Discover the Top 8 Entertaining and Unique Fun Facts About Hartford, Connecticut

1. Oak Tree Heist Movie

In a twist straight out of an oak tree-themed heist movie, centuries ago, Connecticut cleverly scored governance rights and crafted the frame of its Royal Charter from the historic Charter Oak: The Royal Charter of 1662, granted by King Charles II, still survives today as a cornerstone of Connecticut's legal history. It can be viewed at the Museum of Connecticut History, within the Connecticut State Library and Connecticut Supreme Court complex, while a 1905 monument marks the once mighty tree's previous location.
Source => jud.ct.gov

2. Wizards of Insurance

In the land of calculators and spectacles, where mathematics and wit coexist harmoniously, there lies a secret society of wizards: a conglomerate of insurance companies and actuaries! Behold, the mystic city of Hartford, Connecticut: home to the highest concentration of actuaries in the United States and over 1,400 insurance carriers writing $36 billion in direct premiums, earning it the prestigious title of Insurance Capital of the World.
Source => connecticutifs.com

Did you know NYC has about 4 million pigeons with incredible homing and distance-trekking skills? But beware, they might also carry diseases! Discover more fun facts about the Big Apple.

=> Fun Facts about New-York

3. Greener Grass in Hartford

Whoever said "grass is always greener on the other side" obviously never set foot in Hartford: after all, it boasts one of the nation's first public parks! Pope Park premiered in 1854 and still functions as a bastion of foliage-filled fun – with a side of Mark Twain history – for the local community to enjoy.
Source => marktwainhouse.org

4. Horse Lovers' Carousel Dream

Hold onto your tails, horse lovers: Hartford, Connecticut boasts a 1914 carousel with 48 hand-carved, flamboyant wooden horses and two lover's chariots, housed in a 24-sided pavilion in Bushnell Park. This unique carousel, featuring horses adorned with bulging eyes, big teeth, and authentic horse hair tails, is a sight to behold and makes for a neigh-ver-ending source of fun, operating from Thursday to Saturday at just $2 a ride.
Source => bushnellpark.org

5. Innkeeper's Submarine Blueprint

Sink or swim, this innkeeper really made a splash: Way back in 1578, William Bourne—an innkeeper and alderman of Gravesend—created the blueprint for the first submarine in history, submerging the idea for the Turtle by over 200 years. In his book, Inventions or Devises, he presented a theory that manipulating an object's displacement in water could control its sinking and rising, and even devised a nifty ballast-tank-equipped boat to prove it!
Source => usni.org

6. Oldest Newspaper in America

Hold on to your tricorner hat, and prepare for a trip back to the days of colonial America: Hartford, Connecticut, boasts the nation's oldest continuously published newspaper, The Hartford Courant, founded in 1764, served as a crucial source throughout the Revolutionary War with stories like the Stamp Act and a Declaration of Independence copy, and still thrives today with a daily circulation of over 200,000.
Source => connecticuthistory.org

7. Godfather of Guns Meets Gutenberg

When the Godfather of Guns met the Gutenberg of his era: Hartford, Connecticut's Colt Armory not only produced firearms, but also churned out high-quality hand-fed platen presses from 1873 to 1902. The Armory manufactured various products, including a letterpress printing press called the Universal, and its presses were considered the finest in the land.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

8. Gossip of the Undead

Where zombies come to gossip and artists find eternal inspiration: Cedar Hill Cemetery in Hartford, Connecticut is not only the who's who of the afterlife, with Samuel Colt and Wallace Stevens in residence, but also a treasure trove of architectural marvels like an 18-foot pink-granite pyramid and a stained-glass window crafted by the maestro Louis Comfort Tiffany – all sprawled across 270 lush acres that house historic gems such as the Northam Memorial Chapel and a Superintendent's Cottage that's been occupied since forever.
Source => en.wikipedia.org