Capitol Sculpture, North Facade: Early Colonial Connecticut and Founding Fathers

The north façade is the main ceremonial entrance to the State Capitol. Facing Bushnell Park, the north side is devoted to the founding fathers of Connecticut and the early history of the colony until the Revolutionary War. The five marble tympana above the openings in the arcade tell of dramatic events in the foundation of the Connecticut colonies. The tympana read from left to right. The first on the left, by Paul Wayland Bartlett made in 1908, depicts Captain John Mason’s May 1637 attack with Mohegan and Narragansett Native American allies on the Pequots in Mystic. It was only after the conclusion of the Pequot threat that the Connecticut river settlements were stable enough to proceed to securing a colonial charter which was finally received on October 9, 1662. The second tympana from the left, made by Richard E. Brooks in 1916, depicts Captain Joseph Wadsworth hiding the Connecticut charter in the hollow of a great oak tree in 1687 to prevent the agents of King James II from taking the charter away by force. The central tympana, executed in 1908 by an unidentified sculptor, is the great seal of the State of Connecticut representing three grapevines that stand for the first three settlements – Windsor, Wethersfield and Hartford. The fourth tympana, by Hermon Atkins MacNeil, made in 1916, shows citizen-soldier Israel Putnam leaving his plow to command the Connecticut forces at the battle of Bunker Hill in the Revolution. The last tympana, on the extreme right, also by Paul Wayland Bartlett in 1908, depicts the founder of Windsor, William Holmes, defying Dutch traders on the site called Adrian’s Landing in Hartford, as he sailed past the Dutch fort to found Windsor to the North.  

In the spandrels above and to each side of the tympana there are uncarved roundels intended for two portrait medallions flanking each tympana. All were left unrealized. Above the tympana, there are full-length imaginary portrait statues. From left to right:1. John Haynes (1594-1654), the first colonial governor of Connecticut under the Fundamental Orders (1639), executed by Richard E. Brooks in 1908; 2. Joseph Wadsworth (1647-1730), protector of the Charter, by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1906); 3. John Winthrop Jr. (1605-1676), sixth Colonial governor of Connecticut who obtained the Royal Charter in 1662 and founder of New London in 1646, by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1906); 4. Theophilus Eaton (1590-1657), founder of New Haven in 1638, by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1907); 5. John Mason (1600-1672), a founder of Windsor in 1633 and militia leader in the defense of the colonies in 1637, by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1909); and 6. Roger Ludlow (1590-1664), a settler of Connecticut in 1636 and the first lawyer in Connecticut, by Richard E. Brooks in 1909.  

Two bronze portrait medallions are on the side walls of the covered porch of the north entrance: Joseph Roswell Hawley (1826- 1905) is located on the left side of the State Capitol’s door, and Orville Hitchcock Platt (1827- 1905), located on the right side  

Five marble tympana: left to right.  

1. Captain Mason’s attack with Indian allies on the Pequots in Mystic by Paul W. Bartlett, 1908 
2. Wadsworth Hiding the Charter in 1687 by Richard E. Brooks, 1916 
3. Seal of the State of Connecticut,1908 by an unidentified sculptor 
4. Israel Putnam leaving his plow, by Hermon Atkins MacNeil, 1916 
5. William Holmes sailing past the Dutch fort, Paul Wayland Bartlett in 1908 

Uncarved roundels for portrait medallions.  

Full-length portrait statues. From left to right:  

1. John Haynes (1594-1654), executed by Richard E. Brooks in 1908 
2. Joseph Wadsworth (1647-1730), by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1906) 
3. John Winthrop Jr. (1605-1676), by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1906) 
4. Theophilus Eaton (1590-1657), by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1907) 
5. John Mason (1600-1672), by Paul Wayland Bartlett (1909) 
6. Roger Ludlow (1590-1664), by Richard E. Brooks in 1909 

North Porch: Bronze portrait medallions:  

Left: Joseph Roswell Hawley (1826-1905) by Herbert Adams, 1908  

Right: Orville Hitchcock Platt (1827- 1905) by Hermon MacNeil, 1908