Hartford, Connecticut

City with a 2006 population of 124,512, second largest in Connecticut. Capital of the state. First explored by the Dutch in 1614, Dutch fur traders established trading posts here in 1623 but had abandoned them by 1654. The English arrived in 1635, naming the settlement Newtown, but renamed it Hartford in 1637 after the town of Hertford, England. It was made capital of the Colony of Connecticut in 1639; the founding document of the colony, the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, was the first written constitution. Its principle of investing the people with the authority to govern eventually informed the principles of the U.S. Constitution. After the merger of the colony of New Haven with Connecticut in 1701, the city became a colonial co-capital. It remained a co-capital until 1875, until it was established as the sole state capital.

During the 19th century Hartford became a center of abolitionist activity, hosting the Hartford Convention and serving as the home of Harriet Beecher Stowe.