Discover the little-known story of Revolutionary War Patriot and mapmaker Bernard Romans. See incredibly rare maps from the CHS collection.
current exhibitions
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War, Maps, Mystery: Dutch Mapmaker Bernard Romans and the American Revolution
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Pieces of American History: Connecticut Quilts
Explore the history, culture, and craft of quilt-making in Connecticut, from the 18th century to today.
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Veeder Living Room
The Connecticut Historical Society is located in a Colonial Revival mansion originally owned by inventor Curtis Veeder.
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Making Connecticut
Don’t miss this exhibit 400+ years in the making! Colorful, interactive, and filled with more than 500 historic objects, images, and documents, Making Connecticut is the story of all the people of Connecticut, from the 1500s through today.
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Inn & Tavern Signs of Connecticut
The Connecticut Historical Society’s collection numbering more than 60 signs is by far the largest and most spectacular in the country.
upcoming exhibitions
online exhibitions
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Connecticut: 50 Objects/50 Stories Online Gallery
What defines Connecticut? See the suggestions made by people from across the state.
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Collection Highlights
The CHS collection has more than 265,000 artifacts & images, over 3.5 million manuscripts, & over 125,000 books & pamphlets dating from the 1600s to today.
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Historic Timeline of Connecticut’s LGBTQ Community
Throughout its history, Connecticut’s LGBTQ population has moved from leading hidden, solitary lives to claiming visible, powerful, valuable, and contributing places in society. This timeline explores the history of that experience: stories of oppression and resilience, tragedy and triumph.
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Remembering G. Fox & Co.
Once America’s largest privately-owned department store, G. Fox & Co. operated in downtown Hartford, Connecticut, from 1847 until 1993.
past exhibitions
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A Brief History of Connecticut’s LGBTQ Community: A Traveling Exhibit and Digital Timeline
This traveling exhibit and digital timeline explores the idea of the LGBTQ community becoming a community, finding its voice, moving from invisibility to visibility, and moving from an underground existence to a claimed communal identity.
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New Collections at CHS
This exhibit highlights some of the best new objects that have come in to our collection over the past four years. Learn about the story behind these new acquisitions and how they help tell the story of Connecticut!
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Take Note! 75 Years of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra
Highlights the decades-long history of the Hartford Symphony Orchestra, the people behind the music, and the important collaborations that have musically shaped the Greater Hartford community.
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Rebuild via Home Run: Baseball in Connecticut
Photographs and objects from the CHS collection will help tell Connecticut’s baseball story, including famous players, integration, women’s softball, and the impact of baseball on urban development.
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Black Citizenship in the Age of Jim Crow
This exhibit will explore the African American struggle for full citizenship and racial equality that unfolded in the 50 years after the Civil War.
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Patios, Pools, & the Invention of the American Backyard
Dive into the history of the development of the iconic American backyard! As patios replaced front porches, the backyard became an extension of the home – a private personal oasis – a place for cooking, entertaining, playing, and relaxing.
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From Their Hands and Lands: Artifacts from Connecticut’s Enfield Shakers
This exhibit highlights the Enfield, Connecticut Shaker community, celebrating 125 years of their craftsmanship, distinctive design style, and entrepreneurial agricultural practices.
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Facing War: Connecticut in World War I
This exhibit will explore how people responded to the conflict and how it impacted life during and after the war.
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Passing It On: Traditional Arts Apprenticeships
The exhibit will display the work of masters and apprentices from the broad range of ethnic and occupational groups that have participated over the years.
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Hamilton: His World, His Words, His Hair
Inspired by the hit Broadway musical, this exhibit features artifacts from the life and times of Alexander Hamilton, including a pair of dueling pistols, letters written by Hamilton, and even a lock of Hamilton’s hair!
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That’s Weird
“Weird” objects can have surprising and unique histories if you take a second look.
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Visions/Revisions: The Print Transformed
This exhibition features two works from each of the 25 participating artists based on a common theme or subject of the artist’s choice.
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Victorian Fashion Crosses the Pond, 1840-1900
Long before Queen Victoria inspired a television series, she inspired what women in Connecticut considered fashionable.
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Connecticut’s Founding Documents
On view are early documents instrumental in the formation of a new type of government in the 1600s.
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Connecticut Colonial Currency
Featuring 39 pieces of paper currency, Connecticut Colonial Currency highlights the rare Connecticut currency in the CHS collection.
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Language, Culture, Communities: 200 Years of Impact by the American School for the Deaf
In 1817, the American School for the Deaf (ASD) established the first permanent school for the deaf in the United States. It created a new standardized language—American Sign Language—resulting in a deaf community and culture that continues to advance equality.
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Sisu and Creativity: Finnish Cultural Heritage in Connecticut
The CHS and the Finnish American Heritage Society of Canterbury will present an exhibit of Finnish history in Connecticut.
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A Place for All People: Introducing the National Museum of African American History and Culture
A Place for All People: Introducing the National Museum of African American History and Culture is a commemorative poster exhibit celebrating the opening of the Smithsonian’s newest museum.
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Connecticut Dances – A Visual History
This exhibition, designed and produced by the Connecticut Dance Alliance, brings to life the valuable contribution of dance to the cultural vitality of Connecticut.
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Connecticut Traditional Artists and Their Communities
In 2016, the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP) at the Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) marks 25 years of documenting the state’s diverse cultural traditions and sharing the artistic creations and community cultural practices of folk artists living here.
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Connecticut Innovates!
Innovate.The word is used to describe the creation of new ideas, new concepts, new things – but is something innovative just because it is new, or because it changes society?
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Mas: Costumes from Hartford’s West Indian Community
Mas: Costumes from Hartford’s West Indian Community exhibit showcases Trinidad-style carnival costumes (Mas) made by Hartford teens during a summer 2016 Mas Camp, the sixth year of a collaboration of CHAP and the Connecticut International Cultural Carnival Association (CICCA) under the direction of Linford “Junior” Miller.
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Mas: Carnival Costumes from Hartford’s West Indian Community
Learn about the colorful West Indian Carnival tradition and Trinidad-style carnival costumes (Mas) made by Hartford teens during Mas Camp in 2019.
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Mas: Carnival Costumes from Hartford’s West Indian Community
Mas: Carnival Costumes from Hartford’s West Indian Community exhibit showcases Trinidad-style carnival costumes (Mas) made by Hartford teens during a summer 2018 Mas Camp, the eighth year of a collaboration of CHAP and the Connecticut International Cultural Carnival Association (CICCA) under the direction of Linford “Junior” Miller.
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The Sole of Connecticut: A History of Connecticut Shoes
Shoes have stories to tell. They reveal early crafting techniques and the enterprise of shoemaking, from materials, methods, artistry, and manufacturers to maintenance and repair.
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Girl Scouts of Connecticut
The CHS is partnering with the Girl Scouts of Connecticut to create an exhibit about the history of the organization as they celebrate the Centennial Anniversary of the Gold Award.
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Early Copper Coins of Connecticut
The exhibit features authentic 18th century coins and also reproductions and counterfeit coins to show educate the public on the range of existing coins.
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The Sole of Connecticut
Featuring over 30 pairs ranging from the early republic to the contemporary.
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Clocks: Objects of Art, Keepers of Time
To coincide with the 2016 Connecticut Spring Antique show, the CHS is organizing a display of shelf clocks from its collection.
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The First Congregational Church of Woodstock Celebrates 325 Years: 1690-2015
The story begins before the establishment of the church, when the land was inhabited by the Wabbaquassets and John Eliot came to preach.
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Connecticut Captured: A 21st Century Look at an American Classic
Carol M. Highsmith has been taking photographs for more than 35 years and has been called “America’s Photographer.”
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Beatrice Fox Auerbach: The Woman, Her World & Her Wardrobe
Beatrice Fox Auerbach (1887-1968) is one of the most famous women in Connecticut history. Mention her or the G. Fox & Co. department store to anyone over 40 who grew up in Connecticut, and you’re bound to hear a personal story or recollection.
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From High Collars to Bee’s Knees: The Downton Abbey Era In Connecticut
This exhibit explores the fashion trends that reflected the tumultuous social events occurring in the early Twentieth Century in Connecticut.
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Drawn And Cornered: 35 Years Of Englehart Cartoons
Bob Englehart’s editorial cartoons have been appearing on the pages of the Hartford Courant for the past 35 years. He began mastering his craft for newspapers in Chicago and Dayton, Ohio, where he was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in the Editorial Cartoon category in 1979.
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Mas: Costumes from Hartford’s West Indian Community
Mas: Costumes from Hartford’s West Indian Community exhibit showcases Trinidad-style carnival costumes (Mas) made by Hartford teens during a summer 2015 Mas Camp, the fifth year of a collaboration of CHAP and the Connecticut International Cultural Carnival Association (CICCA) under the direction of Linford “Junior” Miller.
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Growing Up in Connecticut
“What was it like when you were a kid?” The Connecticut Historical Society is collecting objects and stories about growing up in Connecticut.
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Connecticut Mourns Lincoln
One hundred fifty years ago on April 14—five days after Confederacy general Robert E. Lee’s surrender at Appomattox Court House, ending the Civil War—the unthinkable happened.
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Connecticut Decorative Arts: Masterpieces from the CHS Collection
This exhibit features decorative arts highlights from the collection, curated by members of the new CHS Decorative Arts Affinity Group.
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Inspired by the Past: Works by Robert Charles Hudson
This display features artwork inspired by Robert Charles Hudson’s family traditions and African-American heritage. A fourth-generation quilter, Hudson weaves together techniques and oral traditions handed down from his great-grandmother.
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Connecticut: 50 Objects/50 Stories
If an object could define Connecticut, what would it be? What objects—from the past and from today—help tell the stories that define our state as a changing place, a community, and an idea?
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