Cindi D. Pietrzyk - Connecticut Off the Beaten Path®: Discover Your Fun

Cindi D. Pietrzyk is a freelance writer and editor based in Connecticut, where she has lived since she was four years old. She is the author of several books, including Globe Pequots Short Nature Walks in Connecticut and Bostons Freedom Trail. She and her family enjoy exploring history on back roads and in small towns as well as in cities with all the culture they offer. Follow her on Facebook and be sure to let her know about your adventures in our state.

Authors often say a book cant be written without the help of many people, but Im not sure readers always appreciate just how true that statement is. Trust me, its true! When I agreed to write this edition, my first thought was, How will I find places to include? As I began my research, I thought, How am I going to fit all of this into one book?! Connecticut is one of those little spaces that packs a whole lot of punch. There are so many hidden gems that uncovering them all would be impossible for one person. In that vein, Id like to thank all those people who gave me suggestions, sent me in the right directions, visited places for me, and answered my questions.

Specifically, Id like to thank Stephen Wood of CTMuseumQuest.com for blazing a path through Connecticut. There werent many places I discovered to which Steve hadnt already been. His write-ups were always helpful and entertaining. Check out Steves blog and follow his ramblings around the state.

A huge thank you to all the grassroots community groups who have pulled together and saved so many historic sites. Without them, there just might not be a Connecticut off the beaten path.

Thanks to my first editor, Kevin Sirois, for having faith in me to do my first edition. To Sarah Parke and Alex Bordelon, for their patience and guidance with this edition. Thanks to everyone at GPP who do what they do so well!

And finally, I need to thank my husband, Steve, and my daughters for once again putting up with my hours away from them, the missed moments, and the frantic scramble to meet my deadline. Your love and support got me through the late nights and moments of thinking Id never get it done. We got it done.

The upper Connecticut River Valley is a broad, fertile meadowland ideal for farming and grazing, and the states Puritan settlers were naturally drawn to it. It was the first part of Connecticut to be colonized, and those original settlements thrived and expanded until they finally merged to form what is today Greater Hartford, a vibrant metropolitan area of just under 125,000 people.

Bounding Hartford Countys urban and suburban core on the north and west are the rural Tobacco and Farmington Valleys. To the east is pastoral Tolland County, and to the south are New Haven County and Connecticuts Coast & Country areas. Within these rural boundaries is Connecticuts heartland, the seat of its government and one of its most important commercial centers. As you might suspect, the majority of the attractions in this area are historical and cultural; in addition, you can find the commercial activities and entertainments of a large metropolitan area.

Hartford

Officially settled in 1635, Hartford was important in the nineteenth century as a center of the abolitionist movement and the tobacco industry. A hub of activity, Hartford played an integral part in shaping our nations history. Merchants traded molasses, spices, coffee, and rum along with the tobacco from warehouses throughout the city. The Colt Firearms Factory, maker of the Colt Revolver, the gun that won the West, called Hartford home.

That history can be explored at the Museum of Connecticut History (231 Capitol Ave.; 860-757-6534; museumofcthistory.org), which has a great collection of items from our states past, including an exhibit on the role Connecticut and its residents played in World War I; so many guns from so many years of Colt Manufacturings history; Memorial Hall, where the portraits of the states past and present governors hang; and the Mitchelson Coin Collection, reportedly one of the best in the world.

You can truly spend hours here trying to absorb it all. The best part? Admission is free. Open Mon through Fri, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sat, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Closed on state holidays and on Saturday when a holiday observance falls on a Friday or Monday. Call ahead to be sure. There are metal detectors as you enter the building, which you will have to pass through. When you do enter, the Connecticut Supreme Court is on your right, the Connecticut State Library is on your left. Straight ahead you will see a double staircase that leads off in both directions and will likely be roped off. The museum is located directly through the center of these staircases.

One of our favorite exhibits here was the Connecticut Freedom Trail Quilt Project. Connecticut residents fought for freedom on more than one front throughout the states history. While some went to battlegrounds throughout the region and fought on the front lines, many stayed home and fought for freedom on a different levela secret, underground level. As a tribute to these early freedom fighters, a member of the Freedom Trail Planning Committee suggested the quilt project. People from across the state created squares for the final product, each piece representing one of the sites along the trail. Quilting is a long-standing tradition, in fact, quilts were often hung outside safe houses to alert those in need that help was available within.

If this period in our history interests you, head to cultureandtourism.org and click on the link for the Connecticut Freedom Trail Brochure to download information on the places around the state that played an important part in the antislavery movement. Be aware, though, that many of these places are now privately owned, restricting you to a simple drive-by in appreciation.

When you are done exploring the museum, head across the street to the State Capitol building. With its eight-sided gilded cupola gleaming in sunlight, Connecticuts State Capitol (210 Capitol Ave; 860-240-0222; cga.ct.gov) greets your eyes when you come into Hartford by way of I-84. Designed by Richard M. Upjohn, primarily a cathedral architect, this High Victorian Gothicstyle colossuscompleted on its hilltop site in 1878is a marble-and-granite riot of pinnacles, turrets, columns, bas reliefs, statues, heraldic emblems, arches, and porticoes. In addition to state executive offices and legislative chambers, the capitol building offers a variety of historic exhibits, including the figure-head from the USS Connecticut, which sailed around the world on a goodwill mission ordered by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1907. The ship was destroyed in 1923, but the figurehead was spared and presented to Connecticut to be displayed. Also on display is a brownstone statue of a Union soldier acquired in 1895 by two Connecticut residents after it was rejected for higher purposes because of incorrect foot positioning. Youll find a model of the Hartford, built by a US Navy veteran with one arm! It took him two and a half years of patience and determination to complete. History buffs may know it was from the Hartford that Admiral David Farragut commanded the famous words, Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead! in 1864. (Someone may want to tell the powers that be in Hartford that they misspelled torpedoes on their plaque.)

Visitors can take a hour-long guided tour of the premises between 9:15 a.m. and 1:15 p.m. on weekdays year-round (to 2:15 p.m. in July and Aug). Tours are funded by the League of Women Voters of Connecticut Education Fund. Visitors can also do a self-guided tour Mon through Fri, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tour information can be found in the Capitol outside room 101 and also on the first floor of the Legislative Office Building, near the west entrance. The Capitol and Legislative Office Building are closed on weekends and major holidays.