The Dutch navigator, Adriaen Block,
was the first European of record to explore the
area, sailing up the Connecticut River in 1614. In
1633, Dutch colonists built a fort and trading post
near present-day Hartford but soon lost control to
English Puritans from the Massachusetts Bay Colony.
English settlements established in the 1630s at
Windsor, Wethersfield, and Hartford united in 1639
to form the Connecticut Colony under the Fundamental
Orders, the first modern constitution.
Connecticut played a prominent role in the
Revolutionary War, serving as the Continental Army's
major supplier. Sometimes called the “Arsenal of the
Nation,” the state became one of the most
industrialized in the nation.
Today, Connecticut factories produce weapons, sewing
machines, jet engines, helicopters, motors, hardware
and tools, cutlery, clocks, locks, silverware, and
submarines. Hartford has the oldest U.S. newspaper
still being published—the Hartford Courant,
established 1764—and is the insurance capital of the
nation.
Connecticut leads New England in the production of
eggs, pears, peaches, and mushrooms, and its oyster
crop is the nation's second largest. Poultry and
dairy products also account for a large portion of
farm income.
Connecticut is a popular resort area with its
250-mile Long Island Sound shoreline and many inland
lakes. Among the major points of interest are Yale
University's Gallery of Fine Arts and Peabody
Museum. Other famous museums include the P. T.
Barnum, Winchester Gun, and American Clock and
Watch. The town of Mystic features a re-created
19th-century New England seaport and the Mystic
Marinelife Aquarium. |
