Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and the Cartoons of Clifford Berryman Exhibit
2023-11-11 12:00 - 17:00 (America/New_York) | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT, United States
Exhibit runs Mondays – Saturdays though November 11, 2023.
Connecticut’s Old State House will host “Running for Office: Candidates, Campaigns, and Cartoons of Clifford Berryman.” Election season in the modern era elicits a barrage of amusing and pointed memes – but historically, editorial cartoons have swayed opinions and helped shape elections for generations! Clifford Berryman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist with The Washington Star and The Washington Post, produced almost daily cartoons for over 50 years – from 1896 to 1949.
Unlike any other form of political commentary, cartoons show altered physical traits and highlight minute details to make a specific point. With simple pen strokes, they foreshadow the future, poke fun at the past, and imply hidden motives in ways that elude written or spoken reporting. This unique exhibit features a series of pen & ink drawings to highlight the timeless aspects of US campaigns and election processes. Running for Office was created by the National Archives with the support of the Foundation for the National Archives and organized for travel by Humanities Texas, a state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This exhibit is part of Connecticut’s Old State House “Go Big. Vote Local.” Series. For information about other upcoming programs in the series, return to our events calendar.
Extended hours until 8:00 pm on select Thursdays. On street parking is free on weekends. Garage parking is available at State House Square Garage, 55 Market Street, for $5 with validation.

CARICATURE WORKSHOP AT CT’S OLD STATE HOUSE
2023-11-11 13:00 - 14:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT, United States
This event if FREE and open to people ages 5 and up.
It’s time to break out the brushes and colored pencils. Do you have something to say? Why not say it in a drawing? Caricatures are a fun and straightforward way to express your thoughts and opinions in an artistic way. Join us to create your own caricature masterpiece! Learn how to draw your own caricatures and explore your creativity in this introductory workshop at CT’s Old State House! Materials and supplies will be provided.
This event is part of Connecticut’s Old State House “Go Big. VoteLocal.” Series.
Register Here
On street parking is available. Parking at State House Square Garage, 55 Market Street, is just steps away from Connecticut’s Old State House and is only $5 with a validated ticket.

Sleeping with the Ancestors: The Educational Value of Sleeping in Slave Dwellings: Conversations at Noon on the Connecticut Freedom Trail
2023-11-28 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Tuesday, November 28th
at 2:00pm
Join us for a deep dive honoring the enslaved Ancestors by sleeping in the places they once dwelled. In its twelfth year, Joseph McGill of the Slave Dwelling Project has spent nights in slave dwellings in 25 states and the District of Columbia. The sleepovers are chronicled in the book Sleeping With the Ancestors which is cowritten by Herb Frazier.
Register and learn more here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSffPtZJQx0voq0jihkqMo_sLkUHuZcYHZweDIS1PS3fufP9Sw/viewform

Encounters: A Dialogue on Artificial Intelligence and Democracy
2023-12-02 10:00 - 12:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT, United States
This event is hosted by UCONN’s Democracy & Dialogues Initiative and Connecticut’s Old State House.
Everyday, there seems to be more talk about Artificial Intelligence. Experts suggest it will soon affect every aspect of our lives, from education to business and even art. As this new technology becomes more entwined in our everyday lives, one also wonders how it will affect our democracy and how the government is run. How could law makers and politicians utilize these tools in policy making? How could it be implemented during elections and in communication between candidates and the electorate? Should A.I. be incorporated into our systems of government at all, or has it already? Join us for an informed and collaborative exploration of these critical and fascinating questions!
Encounters programs dive deep into subjects through facilitated, small-group dialogues followed by a question-and-answer style conversation with our UConn faculty and community partners. Resources are provided beforehand to encourage informed and informal dialogue. The aim is to develop a forum for respectful and challenging dialogue, followed by a communal meal and coffee.
This event is FREE and open to the general public. To reserve your seat, register here: https://events.uconn.edu/dodd-human-rights-impact/event/54780-encounters-artificial-intelligence-and-democracy
PARKING:On street parking is available. Garage parking at StateHouse Square Parking Garage, located at 55 Market Street just steps awayfrom Connecticut’s Old State House, is $5 with a validated ticket. Pleasepresent your parking ticket to the museum’s Visitor Services desk forvalidation.

Holiday Shopping Fair at Connecticut's Old State House
2023-12-07 11:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-08 11:00 - 16:00, 2023-12-09 11:00 - 16:00
Connecticut’sOld State House is ringing in the holiday season by bringing back their annual HolidayShopping Fair. This event, scheduled for December 7-9, has a long tradition of attractingtalented crafters and artists from around Connecticut for a festive shoppingexperience throughout the historic rooms of the State House. The HolidayShopping Fair will run 11 am – 4 pm and will feature home décor, toys, candles,photography, jewelry, glassware, ornaments, photography, prints crocheted plushies,body products, clothing, accessories and more.
Vendors can accommodate arange of payment options including credit/debit cards, Venmo, Apple Pay, andCashApp. Shoppers working in and visiting Downtown Hartford will find uniquegifts for family, teachers, colleagues and friends, and can venture to explorelocal restaurants and independently owned shops just steps away. On streetparking is available. Garage parking at State House Square Parking Garage,located at 55 Market Street is $5 with a validated ticket. Please present yourparking ticket to the museum’s Visitor Services desk for validation.

Connecticut Freedom Trail: 2023 Year in Review!
2023-12-12 12:00 - 13:00 | Join us online. Register here https://bit.ly/CFT2023YearInReview
The CT Freedom Trail is home to over 160 heritage sites that recognizes extraordinary individuals whose lives made impactful strides toward equity and social justice in Connecticut.
As we wrap up 2023, join CT Freedom Trail Outreach Director Tammy Denease, CT Freedom Trail Chairman Charles Warner, and CT Freedom Trail Coordinator Todd Levine for a retrospective look at the growth and progress on the trail in this benchmark year!
Register here: https://bit.ly/CFT2023YearInReviewStream here: https://streamyard.com/watch/WcY2ibfYbWu5

The Black Heritage Project at CT State Community College Capital
2024-01-23 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
FEATURING:Dr. Frank Mitchell, Curator of the Nutmeg Pulpit ExhibitionProfessor Antoinette Brim-Bell, Capital Community College Faculty and CT State Poet Laureate Dr. Duncan Harris, CEO of CT State Community College Capital
This online event is FREE and open to the general public
To kickoff 2024, the Connecticut Freedom Trail highlights The Black Heritage Project, which celebrates the people and history of the Talcott Street Church, Hartford’s first Black church and site of Hartford’s first school for Black children. The historic Talcott Street Church site is next to Connecticut State Community College Capital’s building but remains unmarked and unnoticed. Capital is seeking to raise awareness of the site’s significance with three specific strategies, each of which will be explored in this presentation: the Nutmeg Pulpit exhibition, curriculum development, and the annual Pennington Lecture.
To register, click here: https://bit.ly/CFT2024WinterJoin us online at https://streamyard.com/watch/MnpWTFR7QYPP

Connecticut Democracy Center Awards
2024-02-01 18:00 - 21:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT, United States
The Connecticut Democracy Center (CTDC) will host the firstannual Connecticut Democracy Center Awards at Connecticut’s Old State House onFebruary 1, 2024, to pay tribute to business, community, and philanthropicleaders including The Honorable Alvin W. Thompson, CitizenTravelers, the non-partisan civicengagement initiative of The Travelers Companies, Inc., and Mary Gawlicki of the Gawlicki Family Foundation.
The CTDCestablished the award to recognize those committed to strengthening democracythrough acts of citizenship, service, and community engagement. The eveningincludes an inspirational program, drinks, small plates, dessert, a champagnetoast, and networking with business professionals, educators, and communityleaders. Tickets start at $100 and are now on sale at https://bit.ly/CTDCAwards. Seating is limited.
The event will include drinks, small plates, live music, dessert and a champagne toast. For more information, click here.
Tickets are $100 per person and are now on sale HERE. Seating is limited.

Discovering Amistad Freedom Forum
2024-02-16 15:00 - 17:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT 06103, USA
In honor of Black History Month, Discovering Amistad in collaboration with Connecticut’s Old State House and Connecticut Freedom Trail presents aninvigorating moderated roundtable discussion.
This forum will be moderated by Tammy Denease, Outreach Director for the Connecticut Freedom Trail. Three phenomenal Scholars will share fascinating history and their remarkable work to reclaim and highlight Black Narratives from Black Descendants.
Panelists include:Jeffrey FletcherDescendant of Ruby and Calvin Fletcher
Constance RoysterDescendant of the Judge Constance Baker Motley
John MillsGeneologist
This in-person event is FREE and open to the public. RSVP to Mariana.Garcia@cga.ct.gov

"Evening Conversations" Hidden Laws: How State Constitutions Stabilize American Politics
2024-02-22 18:30 - 19:30 | Online
Featured Speaker: Professor Robinson Woodward-Burns, Political Science, Howard UniversityThe public is always excited about big, federal legislation that affects the whole country. But they might not realize that some of the biggest changes in national government actually started at the state level. Sometimes, it’s these local politics that end up having the biggest impact.
As Woodrow Wilson said back in 1908, “The question of the relation of the States to the Federal Government is the cardinal question of our constitutional system.” The development of that relationship is the backbone of our government, with State Constitutions existing in synchronization with the U.S. Constitution. But a closer look shows us that many of the biggest changes in our government had their roots in the individual states. So often we focus on the broad national debates, when it could be that the more local constitutional reforms have the biggest impact on citizens everywhere. From slavery to voting rights and labor laws, State Constitutions set the trends that the federal government followed. Join us in conversation with Prof. Robinson Woodward-Burns as we explore these ideas.
This event is FREE and open to the general public. To register, click here: https://bit.ly/OSH2024HiddenLaws

"Conversations at Noon on the Connecticut Freedom Trail" Belinda Royal Sutton: Reparations Then and Now
2024-02-27 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Featured Speaker: Raymond A. Wimbush, Director of the Institute for Urban Research Morgan State University
This event is FREE and open to the general public.
Among reparations scholars and activists, Belinda Royall’s 1782 Petition to the Massachusetts Legislature, marks the beginning of the reparations struggle in what would become the United States of America. Elizabeth “Mumbet” Freeman’s lawsuit just a year earlier, may have been an inspiration for Belinda, and her remarkable lawsuit 241 years later echoes in all areas of the reparation movement. For this month’s Conversations at Noon on the CT Freedom Trail join us for an exploration into Belinda Royall’s story and the reparations movement.
To register, click here: https://bit.ly/CFT24Winter

A Night at the Public House: Let Them Vote!
2024-03-21 05:30 - 07:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT 06103, USA
Hike up your petticoats and join us in Hartford for A Night at the Public House: Let Them Vote! Pulitzer Prize -winning journalist (and special guests from Sea Tea Improv) will be on hand to tell the story of Isabella Beecher Hooker and the Connecticut Woman Suffrage Association’s fight for the enfranchisement of women in Connecticut. Learn more about Isabella and her work to change laws regarding women’s rights to vote and own property.Thomas Hooker Brewery will be onsite with a cash bar and the famous courtroom in Connecticut’s Old State House will turn into a public house — a pub if you prefer. Public house style refreshments will be served.
This event is FREE and open to the public. Registration for A Night at the Public House: Let Them Vote! is not required but encouraged! For tickets copy or click this link: https://bit.ly/CTOSHLetThemVote
PARKINGParking available at State House Square Parking Garage, located at 55 Market Street is only $5 with a validated ticket.Please present your parking ticket to the museum’s Visitor Services desk forvalidation. Free on-street parking is available after 6:00 pm. For moreinformation, please call (860) 522.6766.
About Susan Campbell
Susan Campbell is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, a widely-read newspaper columnist, and the author of three books. She has worked across the media landscape as an award-winning print journalist, a regular commentator on WNPR, and a guest on CBS’ “Sunday Morning,” the BBC, WTNH-TV, and the local news show “Face the State.” She was also part of the Connecticut Health Investigative Team, an award-winning health and safety website.
Her work at The Hartford Courant – where she was a staff writer and columnist for 25 years – was recognized by the National Women’s Political Caucus, the New England Associated Press News Executives, the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and the Society for Professional Journalists, among numerous other organizations. She’s also written for Connecticut Magazine, Salon.com, the Ms. Foundation blog, and Patheos.com. She currently writes a weekly Sunday column for Hearst newspapers in Connecticut.

"Conversations at Noon on the Connecticut Freedom Trail" The Life of Private William Webb
2024-03-26 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
Featured Speaker: Kevin Johnson, History & Genealogy UnitConnecticut State Library
This event is FREE and open to the general public.
The Connecticut Freedom Trail and CT’s Old State House are pleased to present present Kevin Johnson as William Webb, an African-American Civil War Soldier from Connecticut. Private Webb was an actual soldier, a native of Hartford. He was recruited in 1863 and served in the Twenty-Ninth (Colored) Regiment, Connecticut Volunteer Infantry in several battles in Virginia.
Johnson’s presentation of Webb is told from an emotional and exciting first-person perspective that vividly illustrates the struggle of the African-Americans in the Colored Infantry during the Civil War. He tells of his early life in Hartford, his recruitment and training, and the traumatic final battles of the Civil War. The presentation is based on extensive research in the collections of the Connecticut State Library and the Museum of Connecticut History at 231 Capitol Ave, opposite the State Capitol in Hartford.
To register, click here: https://bit.ly/CFT24Winter

The American Revolution Experience Traveling Exhibit
2024-04-09 12:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-10 12:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-11 12:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-12 12:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-13 12:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-16 12:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-17 12:00 - 17:00, 2024-04-18 12:00 - 17:00 and 1 more date | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT 06103, USA
The Connecticut Daughters of the American Revolution and the American Battlefield Trust are excited to feature the American Revolution Experience at The Old State House from April 9 – April 19, 2024. The innovative pop-up exhibition includes display panels and interactive digital kiosks that use storytelling, illustration, technology and unique artifacts and primary accounts to connect modern audiences with the people and places that shaped the birth of our nation.
Tuesday-Saturday, the exhibit is open 12-5. On Thursday April 18 the exhibit is open from 12-8 pm.

Fires, Floods and Acts of God: A Downtown Hartford Walking Tour
2024-04-13 10:00 - 11:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT, United States
What a Disaster! Take to the streets for a unique walking tour centered on man-made and natural disasters that made history in Hartford. Join us on a 1.2-mile loop to hear compelling stories of ingenuity, resilience, and innovation and see how Downtown Hartford has grown.
The tour was start from inside Connecticut’s Old State House by the Visitor Desk at 6 pm on Thursdays and at 10 am on Saturdays. The tour will take place rain or shine, so please come prepared for the weather! The tour will last approximately one hour and is about 1 mile long with the potential for some stairs – weather and river flooding depending.
For more information, please call us at 860.240.5340 or email Nicole Sousa, Events and Outreach Manager, at nicole.sousa@cga.ct.gov.
To register, click here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1VzJRfD7EJtgKYG-HtEWXB5U50WxK7ZmIQ3yC5gpXoWU/edit

Bringing the Freedom Trail to Life...Revisited!
2024-04-23 12:00 - 13:00 | Online
This month on the CT Freedom Trail, we welcome back Connecticut Storyteller Andre Keitt, known as the Greatheart Griot, who will tell the story of how he translated the 1841 adventures of the Mende captives of La Amistad, from the past to the present, from the page to the path.
Along with a core of researchers, writers, reenactors and storytellers, Andre retraces the steps of the freed Mende, on a nine stop visit upon the grounds of the Freedom Trail in Farmington. Further, Andre interlinks, the Emancipation and after-slavery life of his own great grandfather, Paul Greatheart.
Also included are the historic misadventures of Center Church, Andre’s home church in Hartford, Connecticut. This institution hosted the likes of Fredrick Douglass and Abdul-Rahman (Prince Among Slaves). Andre will detail how church culture and the treatment of its black congregants in the past, gives focus to the maneuvering and sensitivities of politics and education of Colonial America.
This presentation is FREE and open to the general public.
To RSVP, click here: https://forms.gle/8xFAfHis6no5E7zf9

Fires, Floods, and Acts of God: A Downtown Hartford Walking Tour
2024-04-27 10:00 - 11:00, 2024-05-11 10:00 - 11:00, 2024-05-25 10:00 - 11:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT 06103, USA

Happy Birthday Connecticut's Old State House!
2024-05-18 12:00 - 16:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT 06103, USA
That’s the funny thing about birthdays, they’re kind of an annual thing! Join us in celebrating Connecticut’s Old State House’s 228th birthday on Saturday, May 18th from 12-4 pm.
Connecticut’s Old State House will be open from 12-4 pm with FREE admission, a Spring Market featuring Connecticut-made vendors and crafters, birthday cake made by our Election Cake Bake-Off 2023 winner Amy Hodder of Amy Cakes in Wallingford, a concert with Jake Kulak and The Modern Vandals on our lawn.
To RSVP, click here: https://bit.ly/CTOSHbirthday2024
Parking for $5 is available at the State House Square Garage, located right next door at 55 Market Street.
On May 13, 1796, Connecticut’s Legislature held their first session in their newly-constructed Hartford State House, and it has become the day that we celebrate this important building. Connecticut’s Old State House is iconic in the City of Hartford and one of the first buildings to be named a National Historic Landmark in December, 1960.
Throughout the years, this building has been threatened with destruction, but we’re celebrating its 228-year survival and important connections to history during our birthday celebration.
Happy Birthday Connecticut’s Old State House is sponsored by The Bushnell and Pullman & Comley
