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 (America/New_York)
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, 2024-06-08 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

EVENING CONVERSATIONS - From Farm to Farmer’s Market: Locally Grown Foods and Where to Find Them
2024-06-20 18:00 - 19:30 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT, United States
Join us for an engaging panel discussion on the fascinating journey of locally grown food from the farm to your local farmers market and beyond!
Our fresh foodie speakers include:
Commissioner Brian Hurlburt, Connecticut Department of Agriculture Nicole Sousa, Farmers Market Manager, Connecticut’s Old State House
Hear from Connecticut farmers and chefs, as they delve intothe challenges and triumphs faced by local farmers in bringing fresh, healthyproduce to our communities. We’ll explore the economic impact on localbusinesses and the vital role of farmers’ markets in providing access tonutritious food for all.
Additionally, we’ll address the importance of ensuring equitable access to healthy food, highlighting initiatives to bridge the gap for underserved populations. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how supporting local agriculture and farmers markets contribute to a healthier, more resilient community.
This event is FREE and open to the public. To RSVP click here: https://forms.gle/tbDMxvGHZgV8BX9b9
PARKING:
On street parking is available. Garage parking for $5 isavailable at State House Square Parking Garage, located at 55 Market Street,just steps away from Connecticut’s Old State House. Please present your parkingticket to the museum’s Visitor Services desk for validation.
Free on-street parking is available after 6 pm and on weekends.Please follow posted parking instructions.
OUR DOORS ARE OPEN:
Connecticut’s Old State House is committed to ensuring allvisitor shave access to this historic site. Our building is mobility friendlywith a ramp on the West side entrance and elevator access to all floors. Ourbath rooms on the ground floor are also accessible and have changing tables. Ifyou wish to inquire about special accommodations for a tour or special event,please call (860) 522-6766.

Summer Music Series Concert at CT's Old State House
2024-06-21 12:00 - 13:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT, United States
Join us for our annual FREE Summer Concert Series! Stop by every Friday at lunchtime to hear a different band play each week on the west side patio of Connecticut’s Old State House. Bring your lunch and enjoy the music!
Concerts begin at noon and will also be live-streamed on our Facebook page and YouTube channel.
Thank you to our friends from the Richard P. Garmany Fund at the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, and the Evelyn Preston Memorial Fund for their generous funding of the Summer Concert Series.
UPCOMING CONCERTS:

June 21: Fiesta del Norte
June 28: Mass-Conn Fusion
July 5: Modern Refuge
July 12: The Professors of Sweet, Sweet Music
July 19: Stattic the Band
July 26: Nelson Bello Jazz Trio
August 2: Sound Pipers Band
August 9: Cessa and the Zach
August 16: The Bards of Gungywamp
August 23: The Bigfoot Diaries
August 30: Ali Kat and the Revelators
September 6: Nekita Waller
September 13: Cherry Pie Band
September 20: Los Super GS
September 27: Sean O’Reily
Oct 4: Gift Horse
October 11: Projeto Batucada boa Eua

Fires, Floods, and Acts of God: A Downtown Hartford Walking Tour
2024-06-22 10:00 - 11:00 | Connecticut’s Old State House, 800 Main St, Hartford, CT, United States
