SILENT GROUNDS COLLECTIVE · THE CONNECTICUT ARCHIVE
Familiar streets. Forgotten places. The people who made them.
Explore local history, one photograph at a time.
1,180 images · 162 collections · All 8 counties
Browse all collections ↓THERE'S ALWAYS ANOTHER STORY
Middlesex County · March 23, 1934
A High Street house links Middletown’s nineteenth-century domestic architecture with Wesleyan’s twentieth-century art collections. Period survey photographs bring its rooms and details into view.
Explore the story
Browse images, enlarge the details, follow the credits.
Explore collections by county, town and subject.
Explore mapped markers and the burial register.
MORE OF CONNECTICUT IN PICTURES
Hartford · Windsor
Waterbury
Groton
Windham
Mansfield
WinstedTHE COLLECTION CATALOG
Counties follow the historical geographic boundaries used in these records.
Bela Carter · portrait published 1906COLLECTION 001Cemeteries
Meriden
Recovering the names, family connections and burial references of a historic Meriden cemetery.
Opening date under research
St. Mary’s Church · Catholic community context · 1900COLLECTION 002Cemeteries
New Haven
Burial references and surviving sources within the history of New Haven’s Catholic community.
Historical origins · 1851 / 1854
A directory entry for Mary E. Hart · 1872COLLECTION 003People & families
Evergreen Cemetery · New Haven
A life behind a local legend: the monument, burial-index evidence, historical pages and published grave photographs.
Monument life dates · 1824–1872
Center Church crypt · Marty Aligata · CC BY-SA 4.0COLLECTION 004Churches
New Haven & West Haven
Follow a name through church death lists, early burial entries and the pages of local histories.
Center Church organized · 1639
Cottage D · photograph published in the school’s 1900 reportCOLLECTION 005Schools & care
Meriden, Connecticut
Historic campus photographs, physicians’ mortality reports and cemetery research bring the surviving institutional record into view.
Opening / first recorded · March 1, 1854
First home on Grove Street · engraving published in 1887COLLECTION 006Orphanages and Children’s Homes
New Haven & Hamden, Connecticut
Expansion of the existing New Haven Orphan Asylum collection to follow its 1916 Hamden plans, 1925 relocation and successor Children’s Center.
Opening / first recorded · First week of May 1833 in New Haven; Hamden campus in 1925
Gold & Silver Plate at the Columbian Exposition · 1893COLLECTION 007Businesses
Meriden, Connecticut
A founders’ photograph, factory views and original advertisements trace a Meriden manufacturer from metalworking to international silverware sales.
Opening / first recorded · 1852 organization; expansion in 1854–1856
Factory A: Meriden Silver Plate Company · 1906COLLECTION 008Businesses
Meriden, Connecticut
Factory images and an illustrated 1883 trade catalog reveal the products, ordering systems and separate companies behind the Silver City.
Opening / first recorded · Meriden Silver Plate: 1869–1870 formation and operation
Factory panorama, dated 1920 · Original publication unidentified; rendering dated 1920 by Walk New HavenCOLLECTION 009Businesses
New Haven, Connecticut
Original advertisements, illustrated products and contemporary records trace the company’s work and changing identity.
Opening / first recorded · Jerome case works: 1844; movement works: 1845
Fine Light Carriages advertisement, 1887 · 1887COLLECTION 010Businesses
New Haven, Connecticut
Original advertisements, illustrated products and contemporary records trace the company’s work and changing identity.
Opening / first recorded · Operating at 5–19 Franklin Street by 1887
West Haven Buckle Company advertises buckles for clothing and suspenders, repeating its 1853 establishment date · 1911COLLECTION 011Businesses
West Haven & Allingtown, Connecticut
Original company advertisements, directory entries and contemporary histories recover the identity and products of a local manufacturer.
Opening / first recorded · 1853, reported by company ads
Beach Street at night, Savin Rock, Conn. · circa 1930–1945COLLECTION 012Recreation & landscapes
West Haven, Connecticut
Historic postcards, a stereoscopic photograph and an 1861 hotel menu follow the shoreline from resort grounds to crowded amusement streets.
Opening / first recorded · Memorial Day 1925 corporate park opening
Advertisement locates the company’s office and works on Front Avenue, Allingtown, and names beef scraps, tallow and glue as manufactured products · 1911COLLECTION 013Businesses
West Haven & Allingtown, Connecticut
Original company advertisements, directory entries and contemporary histories recover the identity and products of a local manufacturer.
Opening / first recorded · 1902 incorporation; ads acquired from 1908
Campus and surrounding landscape — Fairfield Hills · 2006-04-05COLLECTION 014Hospitals & care
New Haven & Fairfield counties, Connecticut
Explore six documented institutions, their changing names and uses, and the archives that preserve their histories.
Opening / first recorded · Westport Sanitarium: 1891
Service building and floor plans · 1914COLLECTION 015Hospitals & care
Meriden, Connecticut
Early building photographs, floor plans and state reports follow the hillside sanatorium and the development of its children’s program.
Opening / first recorded · Undercliff Association: November 15, 1907
Hart–Jarvis House, October 2017 · 2017-10-15COLLECTION 016Hospitals & historic homes
Portland, Connecticut · related Colt sites in Hartford
Trace the homes that preceded Elmcrest and the documented connection between the Hart–Jarvis House and Elizabeth Jarvis Colt.
Opening / first recorded · Hospital founding: 1938 in preservation nomination
Main Hospital, published 1888 · 1888COLLECTION 017Hospitals & care
Middletown, Connecticut
Read the founding act, early opening report and illustrated accounts of the hospital’s buildings, farm and daily operations.
Opening / first recorded · April 30, 1868: opening to male patients
Hospital exterior from above the fence · 2006-04-30COLLECTION 018Hospitals & care
Newtown, Connecticut
Licensed campus photographs and a guide to the hospital’s planning papers, historic albums and preservation records.
Opening / first recorded · First admissions reported: June 1, 1933
Chapel Street looking west, New Haven · Circa 1930–1945, catalog rangeCOLLECTION 019Transport
New Haven & West Haven, Connecticut · connecting towns
Follow trolley tracks from city streets to Savin Rock through five maps, historic postcards, a federal photograph and a 1904 passenger guide.
Opening / first recorded · 1861 — horsecar service · 1892 — electric service
1886 New Haven directory, classified business section · 1886COLLECTION 020Recreation & landscapes
New Haven & West Haven, Connecticut
Original directory entries and a WPA town history recover rink names, locations and the places of skating in local recreation.
Opening / first recorded · New Haven Roller Skating Rink documented in 1884
A Cruel Husband — Horan household newspaper notice · 1885-09-23 (date supplied by reproducing researcher)COLLECTION 021Cemeteries
New Haven, Connecticut
Blake Street and Woodin Street, the two documented New Haven municipal cemeteries often called paupers’ burial grounds.
Opening / first recorded · 1884 (Blake Street); 1927 (Woodin Street)
Evergreen Cemetery’s founding and first interment · 1887COLLECTION 022Cemeteries
New Haven, Connecticut
The 1848 cemetery association, early interments, enlargement and the craftspeople who made its monuments.
Opening / first recorded · Late 1848; consecrated June 29, 1849
Fair Haven Union Cemetery’s 1885 gateway · 2010-10COLLECTION 023Cemeteries
New Haven, Connecticut
The Grand Avenue burial ground, its maritime neighborhood, brownstone gateway and memorial chapel.
Opening / first recorded · Early nineteenth century; graves as early as 1803 reported
Bridgeport: Ringling Bros. Circus Headquarters postcard · 1911 reported postmark; view undatedCOLLECTION 024Entertainment and public life
Bridgeport & New Haven, Connecticut
Bridgeport winter quarters and a documented New Haven circus day, told through nineteenth-century engravings, a touring poster, a postcard, and local newspaper evidence from June 1908.
Opening / first recorded · Local winter-quarters opening date not established
Cedarcrest in August 2010 · August 13, 2010. Josh Michtom, Flickr; CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. Reproduced for this noncommercial nonprofit archive under the same license.COLLECTION 025Health and public institutions
Newington, Connecticut
Newington’s state tuberculosis institution and its later psychiatric role, documented through original state reports, campus recreation photographs and archival leads.
Opening / first recorded · 1910
West River Memorial Park toward West Rock · 2014-07-09COLLECTION 026Landscapes & defense
West Haven & New Haven, Connecticut
A former river-edge motor road in West Haven, its New Haven park setting, and the changing tidal landscape around it.
Opening / first recorded · Unknown; first paving documented in 1963
Federal inventory entry for Nike BR-15 · 1996-11COLLECTION 027Landscapes & defense
West Haven, Connecticut
The identifiable Nike battery component in the requested towns: BR-15’s Bull Hill Lane launcher in West Haven, paired with a separate control site in Orange.
Opening / first recorded · 1956
Strong School and U.S. Post Office · circa 1901–1907 (postcard format; photograph undated)COLLECTION 028Schools
New Haven, Connecticut
The Fair Haven school lineage and its successive buildings at 69 Grand Avenue, illustrated by pre-fire postcards and the surviving Tudor building.
Opening / first recorded · 1915 (replacement building; exact opening day not established)
Welch’s Congress Avenue facade in autumn · October 20, 2008COLLECTION 029Schools
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven’s municipal teacher-training experiment and the Queen Anne school at 495 Congress Avenue.
Opening / first recorded · 1883; formally dedicated February 4, 1884
Hopkins before the hilltop move · Photograph undated; published 1910COLLECTION 030Schools
New Haven, Connecticut
A school founded in 1660, its downtown history, and the later development of its Forest Road hilltop campus.
Opening / first recorded · 1660 (school); 1926 (present campus)
Center Church, documented in 1967 · June 1967COLLECTION 031Churches
New Haven & West Haven, Connecticut
A sourced directory connecting congregations, buildings, dated photographs and period church publications in two towns.
Opening / first recorded · Multiple buildings; see institution profiles
H. H. Richards Lumber Company in the 1940 town history · 1940COLLECTION 032Historic homes
West Haven, Connecticut
Three distinct Richards properties on Main Street: a captain’s lost home and two houses associated with the waterfront lumber family.
Opening / first recorded · Not a single property or public attraction
The Wood Building after Silver’s, 2012 · 2012-04-28COLLECTION 033Businesses
West Haven, Connecticut
The family pharmacy and soda-fountain landmark that served downtown West Haven from 1919 to 2006.
Opening / first recorded · 1919
COLLECTION 034Businesses
West Haven, Connecticut
Campbell Avenue’s family pastry shop, remembered for Italian breads, holiday pastries, and support of local baseball.
Opening / first recorded · 1946, according to the owner’s 2013 interview
Chick’s entrance after closure, 2017 · 2017-05-29COLLECTION 035Businesses
West Haven, Connecticut
Beach Street’s hot-dog and seafood landmark, a shoreline gathering place from 1950 to 2015.
Opening / first recorded · October 1950
Washington and Stiles schools in the 1940 town history · 1940COLLECTION 036Schools
West Haven, Connecticut
Washington Avenue school life, the 1909 building, and the 2025 replacement, with a separate note on an earlier school using the Washington name.
Opening / first recorded · 1909; replacement opened to students August 27, 2025
West Haven High School on Main Street, published in 1940 · 1927–1940; published 1940COLLECTION 037Schools
West Haven, Connecticut
The Main Street building opened as West Haven High School in 1927 and later served as Dr. Carl C. Giannotti Junior High School.
Opening / first recorded · February 7, 1927 as West Haven High School
Edgar C. Stiles School in the 1940 school directory · 1940COLLECTION 038Schools
West Haven, Connecticut
A school named for West Haven’s long-serving superintendent, opened in September 1931 and later considered for reuse.
Opening / first recorded · September 1931
Union School’s early buildings and school life · 1940COLLECTION 039Schools
West Haven, Connecticut
The district’s earlier wooden schools, the 1890 brick Union School, and the building’s combined grammar- and high-school role.
Opening / first recorded · 1890 for the surviving brick building
Tract K shooting range: northeast exterior · Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service; photographer not identified in source metadata / Public domainCOLLECTION 040Industrial sites
New Haven
Factories, testing facilities and surrounding streets reveal the scale of Winchester’s New Haven operations.
Opening / first recorded · 1870 site; major expansion 1914–1916
Eli Whitney Museum, Hamden · Magicpiano / CC BY-SA 4.0COLLECTION 041Industrial sites
Hamden · New Haven
Water power, manufacturing and the surviving landscape of an early American armory.
Opening / first recorded · 1798 federal musket contract
Scovill: dam on John D’s Pond · Historic American Engineering Record, National Park Service; photographer not identified in source metadata / Public domainCOLLECTION 042Industrial sites
Waterbury
Factory interiors and exteriors document the buildings behind Waterbury’s brass industry.
Opening / first recorded · 1802 predecessor firm
Remington Arms Bridgeport, Ct. (5560513976) · 826 PARANORMAL / CC BY 2.0COLLECTION 043Industrial sites
Bridgeport
Historic factory views and later photographs trace a major Bridgeport manufacturing landscape.
Opening / first recorded · Late 1860s site development
Industrial buildings on North Main Street, Ansonia · Milfordwoman / CC BY-SA 3.0COLLECTION 044Industrial sites
Ansonia
Brass works, factories, rail access and the Naugatuck River explain the growth of industrial Ansonia.
Opening / first recorded · 1848 and 1854 predecessor firms
National Hat Factory, Danbury: 1912 postcard · Unknown photographer / Public domainCOLLECTION 045Industrial sites
Danbury
Factory postcards and preservation research connect finished hats to the businesses that supplied their materials.
Opening / first recorded · Nineteenth-century industrial growth
Gilbert and Bennett factory 004 · Pedro Xing / CC0COLLECTION 046Industrial sites
Redding
A Norwalk River mill tells the story of a craft business becoming mechanized industry.
Opening / first recorded · 1818 origins; rebuilding from 1874
Ball and Socket Manufacturing Co, West Cheshire CT · John Phelan / CC BY 4.0COLLECTION 047Industrial sites
Cheshire
A small manufactured object connects Cheshire to industrial production, work and modern reuse.
Opening / first recorded · 1850 Cheshire Manufacturing Company
Aerial view of the Vought-Sikorsky Aircraft factory at Stratford, Connecticut (USA), in 1947 · U.S. Navy / Public domainCOLLECTION 048Industrial sites
Stratford
Aircraft manufacturing photographs preserve Stratford’s place in aviation and industrial history.
Opening / first recorded · Twentieth-century aviation production
Silver Sands State Park (21096) · Rhododendrites / CC BY-SA 4.0COLLECTION 049Historic lands
Milford
A shoreline landscape shaped by storms, homes, recreation and conservation.
Opening / first recorded · 1960 state park designation
Derby Osbornedale house · Polaron / CC BY 3.0COLLECTION 050Historic lands
Derby · Ansonia
Industry, farming and conservation meet in the landscape assembled by Frances Osborne Kellogg.
Opening / first recorded · 1956 gift to Connecticut
New Haven from East Rock cropped · Charles Barneby / Public domainCOLLECTION 051Historic lands
New Haven · Hamden
Designed parkland, monuments and city views reveal how New Haven made public space.
Opening / first recorded · Late nineteenth-century park development
LIGHTHOUSE POINT CAROUSEL BUILDING, NEW HAVEN, CT · JERRYE AND ROY KLOTZ MD / CC BY-SA 3.0COLLECTION 052Historic lands
New Haven
Maritime navigation and shoreline recreation share the same New Haven landmark.
Opening / first recorded · 1805 first light; 1847 stone tower
West Beach, Sherwood Island State Park, Westport, 2007 · DimiTalen / CC0COLLECTION 053Historic lands
Westport
A long campaign for public shore access and a later place of remembrance.
Opening / first recorded · 1914 first state land purchase
SlGiant · Ken Gallager at English Wikipedia / Public domainCOLLECTION 054Historic lands
Hamden
A familiar ridge preserves evidence of quarrying and a campaign to protect its shape.
Opening / first recorded · Quarrying preceded the state park
Putnam Memorial State Park - Memorial Monument · Jllm06 / CC BY-SA 4.0COLLECTION 055Historic lands
Redding
Surviving camp remains and later memorials tell two connected stories of the American Revolution.
Opening / first recorded · 1778–1779 encampment
Weir Farm National Historic Site - front of the house · Ser Amantio di Nicolao / CC BY-SA 3.0COLLECTION 056Historic lands
Wilton · Ridgefield
Artists’ studios, farm buildings and ordinary work shaped an influential Connecticut landscape.
Opening / first recorded · 1882 Weir acquisition
Housatonic rail trail head 073 · Pedro Xing / CC0COLLECTION 057Railways & transit
Bridgeport · Trumbull · Monroe · Newtown
The level path through the Pequonnock valley preserves the shape of a transportation route.
Opening / first recorded · Historic railroad bed; later trail conversion
Larkin State Park Trail cut, Middlebury CT · John Phelan / CC BY-SA 4.0COLLECTION 058Railways & transit
Southbury · Oxford · Middlebury · Naugatuck
Cuts, embankments and surviving ballast trace a railroad across four New Haven County towns.
Opening / first recorded · 1881–1939 rail service; 1943 trail gift
Farmington canal lock 12 · Staib (talk) / CC BY-SA 3.0COLLECTION 059Railways & transit
New Haven · Hamden · Cheshire
Locks, walls and a later rail route reveal successive solutions to moving people and goods.
Opening / first recorded · 1828–1847 canal service
New Haven Union Station, September 2018 · Pi.1415926535 / CC BY-SA 3.0COLLECTION 060Railways & transit
New Haven
A monumental passenger station connects New Haven’s railroad history with continuing public use.
Opening / first recorded · 1920 present station
New Haven Railroad RDC and Waterbury Union Station clock tower, August 1968 · Roger Puta / Public domainCOLLECTION 061Railways & transit
Waterbury
A landmark tower and 1968 railroad photographs place Waterbury within a regional passenger network.
Opening / first recorded · 1909 station building
Abandoned railroad bridge over Washington Avenue in Waterbury, March 2023 · Pi.1415926535 / CC BY-SA 4.0COLLECTION 062Railways & transit
Waterbury · Meriden · Cheshire
Bridgework in Waterbury preserves traces of a railroad that disappeared in stages.
Opening / first recorded · 1885 opening; 1888 Waterbury extension
Stevenson station site 152 · Pedro Xing / CC0COLLECTION 063Railways & transit
Monroe
A photographic postcard and a later view of foundations record the loss of a small station.
Opening / first recorded · Historic station; remains photographed in 2012
Indian well at sunset · TheDemonChicken at English Wikipedia / CC BY 3.0COLLECTION 064Historic lands
Shelton
A waterfall and riverfront offer a starting point for reading Shelton’s changing landscape.
Opening / first recorded · Waterfall, river and later state park
LillinonahTrail PondBrookInlet · H. Morrow Long / CC BY-SA 3.0COLLECTION 065Historic lands
Newtown
Woodland and river views invite questions about land use, conservation and what forests conceal.
Opening / first recorded · Twentieth-century state forest
Southbury Training School campus · Johnny Hirschauer / CC BY-SA 3.0COLLECTION 066Hospitals & institutions
Southbury
A residential campus provides evidence for the history of disability services and institutional life.
Opening / first recorded · 1930s construction; 1940 opening
COLLECTION 067Hospitals & institutions
Shelton
A patient booklet and archival finding aid open a path into Shelton’s institutional health history.
Opening / first recorded · Twentieth-century tuberculosis institution
Historical illustration · Factory of Yale & Towne Mfg. Co., Stamford, Connecticut, 1873 · Unknown illustrator / Rodney Horace Yale, Yale Genealogy (1908) / Public domainCOLLECTION 068Industrial sites
Stamford
Locks, hoists and a changing factory complex connect invention with the industrial growth of Stamford’s South End.
Opening / first recorded · 1869–1928 factory development
Naugatuck Chemical Company with piles of old rubber tires. Naugatuck, Connecticut · 1940-09COLLECTION 069Industrial sites
Naugatuck
A surviving warehouse and historical views trace the rubber businesses that shaped Naugatuck.
Opening / first recorded · Nineteenth-century rubber industry; 1954 warehouse
Cos Cob Power Plant, Cos Cob, (Fairfield County, Connecticut) · Jack Boucher / Public domainCOLLECTION 070Industrial sites
Greenwich
Engineering photographs preserve a lost power station central to railroad electrification.
Opening / first recorded · 1907–1986/87 operation; 2001 demolition
VIEW OF MIANUS RIVER RAILROAD BRIDGE LOOKING NORTHEAST FROM THE REMAINS OF THE COS COB POWER PLANT COALING DOCK. THE BRIDGE IS A ROLLING LIFT BASCULE TYPE BUILT IN 1894-1895. HAER CONN,1-GREWI,15A-21 · Jet Lowe / Historic American Engineering Record / Public domainCOLLECTION 071Railways & transit
Greenwich
A movable bridge shows how rail traffic and navigation shared a constrained river crossing.
Opening / first recorded · 1904 railroad bridge
NorwalkCTLockwoodMansionSoSide09032007 · Noroton at English Wikipedia / CC BY-SA 3.0COLLECTION 072Historic lands
Norwalk
A mansion and its grounds connect railroad wealth, domestic labor and a successful preservation campaign.
Opening / first recorded · 1864 construction began; 1868 family occupancy
Ghost Town - Pleasure Beach · Bill / CC BY 2.0COLLECTION 073Historic lands
Bridgeport · Stratford
Photographs of recreation and abandonment trace a shoreline landscape with several distinct lives.
Opening / first recorded · 1892 amusement park origins; 1996 bridge fire
Bennett's Pond Park · Brianegge / CC0COLLECTION 074Historic lands
Ridgefield
Woodland, water and estate remnants connect industrial wealth with horticulture and conservation.
Opening / first recorded · 1914 Conley estate; 2002 state park
Norwalk Harbor, Norwalk, Connecticut LCCN2012631498 · Carol M. Highsmith / The George F. Landegger Collection of Connecticut Photographs, Library of Congress / Public domainCOLLECTION 075Industrial sites
Norwalk
Harbor photographs and waterfront records broaden industrial history beyond the factory wall.
Opening / first recorded · Nineteenth-century oyster industry
Chapel Square Mall, New Haven, Conn. — interior postcard · Undated historical postcardCOLLECTION 076Shops & businesses
New Haven
Downtown shopping, redevelopment and the streets that preceded New Haven’s enclosed mall.
Opening / first recorded · Developed in the 1960s
Bruce Springsteen at the New Haven Coliseum · Circa 1977–1978COLLECTION 077Recreation & entertainment
New Haven
Architecture, concerts, public memory and the end of a major downtown arena.
Opening / first recorded · 1972–2002; demolition 2007
COLLECTION 078Shops & businesses
New Haven · West Haven · Branford
Advertisements and storefront photographs trace a retailer through downtown and later locations.
Opening / first recorded · Early 1920s origins reported
COLLECTION 079Shops & businesses
West Haven · New Haven
Allingtown’s furniture landmark, its earlier manufacturing life and the redevelopment that followed.
Opening / first recorded · Perfume business 1926; furniture from 1952
Yale New Haven Hospital 1911 · Published 1911; capture date unspecifiedCOLLECTION 080Hospitals & care
New Haven
Two hospital traditions, nursing, transport and institutional growth in New Haven.
Opening / first recorded · Founded 1826; first hospital building 1833
COLLECTION 081Hospitals & care
New Haven
A Catholic hospital’s beginnings, expansion and later place within Yale–New Haven.
Opening / first recorded · 1907
COLLECTION 082Hospitals & care
Bridgeport
A hospital’s civic origins, its nursing school and a second institutional presence in the city’s postcard record.
Opening / first recorded · Bridgeport Hospital incorporated 1878; opened 1884
PostcardTheHospitalNorwalkCT · Early twentieth century; catalog c. 1910–1920COLLECTION 083Hospitals & care
Norwalk
A small rented house, a supporting women’s board and the growth of a local hospital.
Opening / first recorded · Organized 1892; care from 1893
1909 Postcard of Griffin Hospital in Derby CT · 1909COLLECTION 084Hospitals & care
Derby
A Valley hospital’s charter, first building, nursing and ambulance service.
Opening / first recorded · 1901 charter; opened December 1909
Winchester Hospital and its grounds, published 1919.COLLECTION 085Hospitals & care
West Haven
The hospital and the people who kept it running, seen through nine photographs and plates published in 1919.
Opening / first recorded · Early twentieth century; VA transfer 1948
89. East Haven Tunnel, Sec. 4209, MP 77.00 · 1977COLLECTION 086Railways & transport
New Haven · East Haven · Hamden · Woodbridge
Evidence-based histories of East Haven Tunnel, Heroes Tunnel and documented urban connections.
Opening / first recorded · Rail, road and service connections
North toward West Rock along memorial canal · 2021-09-13COLLECTION 087Parks & historic lands
West Haven · New Haven
Excavation, recreation, drainage and restoration beside Marginal Drive.
Opening / first recorded · Twentieth-century park landscape
English Station in the neighborhood streetscape · 2011. Dougtone; CC BY-SA 2.0; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 088Industry & working life
New Haven
An island transformed by electricity: brick turbine halls, river channels and the power plant that served New Haven.
Opening / first recorded · 1929 — first generating units
Yale Bowl in 1936 · 1936. Carl Van Vechten; Public domain; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 089Schools, sports & community
New Haven · West Haven
From opening-season players to packed stands: a stadium built into the landscape and a century of Saturdays.
Opening / first recorded · November 21, 1914
UNH June 2011 · 2011-06-01. Zrosen88; CC BY-SA 3.0; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 090Schools, sports & community
West Haven · New Haven
From YMCA classrooms to a West Haven campus: students, buildings and the making of a university.
Opening / first recorded · 1920 — institution founded; 1960 — West Haven campus
Andrew Mellon Library · 2008-10-24. Daderot; Public domain; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 091Schools, sports & community
Wallingford · Greenwich
Two schools, two towns and one evolving campus: the buildings and daily spaces of Choate Rosemary Hall.
Opening / first recorded · Rosemary Hall: 1890 · Choate School: 1896
New Haven Harbor from the depot tower · Circa 1865–1870. Whitney, Beckwith & Paradice -- Photographer; Public domain; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 092Transportation & waterfront
New Haven
Sailing vessels, rail connections and a changing shoreline: the people who built New Haven’s working harbor.
Opening / first recorded · 1663 — first wharf grant
New Haven Alcos at New Haven 1957 postcard · 1957. J.W. Swanberg; Public domain; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 093Transportation & waterfront
New Haven · North Haven · Bridgeport · Waterbury · Greenwich
Beyond the station: locomotives, shops, freight yards and the people who kept southern New England moving.
Opening / first recorded · 1872 — New York, New Haven & Hartford formed
La Amistad off Long Island · 1839. Unknown author Unknown author; Public domain; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 094People, freedom & civic life
New Haven
Faces, a ship and a city: the Africans who fought enslavement and the New Haven places connected to their freedom struggle.
Opening / first recorded · September 1839 — New Haven imprisonment begins
A photograph of the facade of the New Haven Armory on Goffe Street in New Haven, CT, USA · 2021-06-13. Staib; CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 095Military & civic buildings
New Haven
Drill halls and public gathering places: three armories and the civic life of Goffe Street.
Opening / first recorded · Goffe Street: 1930 · Orange Street: 1906 · Meadow Street: 1883
COLLECTION 096Military & civic buildings
Meriden
A monumental hall on East Main Street: military service and Meriden’s public gathering place.
Opening / first recorded · 1908
COLLECTION 097Military & civic buildings
West Haven
An Art Deco armory on Main Street, later adapted to a different kind of daily life.
Opening / first recorded · 1933 — recorded military service begins
Broad Street Cemetery in Meriden, CT · 2026-01-24. MConradWard; CC BY-SA 4.0; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 098Cemeteries & remembrance
Meriden
Weathered stones and remembered names at one of Meriden’s early burial grounds.
Opening / first recorded · Burials documented by 1771
COLLECTION 099People, freedom & civic life
New Haven
Two jail sites and a deadly workshop fire: a history of confinement, work and loss.
Opening / first recorded · 1857 — Whalley Avenue jail occupied
Federal courthouse and post office: a period view · Undated historic postcard. General Services Administration; Public domain; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 100People, freedom & civic life
New Haven
Marble halls, courtrooms and the Green: the buildings in which New Haven’s public justice took shape.
Opening / first recorded · County courthouse: 1914 · Federal courthouse: 1919
Destruction after Hurricane Diane · August 1955. NOAA; Public domain; Wikimedia CommonsCOLLECTION 101Disasters & community memory
Waterbury · Winsted · New Hartford · Norwalk · Derby · Naugatuck
Streets became rivers, bridges failed and communities rebuilt: a photographic record of Connecticut’s devastating flood year.
Opening / first recorded · August 18–19, 1955 · October 15–17, 1955
COLLECTION 102Parks & historic lands
Wallingford · Durham · New Haven
Roads, taverns and bronze markers: following Washington’s journeys through Wallingford and Durham.
Opening / first recorded · 1932 — commemorative route markers
A Middletown punch service at the Centennial · Published 1876. Souvenir of the Centennial Exhibition (1876), p. 108; public-domain illustration; digital reproduction credited to Design Meriden / art design café.COLLECTION 103Industry & working life
Middletown · Meriden
Tableware, factory skills and a divided company history: the silver-plating businesses of Middletown.
Opening / first recorded · 1863–1864 — predecessor business; separate Silver Co. formed 1899
Spectators escaping the burning circus tent · July 6, 1944COLLECTION 111Disasters & remembrance
Hartford · Windsor
The fire, rescue work, compensation and Northwood burials: explore the 1944 disaster through photographs, first-person records and a carefully dated source trail.
1944–2019, with later remembrance
![Colt’s Armory in the early twentieth century · [between 1900 and 1906]](/county-images/86c1048ec1d98d9b1ae53fe058591087f5113e4355c6d34114efab4195d6bc5b.jpg)
Colt’s Armory in the early twentieth century · [between 1900 and 1906]COLLECTION 112Industry & labor
Hartford
The armory’s famous dome belonged to a much larger landscape of manufacturing, worker housing, family wealth and memorial architecture.
1855–1907
Bushnell Park panorama, 1905 · 1905.COLLECTION 113Parks & civic life
Hartford
Public landscape, Civil War remembrance and state government reshaped the center of Hartford over nearly a century and a half.
1854–1995
![Mark Twain’s Hartford house, c.1900–1910 · [between 1900 and 1910]](/county-images/e2b0a9568f38e01933103c3512736a0a3e25c70b47e4ad792d8736b3205f6065.jpg)
Mark Twain’s Hartford house, c.1900–1910 · [between 1900 and 1910]COLLECTION 114Homes & cultural life
Hartford
A celebrated writer’s house also preserves the history of family life, domestic work and the long effort to conserve an intricate Victorian building.
1874–1995
Hartford during the March 1936 flood, aerial view · March 22, 1936COLLECTION 115Disasters & waterways
Hartford · East Hartford
Street-level photographs and aerial surveys reveal the flood’s reach and the engineering works that changed the city’s relationship with its rivers.
1936–1981
Young worker beside a wagon at the Cheney mills · 1924.COLLECTION 116Industry & labor
Manchester
Lewis Hine’s 1924 photographs open a window onto the people and machinery behind Manchester’s silk industry and its transformation into a preserved mill district.
1855–1990s
Inspecting bullet jackets at the Stanley plant · 1943 May.COLLECTION 117Industry & labor
New Britain
Factory inspection, transport, childcare and street life reveal the home front beyond the assembly line in the Hardware City.
1942–1943
Workers leaving the East Hartford aircraft plant · 1941 May.COLLECTION 118Industry & labor
East Hartford · Hartford
Pratt & Whitney’s expansion appears in photographs of precision production, shift changes and the everyday movement of a wartime workforce.
1925–1944
South Windsor tobacco workers, view 1 · 1917 August 3.COLLECTION 119Agriculture & labor
Windsor · South Windsor · Windsor Locks
The prized cigar leaf depended on intensive hand labor. Hine’s 1917 photographs preserve evidence of children’s work alongside the larger history of migration and agriculture.
1875–1984
Thompsonville carpet mill, September 1940 · 1940 Sept.COLLECTION 120Industry & labor
Enfield
A textile landscape along Freshwater Brook passed through expansion, corporate mergers, wartime production and industrial closure.
1850–1971
Hill-Stead house and pond, documented in 2006 · 2006 — later documentationCOLLECTION 121Homes & cultural life
Farmington
Architecture, art collecting and a working landscape came together in a family home that became a museum in 1947.
1898–1991
Collins edge-tool trademark registration, 1878 · 1878 Mar. 19.COLLECTION 122Industry & labor
Canton
Trademark records, company history and a worker’s preservation effort trace the tools and people of Collinsville.
1850–1970
Portland brownstone quarry — historical postcard, 1911 · 1911COLLECTION 123Industry & working life
Portland
The stone, workers and river transport behind the nineteenth-century brownstone landscape.
1850–1999
Arrigoni Bridge — image from a commemorative booklet, circa 1938 · circa 1938COLLECTION 124Bridges & transportation
Middletown · Portland
The 1938 crossing that joined Middletown and Portland above the Connecticut River.
1936–1999
DETAIL VIEW OF FOUNDRY PITS - Bevin Brothers Bell Shops, Bevin Court, East Hampton, Middlesex County, CT · 1979COLLECTION 125Industry & working life
East Hampton
Foundry pits, molten brass and hand work in the town known for its bells.
1850–1999
Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam, Connecticut — later documentary photograph · 5 October 2011COLLECTION 126Arts & community life
East Haddam
A riverside commercial building saved and returned to musical theater.
1876–1999
East Haddam Bridge over the Connecticut River, East Haddam, Connecticut — later documentary photograph · 5 October 2011COLLECTION 127Bridges & transportation
East Haddam · Haddam
A movable river crossing that changed journeys between Haddam and East Haddam.
1894–1999
Chester railroad station — historical postcard · circa 1907–1915COLLECTION 128Railroads & travel
Old Saybrook · Essex · Deep River · Chester · Haddam · Middletown
From commercial rail service along the river to preserved steam operation.
1868–1999
F. M. Rose General Store and a trolley, Ivoryton — historical postcard · circa 1911–1915COLLECTION 129Industry & working life
Deep River · Essex
Piano parts, workers’ housing and the buildings of the lower valley’s ivory industry.
1850–1999
Chester railroad station — historical postcard · circa 1907–1915COLLECTION 130Industry & working life
Chester
Water power, small manufacturers and the village around the mill streams.
1850–1999
Photo copy of historic photograph, 1972, VIEW LOOKING NORTH, SHOWING ORIGINAL AWNING AT BASE OF LIGHTHOUSE. U.S. Coast Guard Civil Engineering Unit, Warwick, RI - Saybrook Breakwater Light, South tip of west end of Saybrook Breakwater, Old Saybrook, Middlesex County, CT · 1972COLLECTION 131Coast & maritime life
Old Saybrook
Lynde Point and the outer breakwater light at the mouth of the Connecticut River.
1886–1999
Detail of depot north elevation looking southeast - Old Saybrook Railroad Station, Depot, 455 Boston Post Road, Old Saybrook, Middlesex County, CT · Photograph date not recorded; survey documentation compiled after 1933COLLECTION 132Railroads & travel
Old Saybrook
A station, interlocking tower and the work of moving trains safely through a junction.
1871–1999
COLLECTION 133Storms & changing landscapes
Old Saybrook · Westbrook · Clinton
Wind, coastal inundation and the storm’s imprint on the lower Connecticut River shore.
1938
Durham, Connecticut, 1858 — landscape painting · 1858 (artwork)COLLECTION 134Arts & community life
Durham
A town-green fair that grew through volunteer organization, permanent buildings and recovery after interruptions.
1916–1999
COLLECTION 135Education & civic life
Middletown
College buildings, military training and the changing boundaries of access to education.
1850–1999
View looking north across marina - Singing Bridge, U.S. Route 1, over Patchogue River, Westbrook, Middlesex County, CT · 1997COLLECTION 136Bridges & transportation
Westbrook
Steel, road traffic and the sound that made a bridge a local landmark.
1925–1999
1. EXCHANGE BLOCK, LOOKING NORTHEAST - Exchange Block, 108-150 Main Street, Middletown, Middlesex County, CT · April 30, 1978COLLECTION 104Places & community
Middletown
A connected row of shops and upper stories records the changing face of Middletown’s downtown. A detailed architectural survey lets us read the block one storefront at a time.
1827–20th century
1. EXTERIOR, NORTH ELEVATION - Metro South Historic District, Middlesex Theater, 109-111 College Street, Middletown, Middlesex County, CT · July 1980COLLECTION 105Places & community
Middletown
Seven survey photographs document a Middletown performance space, from its street elevation to the interior. The record connects local entertainment to theater architect Francis H. Kimball.
1896–20th century
1. Historic American Buildings Survey Joseph C. Berlepsch, Photographer March 23, 1934 NORTH EAST ELEVATION (FRONT) + SIDE - Richard Alsop House, Middletown, Middlesex County, CT · March 23, 1934COLLECTION 106Institutions & education
Middletown
A High Street house links Middletown’s nineteenth-century domestic architecture with Wesleyan’s twentieth-century art collections. Period survey photographs bring its rooms and details into view.
1838–1952 and later
1. VIEW, LOOKING SOUTH, SHOWING PROXIMITY OF RAILROAD DEPOT TO FREIGHT DEPOT - Hartford & New Haven Railroad, Depot, 35 Central Street, Windsor, Hartford County, CT · October 1985 (individual day not consistently specified in the caption index)COLLECTION 107Railways, roads & rivers
Windsor
Two neighboring railway buildings show how travel and commerce met in Windsor Center. The survey follows their façades, working spaces and relationship across the tracks.
c. 1865–20th century
1. Historic American Buildings Survey Everett H. Keeler, Photographer March 1, 1937 EAST ELEVATION - Old State House, Main Street & Central Row, Hartford, Hartford County, CT · March 1, 1937COLLECTION 108Places & community
Hartford
The same Hartford building served state and city government. HABS photographs preserve its elevations, stairs and public rooms during the 1930s and in 1967.
1796–20th century
1. Historic American Buildings Survey (Fed.) Stanley P. Mixon, Photographer July 29, 1940 (B) EXTERIOR GENERAL VIEW FROM SHORE (EAST) END - Old Warehouse, Wethersfield, Hartford County, CT · July 29, 1940COLLECTION 109Places & community
Wethersfield
A small group of federal photographs connects three different kinds of place: the Cove Warehouse, First Church of Christ and Simeon Belden House.
1890s–1962, with earlier context
1. WEST PORTAL, VIEW EAST - Walnut Street Railroad Bridge, Walnut Street over AMTRAK, Hartford, Hartford County, CT · May 1991COLLECTION 110Railways, roads & rivers
Hartford
An engineering photo essay records a Hartford road crossing over the railway. Portals, trusses and connections reveal the structure behind an everyday journey.
1907–20th century
View north, general view from water · April 1993COLLECTION 137Maritime industry
New London
Follow a state-financed harbor project from its 1914 construction to a richly photographed working waterfront in April 1993.
1909–1995
Exterior, west elevation · 1971COLLECTION 138Railroads and preservation
New London
Exterior and interior photographs from 1971 and 1975 trace the architecture of New London’s Richardson-designed station during its preservation years.
1885–1975
View looking north · June 1997COLLECTION 139Lighthouses
Groton · New London
A rare masonry lighthouse off Groton, serving New London’s harbor, documented inside and out in June 1997.
1854–1997
Marine Railway Headhouse and Offices, west side. · 1975–1978 (survey photography; individual exposure year not specified)COLLECTION 140Shipbuilding and maritime labor
New London
Explore New London’s tug-and-barge repair landscape through workshop, machinery, waterfront, and aerial photographs made in 1975–1978.
1865–1978
View of escape training tank, looking south · October 1987COLLECTION 141Naval heritage
Groton
Twenty photographs document the distinctive training tower and its support buildings in October 1987, after the tank had been decommissioned.
1915–1992
West and south elevations of original 1871 mill · June 1958COLLECTION 142Textile industry and mill villages
Norwich
Factory interiors, monumental mill elevations, the Shetucket dam, and company housing reveal the connected industrial landscape of Taftville.
1865–1970
View west, general view of dam, with canal spillway, west abutment, and gatehouse in distance · June 1994COLLECTION 143Waterpower and industrial engineering
Norwich
Thirteen photographs from 1994–1995 trace the dam, headgates, canal, spillway, and drain gate behind Greeneville’s industrial development.
1828–1996; emphasis 1850–1996
Main gallery · June 1958COLLECTION 144Museums and education
Norwich
Historic photographs lead from the Slater Memorial’s brick exterior and carved entrance to its great galleried exhibition room.
1856–1961
View, looking east, showing bridge closed · 1978COLLECTION 145Railroads and movable bridges
Groton · Stonington
Photographs from 1978 document the railroad swing bridge, its operator’s house, machinery, and relationship to the Mystic River.
1905–1983
View from Wilcox Road, looking southwest over railroad tracks towards Latimer Point · April 1997COLLECTION 146Coastal communities
Stonington
Eight photographs from April 1997 explore a coastal district shaped by menhaden fishing, family houses, an old cemetery, and the shoreline railroad.
1858–1997
View northeast of wheelhouse area, tailrace (center), and dam; mill no. 5 (haer no. ct-44-b) and bridge at right · June 1988COLLECTION 147Industry & working life
Windham
Dams, turbines, stone mills and a generator trace the working systems behind Willimantic Linen and American Thread.
1854–1990
View northwest, east (rear) elevation of 305 church street with 313 and 317 church street in background · June 1985COLLECTION 148Industry & working life
Putnam
Three workers’ houses and Israel Putnam School show how a textile city housed families and invested in public education.
c. 1847–1986
View southeast, general view showing bridge and setting from west end of bridge, river street near intersection with main street · September 1998COLLECTION 149Railways, roads & rivers
Plainfield
A nineteenth-century iron bridge, a church, an academy and historic houses connect transportation with the everyday landscape of Plainfield.
1800–1998
North elevation · October 1974COLLECTION 150Industry & working life
Eastford
Twenty-one photographs follow a small mill from stone exterior walls to timber-framed production floors, with a history of cotton, twine and changing uses.
1813–1974
View east, general view of bridge within setting · June 1994COLLECTION 151Railways, roads & rivers
Mansfield
A complete photographic survey of Mount Hope Road Bridge reveals how a small rural crossing connects local travel with Connecticut’s bridge-building industry.
1900–1994
View southeast, general view of bridge within setting · June 1994COLLECTION 152Farms & rural life
Coventry · Mansfield
A South Street farmstead and Perkins Corner Bridge show the buildings and local routes that shaped an agricultural landscape.
1914–1994
Graduating Class · 1890COLLECTION 153Schools & community
Mansfield
Twenty photographs from 1890–1909 follow the agricultural college through lessons, farm work, student gatherings and a growing campus.
1881–1939
Group of shed workers at Wetstone farm, 14 of them were 12 to 14 yrs. old. Location: Vernon, Connecticut · August 2, 1917COLLECTION 154Industry & working life
Vernon
Lewis Hine’s farm workers and Sheldon Dick’s Schneider farm photographs add people, homes and agricultural labor to the history of an industrial community.
1808–1965
Front · Photograph date not statedCOLLECTION 155Places & community
Litchfield
Step from the law school on South Street to a meetinghouse balcony and the doorways of village homes, through twelve federal survey photographs.
1760–1940
Exterior, general view, front of house from north east · Sept. 15, 1940COLLECTION 156Places & community
Winsted
Twenty detailed views of the Solomon Rockwell House open a door into Winsted’s domestic architecture, with three additional photographs of its Main Street post office.
c. 1813–1990
General 'barrel shot' · 1984 — later survey photographCOLLECTION 157Industry & transport
New Milford
Twelve engineering photographs follow a lenticular bridge from its ornamented entrance to the connections beneath its deck, as a replacement crossing rises nearby.
1887–1980s, with preservation context
Exterior, general view from south east · Sept. 15, 1940COLLECTION 158Places & community
Sharon
A shop, two houses and thirteen bridge photographs connect Sharon’s village center with the industrial landscape of Webatuck Creek.
1739–1996
Exterior, general view from the south · Sept 13, 1940COLLECTION 159Places & community
Cornwall
Five photographs preserve a meetinghouse interior, the Adelphi Institute and a locally distinctive porch roof in Cornwall and North Cornwall.
1739–1940, with later survey context
Exterior, general view from south east · Sept 16, 1940COLLECTION 160Places & community
Barkhamsted
A compact photographic study moves from the tavern’s exterior to its doorway and the arch inside the entrance hall.
September 16, 1940
Northwest elevation · April 21, 1937COLLECTION 161Places & community
Woodbury
Everett H. Keeler’s three photographs pair two exterior views with the southeast wall of the lodge room.
April–May 1937
Holy Land USA photographic postcard — early 1960s · Early 1960sCOLLECTION 162Faith & community
Waterbury
Explore John Greco’s miniature biblical landscape on Pine Hill, its closure and restoration, through an early-1960s photographic postcard and clearly dated later photographs.
1956–1986, with later views through 2022
KEEP LOCAL HISTORY ACCESSIBLE
Your donation supports preservation and public education.
Earlier editions: Town history research bundle · Health, transit and recreation bundle. Source links identify material held elsewhere; image credits explain dates and reuse terms.
