Hartford

History

Various Native American tribes lived in or around Hartford, all Algonquian peoples. These included the Podunks, mostly east of the Connecticut River; the Poquonocks north and west of Hartford; the Massacoes in the Simsbury area; the Tunxis tribe in West Hartford and Farmington; the Wangunks to the south; and the Saukiog in Hartford itself. The first Europeans known to have explored the area were the Dutch under Adriaen Block, who sailed up the Connecticut in 1614. Dutch fur traders from New Amsterdam returned in 1623 with a mission to establish a trading post and fortify the area for the Dutch West India Company. The original site was located on the south bank of the Park River in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. This fort was called Fort Hoop or the "House of Hope." In 1633, Jacob Van Curler formally bought the land around Fort Hoop from the Pequot chief for a small sum. It was home to perhaps a couple of families and a few dozen soldiers. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but the area is known today as Dutch Point; the name of the Dutch fort "House of Hope" is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue. A significant reason for establishment of the Dutch trading post was to better control the flow of wampum, the de facto currency of New Netherland and portions of New England, to and from valuable Native American fur traders. The Dutch outpost and the tiny contingent of Dutch soldiers who were stationed there did little to check the English migration, and the Dutch soon realized that they were vastly outnumbered. The House of Hope remained an outpost, but it was steadily swallowed up by waves of English settlers. In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant met with English representatives to negotiate a permanent boundary between the Dutch and English colonies; the line…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (3.67%) is water. The city of Hartford is bordered by the towns of West Hartford, Newington, Wethersfield, East Hartford, Bloomfield, South Windsor, Glastonbury, and Windsor. The Connecticut River forms the boundary between Hartford and East Hartford, and is located on the east side of the city. The Park River originally divided Hartford into northern and southern sections and was a major part of Bushnell Park, but the river was nearly completely enclosed and buried by flood control projects in the 1940s. The former course of the river can still be seen in some of the roadways that were built in the river's place, such as Jewell Street and the Conland-Whitehead Highway. The Köppen climate classification categorizes Hartford as hot-summer humid continental (Dfa) bordering on humid subtropical (Cfa). Winters are moderately cold, with periods of snow, while summers are hot and humid. Spring and fall are normally transition seasons, with weather ranging from warm to cool. The city of Hartford lies in USDA Hardiness zone 6b-7a. Seasonally, the period from April through October is warm to hot in Hartford, with the hottest months being June, July, and August. In the summer months there is often high humidity and occasional (but brief) thundershowers. The cool to cold months are from November through March, with the coldest months in December, January, and February having average highs of and overnight lows of around . The average annual precipitation is approximately , During the summer, temperatures reach or exceed on an average of 17 days per year; Parkville, home to Real Art Ways, is named for the confluence of the north and the south branches of the Park River. Frog…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  35,285
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  31,882
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  30,062
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  27,314
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  25,703
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  25,306
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  25,108
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  24,657

Largest nearby schools

• New Britain High School
  High · New Britain · 2,331 students · 13.3:1 ratio
• Glastonbury High School
  High · Glastonbury · 1,801 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• East Hartford High School
  High · East Hartford · 1,698 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• Manchester High School
  High · Manchester · 1,673 students · 9.5:1 ratio
• Conard High School
  High · West Hartford · 1,418 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Hall High School
  High · West Hartford · 1,408 students · 14.7:1 ratio
• South Windsor High School
  High · South Windsor · 1,329 students · 11.1:1 ratio
• Newington High School
  High · Newington · 1,327 students · 14.4:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.66 — 2014-08-14
  6 km SW of Deep River Center, Connecticut