OVERVIEW
Hartford is located in the north-central part of the Connecticut and is the capital of the state. The city was originally founded as a Dutch trading post, but in the 1630s Rev. Thomas Hooker established an English settlement there. The city is mainly an industrial, financial and insurance center. There are a few sights worth seeing and Hartford is a great satrting point for seeing some of the smaller towns in the region.
On of the main attraction is the state capitol with a magnificent gilded dome and the nearby Old State House, a museum where you find a famous portrait of George Washington by Gilbert Stuart. Also popu in Steward’s Museum of Oddities to have a look at the two-headed calf.
The Connecticut Historical Society has archives and exhibits pertaining to the state’s history and is well wroth a visit if you want to know a bit more about the hsitroy of the city and the state. The oldest public art museum in the country is also found in Hartford, the Wadsworth Atheneum has an excellent, wide-ranging collection, including Hudson River School landscapes and impressionist paintings.
Famous American authors Harriet Beecher Stowe and Mark Twain have lived here and their houses can be visited. The oldest house of Hartford, the Butler-McCook Homestead, is open to visitors as well. It has an interesting collection of vintage furnishings, paintings and Oriental artifacts.
Hartford has some excellent parks and gardens to relax in. The Elizabeth Park Rose Gardens is a great place to go especially in late June. Bushnell Park, which was codesigned by the famed Frederick Law Olmsted, has an antique carousel with a mighty Wurlitzer organ providing the accompaniment.
From Hartford you can make daytrips to Wethersfield, New britain with it's Museum of American Art, a small but impressive collection of American art from the 18th through the 20th centuries and Farmington.
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