Connecticut’s old state house was completed in 1796 and served its original purpose for 82 years. At the time, there was a second state house in New Haven because Connecticut alternated capitals until 1873. From 1878 to 1915, the building was converted into Hartford‘s city hall. I was told that the building still serves a civic purpose by being a voter registration office ahead of elections.
There’s one chamber for the House of Representatives and another for the Senate as well as a courtroom. The railings and benches were added in 1818 to allow public observation of the proceedings. In 1839, the famous Amistad trials began in this room after a revolt by Africans occurred on an illegal Spanish slave ship. The ship was seized in New York and the trial escalated to the Supreme Court in Washington D.C.
The basement has a little municipal history museum boasting about being the home of famed aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney. It’s aimed more at children with colorful exhibits and knee-high displays.
P. T. Barnum, the famous circus owner, was a state legislator and voted for the state to support the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution to abolish slavery. He petitioned to grant African Americans the right to vote but was defeated in the state House of Representatives.
