Touring the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, Connecticut

Our first sighting of the
Connecticut State
Capitol

It looks like a European

castle with a tall, gold

dome.

The Capitol overlooks

the Israel Putnam

statue.

Putnam served with Rogers Rangers in the French and Indian War.  As a general in the Continental Army, Putnam distinguished himself during the Battle of Bunker Hill on 

June 17, 1775.  

A few of Connecticut's

Civil War battle flags

The feet of the statue of
Governor William A. 
Buckingham are lighter in
color because visitors rub
them for good luck.

Buckingham is Connecticut's
Civil War Governor.

Massage Therapy in the

State Capitol...

A great service for

the people.

Connecticut's replica of
the Liberty Bell.

The Genius of Connecticut:

The original plaster model

used to cast the bronze

Genius that stood atop

the Capitol Dome for

sixty years.

The Genius was removed from the top of the Capitol after it was damaged in the hurricane 

of 1938.

This is the second bronze
casting of the Genius of
Connecticut, waiting to be
placed atop the Capitol Dome.

The Rotunda seen through the

wreath the Genius holds in

her right hand.

One of the many photos

I took of this beautiful

Rotunda.

Our tour guide, Karen, stands

at the foot of the statue of

 Nathan Hale

A patriot & spy for the

American cause, Hale

was captured & hung

by the British.

He said, " I regret that I have

but one life to lose for my

country."

Eric and I joined a fourth grade class that is touring the Capitol.






The interior courtyard
& the Hale statue

The skylight above

the courtyard

The newest statue in the
State Capitol is old.

The Forlorn Soldier, a brown
sandstone statue of a Civil War
soldier stood on a street corner
in Hartford for over 100 years
before coming to the State Capitol.

Prudence Crandall with

her student

Prudence opened a school to

educate African American

girls in Canterbury.

She was repeated harrassed

& an attack by a mob

forced the school's closure.

Prudence and her husband, Calvin Philleo, moved to Illinois, where Prudence opened a school in their home.  She was active in women' rights, making speeches for suffrage and tolerance.  After Calvin's death, Prudence moved to Elk Falls, Kansas.  In 1886 the Connecticut legislature awarded her a pension.  Residents of Canterbury signed a petition stating that they were ashamed of the way they treated Prudence.

This tree trunk, with a cannonball 

lodged in it, is from the Battle of 

Chickamauga that took place in

Tennessee & Georgia on

September 19 - 20, 1863.

It is displayed in the State 

Capitol to remind Connecticut 

residents of the horrors

of war.

Admiral David Farragut was

aboard the Hartford in the

Battle of Mobile Bay in

August, 1864 when he said,

 "Damn the torpedoes,

 full steam ahead!"

The stairway to the House of
Representatives Visitors Gallery.

Representatives stand in

groups, chatting, before

the House is graveled

into session.

 A panoramic photo of the House of Representatives

The Chamber's chandeliers
& stenciled walls

The Speaker's Desk

Representative Rovero
talks to the students about
the House of Representatives.

Karen & Senator Flexer

with the students in the

Senate Chamber 

The President of the Senate,
Lieutenant Governor Wyman
presides over the chamber.

The chair in the middle is called
"The Wishing Chair."

Senator Flexer speaks with the

children about the Senate.

Karen gave a very interesting, fact filled tour of this beautiful Capitol.  With the legislature in session, it is a very busy place to visit.  Happening across massage therapists working on people was a pleasant surprise.

The Connecticut State Capitol is full of reminders of the state's history and the remarkable people who lived here and fought for their beliefs.