Museum of Connecticut History

06/03/2026

Have you heard about the new Under the Charter Oak podcast? Our colleagues in the Division of Library Development have invited museum staff to collaborate on a new mini podcast series called “Small but Mighty: Connecticut’s Revolution.” Each episode features a museum object that will be highlighted in our upcoming exhibit, Connecticut’s Revolution, opening July 4. Check it out!

Colonel Elisha Bostwick's pocket watch is more than just a time keeper. It's an object that carries us across the ice-choked Delaware with George Washington to Trenton New Jersey on a journey to battle German soldiers.

Learn about Elisha Bostwick, his pocket watch, and the journey to battle on this weeks episode of Small But Mighty: Connecticut's Revolution. Find it on the podcast listening app of your choice or on the podcast website https://underthecharteroak.buzzsprout.com/

Connecticut State Library

05/26/2026

The Museum of CT History is delighted to host Dr. Katherine Hermes tomorrow, Wednesday, May 27 at noon for her talk Working for the Revolution: Patriot Women's Lives During the War.

We are happy to announce we now have a hybrid option. If you can't make it in person, please join us virtually at: https://teams.microsoft.com/meet/217558835210960?p=Eyst4ZlEF2oD30TWhs

Hope to see you tomorrow!

04/21/2026

We were thrilled to host this event yesterday honoring Sgt. Stubby!

03/24/2026

The Battle of Saratoga was an important turning point for America during the Revolutionary War. It boosted flagging morale and validated foreign support of the American cause. It also left American forces with some 6,000 British and Hessian prisoners, known as the "Convention Army," to tend to.

In her presentation, Foul Dungeons, Floating Prisons, and Forced Marches, March 25 at noon, History & Genealogy team member Susan Bigelow will talk not only about the Convention Army's trip through Connecticut in November 1778, but will also share little-known stories of prisoners of war held in Connecticut.

Learn about German officers throwing dance parties in every little village they passed through, miserable captives stuck in the bottom of a deep, dark copper mine, and British sailors who staged a daring escape from a prison ship in New London harbor!

📷 Drawing of a Hessian soldier by Friedrich von Germann, 1778.

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The New York Public Library. "Braunschw. Jäger" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1778. https://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/5418a780-c608-012f-c945-58d385a7bc34

03/17/2026

One Hundred Years Ago This Week, America Lost a Hero 🐾
On March 16, 1926, Sergeant Stubby — the most decorated war dog in American history — died in Washington, D.C. A century later, he is still remembered.
Stubby's story began in New Haven in 1917, when this scrappy stray wandered into the camp of the 102d Infantry Regiment. His human, Private J. Robert Conroy, smuggled him onto the boat and across the Atlantic to the battlefields of France.
He served through some of the bloodiest fighting of the Great War: Seicheprey, Château Thierry, and the Meuse-Argonne. He was wounded in action and carried on. He alerted his men to gas attacks, located the wounded in no man's land, and once held a German spy by the seat of his trousers until soldiers arrived.

When the 102d came home, Stubby marched with them. The photo above, taken at the homecoming parade on April 30, 1919, shows him in his element — chest out, medals gleaming, a grateful Connecticut crowd stretching out behind him.
General Pershing personally decorated him. He met 3 presidents, and even dabbled in vaudeville!

When he died, on March 16, 1926, papers across the country reported on his death. The New Britain Herald, the paper from Conroy's hometown, published his obituary on it's front page, and announced his body would be preserved and presented to the Smithsonian Institution as one of the great war dogs of all time — where he remains today.
As the Meriden Journal wrote at the time: he was a war dog, not a dog of war.
To the men of the 102d, to Connecticut, and to the nation — Stubby was more than a mascot. He was proof that loyalty and courage have no species. Rest easy, Stubby. 🐾

03/12/2026

Kent Pierce of WTNH News 8 paid a visit to the museum yesterday to view some of our Revolutionary War era artifacts, many of which will be on display in our upcoming exhibit, Connecticut's Revolution!

Check out the latest Spirit of America segment and look for more to come!

https://www.wtnh.com/celebrate-250/spirit-of-america-connecticut-museum-showcasing-drum-flag-from-the-revolutionary-war/

01/28/2026

Today's the day! Join us at 1:00 p.m. for a presentation by John Mills entitled, "Stories of Connecticut's Black Patriots."

John's extensive research into the Lathrop family has resulted in his new book, "The Narrative of Primus: A Lineage Woven into American History," now available for pre-order!

Learn more about Primus and other Black Patriots at the Museum of CT History, 231 Capitol Ave., Hartford, CT 06106 or by streaming the presentation on the Connecticut State Library's YouTube Channel. (https://www.youtube.com/)

Connecticut State Library Alex Breanne Corporation John Mills

01/09/2026

We received the BEST gift in the mail yesterday! What do you think it is?

01/08/2026

In honor of today being "World Typing Day", here's a big one, for display purposes, from the Underwood Typewriter Company, which had a manufacturing facility in Hartford back in the early 1900's. In fact, it was located on Capitol Avenue, not too far from where our museum is! This image is from our Connecticut Postcard collection which features a number of typewriters, shown in larger than life form.....

12/31/2025

Happy New Year from all of us at the Museum of Connecticut History! As we wrap up 2025, a big thank you to all who visited us at the museum, took part in one of our many programs on site or out in the community and followed us on social media. We have some amazing things planned for 2026, so keep an eye out for more details. Wishing you all a healthy, happy New Year!!