On view are early documents instrumental in the formation of a new type of government in the 1600s.
current exhibitions
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Connecticut’s Founding Documents
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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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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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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
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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.
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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Downtown Hartford Walking Tour
A mobile walking tour app helps visitors of downtown Hartford explore their surroundings. The app features buildings constructed in the “fourth build” and their impact on how much Hartford has changed.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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(Re)Building Hartford: A City Captured by Artist Richard Welling
Connecticut artist Richard Welling chronicled the ever-changing Hartford cityscape through detailed ink drawings.
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Hartford Seen: Photographs by Pablo Delano
Pablo Delano’s contemporary documentary photographs of Hartford portray the city’s public and private buildings, street scenes, and storefronts.
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The Hartford Courant, Connecticut, and the Country
America’s oldest continuously published newspaper celebrates 250 years with the Connecticut Historical Society with an exhibit!
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(Re)Using Hartford’s Historic Buildings
This satellite exhibit will explore the perceived value & practice of historic preservation of the historic buildings in Hartford.
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Building Public Education in Hartford: A Brief History
This satellite exhibit will visually explore the changing footprint of public schools and other learning centers in Hartford.
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Building a Home in Hartford: A Brief History
This satellite exhibit will explore the history of residential neighborhoods in and near downtown Hartford.
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Building Arts & Culture in Downtown Hartford: A Brief History
This satellite exhibit will visually explore the presence of arts and culture institutions in downtown Hartford.
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Wheels for All
In conjunction with EnvisionFest, a selection of early bicycles from the CHS collection will be on display at Connecticut’s Old State House
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Hartford’s Horace Wells
Visitors to the Hartford Stage’s play Ether Dome will be able to learn more about Horace Wells and the history behind his breakthrough discovery.
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Try It! Connecticut Places, People, Collections, & Me
If you live in Connecticut now, had ancestors here long ago, or just enjoy visiting, you are part of this story.
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Katharine Hepburn: Dressed For Stage and Screen
Sassy. Daring. Talented. Beautiful. Determined. Fashionable. Iconic. Hepburn.
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The Connecticut Photo Contest
In conjunction with the Through a Different Lens: Three Connecticut Women Photographers exhibit, selected entries from The Connecticut Photo Contest were on display.
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Through a Different Lens: Three Connecticut Women Photographers
This exhibit introduced a new collection of photography donated by the Rosalie Thorne McKenna Foundation as well as a collection by Marie Kendall.
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Behind the Wheel
An exhibit about learning and loving to drive when cars were new, Behind the Wheel showcased a new collection of colorful automobile safety posters printed in the 1930s-1950s.
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This Won’t Hurt a Bit! A History of Pain Relief
This exhibit explored the ways Connecticut’s residents and companies help people manage their pain—both dull and acute—paying particular attention to Horace Wells’s discovery of anesthesia.
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Time Warps: Textiles from Today’s Weavers
This juried exhibit of handwoven goods displayed the work of contemporary weavers who used both historical and modern techniques and designs.
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Private Works 2013
Private Works 2013 was the fourth installation in the “micro-gallery” at the CHS, under the direction of Scott Comanzo, Professor of Composition and Music Technology at the University of Hartford.
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Cooking by the Book: Amelia Simmons to Martha Stewart
This exhibit explored the history of food in Connecticut using a diverse collection of cookbooks with recipes that ranged from the scrumptious to the not-so-tasty.
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