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Colonial Subjects

  • 1.3 miles
  • One Hour or more. Walking
  • Hartford

See the stories of founding of Hartford or the hiding of Connecticut's Charter in an oak tree as interpreted in sculpture.

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Stop #1: Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: Revolutionary War and the Founding of the Republic

Carl H. Conrads, Charles D. Salewski, Charles Henry Niehaus, Chauncey B. Ives, Richard Michell Upjohn

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Stop #2: Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: The Reverend Thomas Hooker Leading the First White Settlers to Hartford

Charles Henry Niehaus

The relief tympanum by Charles Niehaus shows Reverend Thomas Hooker leading a group of his followers through the wilderness of Connecticut to establish Hartford. Reverend Hooker and his followers came from Massachusetts in search of ample farmland along the Connecticut River.

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Stop #3: Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: Jonathan Trumbull

Chauncey B. Ives

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Stop #4: Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: The Reverend John Davenport Preaching to the Puritan Settlers of New Haven

Charles Henry Niehaus

Artist Charles Henry Niehaus was tasked with creating two separate tympana reliefs on the Capitol. One of these reliefs was dedicated to Reverend John Davenport, an English-born clergyman who eventually moved to America to help with the establishment of Puritanism. In this relief, Reverend Davenport is seen preaching to followers in the New Haven Colony.  

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Stop #5: Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: The Charter Oak

Charles D. Salewski

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Stop #6: Colonel Thomas Knowlton

Enoch Smith Woods

Colonel Thomas Knowlton was killed at the battle of Harlem Heights in 1776 and was considered a hero of the American Revolution. The statue was created to be a companion piece to the monuments to Nathan Hale, another Connecticut martyr of the Revolution. Enoch Woods’s sculpture of Knowlton was commissioned by the General Assembly of Connecticut in 1893.

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Stop #7: General Israel Putnam

John Quincy Adams Ward

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Stop #8: Thomas Hooker

Frances Laughlin Wadsworth

Frances Laughlin Wadsworth’s Thomas Hooker is an imaginary interpretation of the Puritan leader who led his congregations from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to found Hartford. The statue stands outside the Old State House in downtown Hartford.

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Stop #9: Bissell Ferry, Windsor to South Windsor

John Bissell established the Bissell Ferry in 1641 to transfer cows from Windsor to the eastern bank of the Connecticut River. In 1658, Bissell built a house on the South Windsor side of the crossing where it still stands today. The ferry continued operation until 1917.

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Stop #10: Silas Deane House

Silas Deane was a member of the Continental Congress and a diplomat to France during the American Revolution. His residence in Wethersfield is a National Historic Landmark and a part of the Wethersfield Historic District.

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See the stories of founding of Hartford or the hiding of Connecticut’s Charter in an oak tree as interpreted in sculpture.

The Stops

Starting at stop #1, this Walking tour is 1.3 miles long.

Select a stop to start the tour and learn more:

  1. Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: Revolutionary War and the Founding of the Republic
  2. Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: The Reverend Thomas Hooker Leading the First White Settlers to Hartford
  3. Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: Jonathan Trumbull
  4. Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: The Reverend John Davenport Preaching to the Puritan Settlers of New Haven
  5. Capitol Sculpture, East Facade: The Charter Oak
  6. Colonel Thomas Knowlton
  7. General Israel Putnam
  8. Thomas Hooker
  9. Bissell Ferry, Windsor to South Windsor
  10. Silas Deane House

This is where you can provide additional information about tours, including information about your surroundings or detailed information about some of the different stops that a participant will see along the way.