Portal:Connecticut
The Connecticut Portal

Connecticut (/kəˈnɛtɪkət/ ⓘ kə-NET-ik-ət) is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. As of the 2020 United States census, Connecticut was home to over 3.6 million residents, its highest decennial count ever, growing every decade since 1790.
The state is bordered by Rhode Island to its east, Massachusetts to its north, New York to its west, and Long Island Sound to its south. Its capital is Hartford, and its most populous city is Bridgeport. Historically, the state is part of New England as well as the tri-state area with New York and New Jersey. The state is named for the Connecticut River which approximately bisects the state. The word Connecticut is derived from various anglicized spellings of Quinnetuket, a Mohegan-Pequot word for "long tidal river".
Connecticut's first European settlers were Dutchmen who established a small, short-lived settlement called House of Hope in Hartford at the confluence of the Park and Connecticut Rivers. Half of Connecticut was initially claimed by the Dutch colony New Netherland, which included much of the land between the Connecticut and Delaware Rivers, although the first major settlements were established in the 1630s by the English. Thomas Hooker led a band of followers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony and founded the Connecticut Colony; other settlers from Massachusetts founded the Saybrook Colony and the New Haven Colony. The Connecticut and New Haven colonies established documents of Fundamental Orders, considered the first constitutions in America. In 1662, the three colonies were merged under a royal charter, making Connecticut a crown colony. Connecticut was one of the Thirteen Colonies which rejected British rule in the American Revolution. It was influential in the development of the federal government of the United States. (Full article...)
The Blackledge River Railroad Bridge is a Warren truss bridge that was built on the site of a c. 1870 railroad bridge. The original bridge was completed and opened by August 3, 1877. Likely built by the Colchester Railway Company, the bridge was part of the 3.59 miles (5.78 km) of track from Colchester, Connecticut, to Turnerville (now known as Amston, Connecticut). The line was leased to the Boston and New York Air-Line Railroad and reported improvement in 1879 and a new 110-foot long (34 m) iron bridge by 1881. The line was leased to the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in 1882. After dominating the region, the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad petitioned for changes to the Air Line and the approval came on July 7, 1911.
The historic Blackledge River Railroad Bridge was constructed c. 1912 as an improved version of the previous bridge. The new 108-foot long (33 m) bridge integrated the previous abutments into the design and was elevated a further 5 feet (1.5 m) above the Blackledge River. The railroad bridge was abandoned in the 1960s and sold to the Connecticut Department of Transportation. The bridge was added to the National Register of Historic Places on July 31, 1986. The bridge is now located in Airline State Park. By 2007, a wooden pedestrian bridge was built atop the railroad bridge and crosses over the Blackledge River. (Full article...)General images -
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State facts
- Nicknames: The Provisions State, The Land of Steady Habits, The Constitution State, The Nutmeg State
- Capital: Hartford
- Governor: Ned Lamont (D)
- Lieutenant Governor: Susan Bysiewicz (D)
- Secretary of State: Denise Merrill (D)
- Attorney General: William Tong (D)
- Senators: Chris Murphy (D), Richard Blumenthal (D)
- Representatives: Jahana Hayes (D), Jim Himes (D), Joe Courtney (D), John B. Larson (D), Rosa DeLauro (D)
- Total area: 5,543 mi2
- Land: 4,845 mi2
- Water: 698 mi2
- Highest elevation: 2,379 ft (Mount Frissell)
- Population 3,576,452 (2015 est)
- Admission to the Union: January 9, 1788 (5th)
State symbols:
- Animal: Sperm whale
- Bird: American Robin
- Fish: American Shad
- Flower: Mountain Laurel
- Fossil: Dinosaur Track
- Insect: European Praying Mantis
- Ship: USS Nautilus (SSN-571)
- Songs: Yankee Doodle
- Tree: Charter Oak
- Mineral: Almandine
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Did you know? -
- ... that New Haven, Connecticut, was home to the world's first commercial telephone exchange?
- ... that Cora Slocomb di Brazza designed the peace flag adopted by the International Council of Women, and her mother Abby Day Slocomb designed the Connecticut state flag?
- ... that after John Oliver remarked that "the city of Danbury, Connecticut, can eat my whole ass", they named a sewage plant after him?
- ... that Darien, Connecticut, was once home to a train station built inside a cemetery?
- ... that William M. King, who was born in Connecticut, lived and worked in New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Missouri before becoming the third speaker of the Oregon House of Representatives?
- ... that Ed Gomes was the first member of the Working Families Party elected to a state legislature solely with the party's nomination?
In the news

- February 10: Disney to shut down Blue Sky Studios, animation studio behind 'Ice Age'
- October 17: Hundreds arrested for 'dark web' child porn by international task force
- October 3: World War II era plane crashes in Connecticut, US, killing at least seven
- February 21: Sixteen states sue U.S. President Trump to stop declaration of emergency for border wall
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WikiProject Connecticut • WikiProject Connecticut routes • WikiProject UCONN
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