was widely extended. The General Assembly was divided into a Senate and a House of Representatives. The conservative and theocratic character of the government became greatly modified as the State developed from an agricultural region into a commercial and industrial centre. The shrewdness of the Connecticut trader and the preëminent ingenuity of the Connecticut mechanic raised the State to a high degree of prosperity. During the Civil War Connecticut gave to the Union cause nearly 60,000 troops and the services of her great War Governor, Buckingham. Progress was rapid after the war. In the matter of public instruction the State took one of the foremost places in the Union, if not the foremost, devoting the entire proceeds from the sale of its public lands to the support of the free schools. In the readjustment, however, of the balance of political power in conformity with changed political conditions, no like spirit of progress was shown, and in 1901 the necessity of electoral reform was discussed at length in the press of the State. Representation in the Lower House being based on the old township divisions and not on population, it happened that great cities like New Haven and Bridgeport were dominated by rural communities with one-tenth their population. In many cases, a state of things prevailed not far removed from conditions in England before the Reform Bill of 1832. The agitation resulted in the calling of a constitutional convention, which met in January, 1902, and drew up a scheme of redistribution which was submitted to the people on June 16. The measure provided for one representative from every town with a population of less than 2000, two representatives for towns between 20,000 and 50,000, three for towns between 50,000 and 100,000, and four for all cities over 100,000, with one additional for every 50,000 inhabitants above that number. The effect of the measure would have been to deprive some towns of one representative each and to assign these to the large towns. The plan, however, satisfied neither the conservatives nor the advocates of reform, and was voted down. In national elections, Connecticut has been in general Federalist, Whig, and Republican; but it cast its vote for Monroe in 1820, for Van Buren in 1836, for Pierce in 1852, for Tilden in 1876, and for Cleveland in 1884, 1888, and 1892. In State elections it is doubtful.
COLONIAL GOVERNORS :
| Connecticut Colony |||
| | | Years |
| John Haynes | | 1639-40 |
| Edward Hopkins | | 1640-41 |
| John Haynes | | 1641-42 |
| George Wyllys | | 1642-43 |
| John Haynes | | 1643-44 |
| Edward Hopkins | | 1644-45 |
| John Haynes | | 1645-46 |
| Edward Hopkins | | 1646-47 |
| John Haynes | | 1647-48 |
| Edward Hopkins | | 1648-49 |
| John Haynes | | 1649-50 |
| Edward Hopkins | | 1650-51 |
| John Haynes | | 1651-52 |
| Edward Hopkins | | 1652-53 |
| John Haynes | | 1653-54 |
| Edward Hopkins | | 1654-55 |
| Thomas Welles | | 1655-56 |
| John Webster | | 1656-57 |
| John Winthrop | | 1657-58 |
| Thomas Welles | | 1658-59 |
| John Winthrop | | 1659-76 |
| William Leete | | 1676-83 |
| Robert Treat | | 1683-87 |
| Edmund Andros | | 1687-89 |
| Robert Treat | | 1689-98 |
| FitzJohn Winthrop | | 1698-1707 |
| Gurdon Saltonstall | | 1707-24 |
| Joseph Talcott | | 1724-41 |
| Jonathan Law | | 1741-50 |
| Roger Wolcott | | 1750-54 |
| Thomas Fitch | | 1754-66 |
| William Pitkin | | 1766-69 |
| Jonathan Trumbull | | 1769-76 |
| New Haven Colony |||
| | | Years |
| Theophilus Eaton | | 1639-57 |
| Francis Newman | | 1658-60 |
| William Leete | | 1661-65 |
| STATE GOVERNORS |||
| | | Years |
| Jonathan Trumbull | Federalist | 1776-84 |
| Matthew Griswold | ” | 1784-86 |
| Samuel Huntingdon | ” | 1786-96 |
| Oliver Wolcott | ” | 1796-97 |
| Jonathan Trumbull | ” | 1797-1809 |
| John Treadwell | ” | 1809-11 |
| Roger Griswold | ” | 1811-12 |
| John Cotton Smith | ” | 1812-17 |
| Oliver Wolcott | ” | 1817-27 |
| Gideon Tomlinson | ” | 1827-31 |
| John S. Peters | Whig | 1831-33 |
| H. W. Edwards | Democrat | 1833-34 |
| Samuel A. Foote | Whig | 1834-35 |
| H. W. Edwards | Democrat | 1835-38 |
| W. W. Ellsworth | Whig | 1838-42 |
| C. F. Cleveland | Democrat | 1842-44 |
| Roger W. Baldwin | Whig | 1844-46 |
| Clark Bissell | ” | 1846-49 |
| Joseph Trumbull | ” | 1849-50 |
| Thomas H. Seymour | Democrat | 1850-54 |
| Henry Dutton | Whig | 1854-55 |
| W. T. Minor | Know-Nothing | 1855-57 |
| A. H. Holley | Whig | 1857-58 |
| W. A. Buckingham | Republican | 1858-66 |
| Joseph R. Hawley | ” | 1866-67 |
| James E. English | Democrat | 1867-69 |
| Marshall Jewell | Republican | 1869-70 |
| James E. English | Democrat | 1870-71 |
| Marshall Jewell | Republican | 1871-73 |
| Charles R. Ingersoll | Democrat | 1873-76 |
| R. D. Hubbard | ” | 1876-79 |
| C. B. Andrews | Republican | 1879-81 |
| H. B. Bigelow | ” | 1881-83 |
| Thomas M. Waller | Democrat | 1883-85 |
| Henry B. Harrison | Republican | 1885-87 |
| Phineas C. Lounsbury | ” | 1887-89 |
| Morgan G. Bulkeley | ” | 1889-93 |
| Luzon B. Morris | Democrat | 1893-95 |
| Vincent O. Coffin | Republican | 1895-97 |
| Lorrin A. Cooke | ” | 1897-99 |
| George E. Lounsbury | ” | 1899-1901 |
| George P. McLean | ” | 1901-03 |
Consult: Dwight, History of Connecticut (New York, 1841); Holister, The History of Connecticut (New Haven, 1855); Trumbull, The Colonial Records of Connecticut (Hartford, 1850-59); Levermore, The Republic of New Haven (Baltimore, 1886); Johnston, Connecticut (Boston, 1887), which contains a bibliography.