US State Capital History Connecticut Delaware and Florida

Capital Honoring an English Town

Adrian Block a Dutch explorer visited the area in 1614 and set up a trade post at Fort Good Hoop or Good Hope. Today in the city of Hartford, Connecticut this site is still a neighborhood called Dutch Point. When the first English settlers arrived in 1635 they renamed it Hartford in honor of the English town of Hertford, and home of Samuel Stone, one of the settlers.

At the Hartford Convention in 1814 New England delegations were discussing a possible secession from the U.S. Later on Harford became a center of abolitionist activity. Harriet Beecher Stowe, author of “Uncle Tom’s Cabin” lived at Nook Farm, which is now part of the Asylum Hill section of the city. It is an interesting part of the city to explore and the place to see the old houses.

On July 6, 1944, the Hartford Circus was destroyed by fire. It turned out to be the deadliest circus fire in the history of the U.S. In the late 1950s, the suburbs of Hartford grew but the city went into decline. When the 21st century arrived many workers in Hartford lived more than a twenty-minute drive from the city. Now both commercial and residential development has increased downtown.

The city manages to bring in tourists with the Mark Twain House & Museum. This 1874 mansion includes the desk at which Twain wrote some of his best-known works. There is also the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, including the author’s Victorian house.

Hartford, Connecticut is a port on the Connecticut River.

Lower Counties of Delaware

The capital of Delaware, Dover was founded as a court town by William Penn. In 1977 the capital was moved from New Castle to Dover. It was considered a safer location from invading British forces during the Revolutionary War. The downtown square or “green” was the place for troops and patriotic events.

Near the green is the Cenotaph dedicated to the famous Revolutionary War hero, Caesar Rodney. He was one of the founding fathers and signers of the Continental Association and the Declaration of Independence. Dover was also a stop on the Underground Railroad due to its position near the free states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Dover is the capital of Delaware and its second-largest city. The city hosts the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Races at the Dover Motor Speedway. The city has a lot of green space and in the parks, visitors can see lots of bird life including migratory birds along waterways.

A Capital Known As Old Fields

The capital of Florida is Tallahassee. The name Tallahassee is a Muskogean Indian word that means “old fields”. It was chosen as the capital due to its location equidistant from St. Augustine and Pensacola. In 1845 a Greek revival masonry structure was chosen to be the Capitol building. Today the “Old Capitol” (pictured above) stands in front of the Capitol high-rise building that was built in the 1970s.

At one time Tallahassee was the center of the slave trade in Florida and it was the capital of the Cotton Belt. During the American Civil War, the city was the only Confederate state east of the Mississippi that wasn’t captured by Union forces.

During the 19th century, Florida State University made this a university town.

When the high-rise Capitol building was finished in 1977 at 23-stories high it became the third tallest state capitol building in the U.S. The Old Capitol was made into a museum.

Today visitors to Tallahassee come to see the Capitol Tower and the 22nd floor observation deck among other known tourist attractions.