Connecticut
Connecticut turns 237 years old today. Here’s the story of how it became a state
Norwich History Walk
Museum of Connecticut History’s curator, Patrick Smith, gathered a group of enthusiasts at Howard T. Brown Memorial Park for a tour of Norwich.
Sandy Meindersma, The Bulletin
Happy Birthday Connecticut!
As one of the original 13 colonies, Connecticut has an interesting founding story, from being the first state to write a constitution to being the fifth state to join the United States.
In fact, Connecticut became a state on Jan. 9, 1788 – 237 years ago today. However, the state’s history extends back much before that. To celebrate the state’s official birthday, here’s a look back at Connecticut’s history, from its very first settlements up until its statehood.
Connecticut history timeline
The journey to Connecticut becoming a state dates back thousands of years, as various Indigenous tribes have lived on the land for over 12,000 years. In fact, the name Connecticut comes from its first Indigenous inhabitants, who called the area “Quinatucquet,” an Algonquian word meaning “beside the long tidal river.”
Europeans first arrived in Connecticut in the early 1600s, with Dutch explorer Adriaen Block credited as the first European to explore the area in 1614. In the 1630s, the Dutch established a settlement near Hartford, while English settlements popped up in the modern-day towns of Windsor, Wethersfield and Saybrook.
In 1636, prominent Puritan minister Thomas Hooker traveled from the Boston area to Connecticut, officially founding Hartford. The towns of Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield soon joined together to create the Connecticut River Colony.
Despite the well-established trade networks with Native Americans, in 1637, the Connecticut Colony officially declared war on the Pequot. The conflict, known as the Pequot War, ended in 1638 with the Treaty of Hartford, which forcefully disbanded the Pequot tribe, whose people dispersed among the Mohegan and Narragansett tribes.
Why is Connecticut nicknamed the Constitution State?
In 1639, Connecticut Colony wrote and adopted the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut, a set of laws establishing Connecticut as its own colony separate from Massachusetts. This document is believed to be the first written constitution of a democratic government, which is why Connecticut is nicknamed “the Constitution state.” The Fundamental Orders governed Connecticut Colony until 1662, when England officially granted the colony a royal charter.
Connecticut went on to play an important part in the Revolutionary War, producing soldiers in the Connecticut Militia, leaders in the country’s founding documents and famous patriots like Nathan Hale. After the war, Connecticut ratified the U.S. Constitution and became the fifth state on Jan. 9, 1788 – 237 years ago today.
Who was Connecticut founded by?
While early Connecticut had various towns founded by different people, the establishment of Connecticut is credited to Thomas Hooker, the Puritan minister who founded Hartford.
Known as “the father of Connecticut,” Hooker was a leading figure of the Connecticut Colony and the official minister of Hartford. In 1638, Hooker preached a sermon about the right to choose one’s own government, laying down the groundwork for the Fundamental Orders.
The second-year Golden State Valkyries keep clearing hurdles that have never been scaled in the history of the WNBA.
They did it again Friday night.
Across the country from Ballhalla, against an opponent with the league’s worst record, the Valkyries became the fastest WNBA expansion franchise to 40 victories.
They needed just 68 games over two seasons to hit the mark.
That was among the bullet points in their 79-64 victory over the Connecticut Sun, an outcome that extended Golden State’s franchise-record win streak to seven games, including the first four in a five-city trip that concludes Wednesday at Indiana.
The Valkyries overcame a rough start on a night in which their All-Star forward, Gabby Williams, was ruled out before tip-off because of a back injury that sidelined her in the fourth quarter of the team’s win in Toronto on Wednesday.
Connecticut, which fell to 5-18, stormed to a 9-2 lead in the opening minutes and maintained an advantage into the second quarter even though its leading scorer on the season, center Brittney Griner, missed her second consecutive game because of a quad strain.
But the Valkyries’ highly touted defense eventually put a grip on the home team, and Golden State grabbed its first lead, 24-23, when Kaila Charles drove for a layup.
The visitors led 30-25 at halftime.
Connecticut kept the margin within single digits for nearly all of the third quarter, but Veronica Burton closed the period with an up-and-under layup as time expired to give Golden State a 54-44 cushion heading into the final 10 minutes.
The Valkyries put the score out of reach when Charles and Burton made back-to-back 3-pointers to widen the lead to 60-44 with 7:19 to play.
Burton had a superb game against her former team, finishing with 17 points, six assists, three rebounds, two blocks and a steal. The Valkyries are undefeated this season when the point guard has at least six assists.
Golden State’s bench contributed 42 points, seven more than its league-high season average. Janelle Salaun led the reserves with 16 points, seven rebounds, and three steals. Laeticia Amihere added six points, five rebounds, three blocks and three assists. The Valkyries also got nine points from Tiffany Hayes and eight from Kaitlyn Chen.
Williams, meanwhile, gave the team a boost from the bench.
“Gabby is still going to contribute, and she still helped us,” Burton said. “She was one of the loudest people throughout the entire game. With that … it’s a next-man-up mentality. There is not necessarily any drop-off. We find different ways to win, and we just rely on every single person on this team.”
With the win, Golden State is the first to 17 victories this season, as the result on Friday improved its record to 17-7, tying the Valkyries with Las Vegas and Minnesota (both 16-6) for the league’s top mark.
How has Golden State done it?
It starts with “high-character” players the front office brought in, coach Natalie Nakase said, noting that everyone has accepted their roles, some more challenging than others.
“The best thing about our team is we have a selfless team that understands matchups,” Nakase said. “Having a deep bench was intentional. But it also comes with the humility that each player has to have that sometimes they can start, sometimes they’ll have a night, sometimes they might not start, sometimes they might not have a night.
“This is a very special group. I am not going to take this group for granted at all because they have meshed a lot better together than I anticipated.”
But even with far more highs than lows, the Valkyries are not a finished product in the eyes of their coach. Nakase noted the team’s slow starts in its previous two games, against Washington and Toronto, and stressed stronger consistency.
The Valkyries had another rough start on Friday.
Afterward, Nakase pointed to fatigue caused by an extended period on the road.
“We lost our vocalness in the first quarter, so I wasn’t really happy with that,” she said. “When you’re tired, the first thing that goes is the mind and they stop talking. We found pockets tonight of when we were very, very connected. But I need to see some rest. They deserve it. Four games in seven days and the emptying-the-tank mentality, I saw a lot of consistency there. But this game was really tough. Credit to Connecticut.”
A woman was arrested and charged with murdering a man whose body was found behind a condominium complex in Farmington in March, police said on Friday.
Cynthia Martinez, 27, was charged with murder, unlawful discharge of a firearm, tampering with evidence, and criminal use of a firearm in connection with the death of 29-year-old Derick William Mercado-Labonte of Bridgeport.
On March 19, officers responded to Talcott Forest Road around 10 a.m. for the report of an untimely death.
They found the body of Mercado-Labonte along the wood line behind a condominium complex. He appeared to have sustained multiple areas of trauma, according to police.
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled Mercado-Labonte’s death a homicide.
Martinez is being held on a $3,000,000 bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Torrington Superior Court on Friday.
Police said no further information will be released at this time, as this remains an active and ongoing investigation.
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