Hartford County, Connecticut

Hartford County is a county located in the north central part of the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the population was 894,014, making it the second-most populous county in Connecticut.

Hartford County is included in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT Metropolitan Statistical Area.

In Connecticut there is no county-level executive or legislative government; the counties determine probate, civil and criminal court boundaries, but little else. Each city or town is responsible for local services such as schools, snow removal, sewers, fire department and police departments. In Connecticut, cities and towns may agree to jointly provide services or establish a regional school system.

History

Hartford County was one of four original counties in Connecticut established on May 10, 1666, by an act of the Connecticut General Court. The act establishing the county states:

As established in 1666, Hartford County consisted of the towns of Windsor, Wethersfield, Hartford, Farmington, and Middletown. The "Thirty Miles Island" referred to in the constituting Act was incorporated as the town of Haddam in 1668. In 1670, the town of Simsbury was established, extending Hartford County to the Massachusetts border. In the late 17th to early 18th centuries, several more towns were established and added to Hartford County: Waterbury in 1686 (transferred to New Haven County in 1728), Windham in 1694 (transferred to Windham County in 1726), Hebron in 1708 (transferred to Tolland County in 1785), Coventry in 1712 (transferred to Windham County in 1726), and Litchfield in 1722 (transferred to Litchfield County in 1751).

Connecticut

Connecticut (ⁱ/kəˈnɛtᵻkət/ kə-NET-i-kət) is the southernmost state in the region of the United States known as New England. Connecticut is also often grouped along with New York and New Jersey as the Tri-State area. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capital city is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport. The state is named after the Connecticut River, a major U.S. river that approximately bisects the state. The word "Connecticut" is derived from various anglicized spellings of an Algonquian word for "long tidal river."

Connecticut is the third smallest state by area, the 29th most populous, and the fourth most densely populated of the 50 United States. It is known as the "Constitution State", the "Nutmeg State", the "Provisions State", and the "Land of Steady Habits". It was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. Much of southern and western Connecticut (along with the majority of the state's population) is part of the New York metropolitan area: three of Connecticut's eight counties are statistically included in the New York City combined statistical area, which is widely referred to as the Tri-State area. Connecticut's center of population is in Cheshire, New Haven County, which is also located within the Tri-State area.

Hartford, Connecticut

Hartford is the capital of Connecticut and the historic seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making it Connecticut's fourth-largest city after the coastal cities of Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford.

Nicknamed the "Insurance Capital of the World", Hartford houses many insurance company headquarters, and insurance remains the region's major industry. Founded in 1637, Hartford is among the oldest cities in the United States. Hartford is home to the nation's oldest public art museum, the Wadsworth Atheneum; the oldest publicly funded park, Bushnell Park; the oldest continuously published newspaper, The Hartford Courant; the second-oldest secondary school, Hartford Public; Trinity College, an elite, private liberal arts college, and the Mark Twain House where the author wrote his most famous works and raised his family, among other historically significant attractions. In 1868, resident Mark Twain wrote, "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief."

Windsor Locks, Connecticut

Windsor Locks is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population was 12,498. It is the site of Bradley International Airport, which serves the Greater Hartford-Springfield region and occupies approximately 1/3 of the town. Windsor Locks is also the site of the New England Air Museum.

Located beside the Connecticut River and equidistant from the densely populated cities of Springfield, Massachusetts and Hartford, Connecticut, Windsor Locks is named for a set of canal locks that opened in 1829. Windsor Locks is situated just south of the first large falls in the Connecticut River, the Enfield Falls, which is the northernmost point that seagoing vessels can reach on the Connecticut River before transferring to smaller ships. The Enfield Falls Canal circumvents the Enfield Falls and its nearby shallows.

History

Originally part of Windsor, Windsor Locks broke off into its own settlement in 1854 after the thriving Enfield Locks going around Enfield Falls which opened in 1829. The Bradley International Airport opened in 1940 and to civilian use in 1947. In 1967 the town boundary was somewhat altered due to the opening of the Bradley Connector. The town boundary between Windsor Locks and Windsor changed several times and was altered with Windsor Locks being on the westbound side and the Windsor side on the eastbound side with the border on the median.

Connecticut River

The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States. Flowing roughly southward for 406.12 miles (653.59 km) through four U.S. states, the Connecticut rises at the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island Sound. Its watershed encompasses five U.S. states and one Canadian province – 11,260 square miles (29,200 km²) – via 148 tributaries, 38 of which are major rivers. Discharging at 19,600 cubic feet (560 m³) per second, the Connecticut produces 70% of Long Island Sound's freshwater.

The Connecticut River Valley is home to some of the northeastern United States' most productive farmland, as well as a metropolitan region of approximately 2 million people surrounding Springfield, Massachusetts, and the state of Connecticut's capital, Hartford.

Etymology

The word "Connecticut" is a French corruption of the Mohegan word quinetucket, which means "beside the long, tidal river". The word "Connecticut" came into existence during the early 1600s, describing the river, which was also called simply "The Great River".