Our exhibit, Making Connecticut, showcases over 500 objects, images, and documents from the CHS collection. “What is this?” posts will highlight an object from the exhibit and explore its importance in Connecticut history every other week. What is this object? What is the story behind it?
Children playing in outdoor gymnasium, Pope Park, Hartford, 1908, gift of Horace B. Clark. Reproduced from the originals in the CHS collection.
From 1865-1918, cities grew, and work became more mechanized. Work hours decreased, salaries increased, and people had more money and time to spend on leisure activities.
Attitudes about free time shifted, and there were competing views about acceptable places and ways to spend free time.
The parks movement in the mid- to late-nineteenth century was in reaction to this and provided free recreation to children and adults alike. Resorts gave upper and middle class families an alternative to spending their vacations in the city.
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- Postcard of Bushnell Park, Hartford, 1905.
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- Postcard of Elizabeth Park, Hartford, 1909. Reproduced from the originals in the CHS collection.
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- Postcard of Madison Beach Hotel, Madison, 1913.
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- Postcard of the Montowese House, Branford, 1908. Reproduced from the originals in the CHS collection.
The nation’s bicycle craze in the 1880s provided women, in particular, with the chance to pursue more outdoor activities and to pioneer more casual clothing styles.
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- Fannie Wildman with bicycle, Danbury, photographed by N.T. Bulkley, 1885. Reproduced from the original in the CHS collection.
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- Fred T. Reid and R.M. Alexander on a tandem bicycle, Hartford, photographed by Warner Photo Co., 1900. Reproduced by the original in the CHS collection.
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- Final heat of the one-mile open amateur bicycle race at Charter Oak Park, West Hartford, September 12, 1885. Reproduced from the original in the CHS collection.
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- George Landers and a high wheel bicycle, New Britain, photographed by Arthur L. Moffitt, about 1885. Reproduced from the original in the CHS collection.
Railroads made traveling circuses and other shows accessible across the nation.
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- Route book of P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth, possibly Bridgeport, 1885. Reproduced from the originals in the CHS collection.
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- The Seven Sutherland Sisters, from Route book of P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth, possibly Bridgeport, 1885. Reproduced from the originals in the CHS collection.
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- JoJo from Route book of P.T. Barnum’s Greatest Show on Earth, possibly Bridgeport, 1885. Reproduced from the originals in the CHS collection.
Theater expanded from burlesque and Shakespeare to opera, Broadway shows, and nickelodeons (small movie theaters).
Golf, football, baseball, and horse racing were the most popular sports to watch and play.
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- Advertisement for harness racing at Charter Oak Park, West Hartford, about 1890, gift of Ms. Joan Dalburg.
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- Two young men with a football, Hartford, about 1880, gift of Mrs. Barclay Robinson.
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- Hockey players on roller skates, Hartford, about 1880. Reproduced from the originals in the CHS collection.
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- Tennis team, 1880s.
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- Scorecard for a Hartford Dark Blues baseball game, Hartford, 1875. Bottom: Ticket for a baseball game, New Britain, 1885. Reproduced from the originals in the CHS collection.
Mike Messina is the Interpretive Projects Associate at the Connecticut Historical Society.
Tags: baseball, bicycles, bicycling, circus, football, Fun, golf, hockey, Horse racing, leisure, P.T. Barnum, playground, sports, tennis
