Collier's New Encyclopedia (1921)/Connecticut (State)

CONNECTICUT, a State in the North Atlantic division of the North American Union; bounded by Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Long Island Sound, and New York; gross area, 4,845 square miles; one of the original 13 States; number of counties, 8; population (1890) 746,258; (1900) 908,420; (1910) 1,114,756; (1920) 1,380,631; capital, Hartford.

Topography.—Connecticut lies on the S. slope of the New England hill region, and while its surface is diversified by hills and valleys it is in only a few places over 1,000 feet in altitude. The highest elevation is Bear Mountain, Salisbury, 2,354 feet. The State is drained by three large rivers and their tributaries; the Connecticut, rising in New Hampshire, bisects the State in a N. and S. direction, and is navigable for 50 miles; the Thames, formed by the Shetucket, Yantic, and Quinnebang, is navigable as far as Norwich; and the Housatonic, with its main branch, the Naugatuck, navigable to Derby, The coast line is about 100 miles in length and affords many excellent harbors, of which New Haven and New London are the largest.

Geology.—The valley of the Connecticut river exhibits triassic sandstone and post-tertiary formation, but the greater part of the State is of eozoic or primary formation, which is separated into E. and W. sections by secondary rocks. Extensive trap dykes traverse the E. and W. sections, and boulders of great size on the hill tops, together with scratches on the mountain sides, are indications of a glacial passage down the Connecticut valley.

Soil.—Along the coast as far N. as Middletown the soil is very sandy; but the remainder of the Connecticut valley has a rich deep loamy soil. In the N. E. is a light gray loam and in the S. E. a dark argillaceous soil. The climate is temperate, and there are no swamps or marshes. The trees include several varieties of oak, pine, cedar, tamarack, chestnut, beech, wild cherry, ash, basswood, hickory, walnut, willow, poplar, dogwood, sycamore and holly.

Mineralogy.—Of various mineral productions iron ore is the most abundant. Copper and lead exist, but have never been mined with much profit. Silver occurs in minute quantities. There are immense quarries of red sandstone at Portland and Cromwell, and marble and limestone is quarried at Canaan and Washington, while the largest amount of orthoclase quarried in the United States comes from Glastonbury and Middletown. The total value of the mineral production is about $4,000,000 annually. Clay products rank first in value—about $2,000,000—and stone second, with a value of about $1,300,000.

Agriculture.—The agricultural interests of the State are very important. Cereals, fruits, and vegetables grow in great abundance in the W. valleys and tobacco in the valley of the Connecticut. The acreage, production, and value of the chief crops in 1919 was as follows: Corn, 55,000 acres, 3,300,000 bushels, with a value of $5,940,000; hay, 340,000 acres, 544,000 tons, with a value of $16,429,000; tobacco, 25,000 acres, 39,000,000 pounds, with a value of $18,057,000; potatoes, 24,000 acres, 1,680,000 bushels, with a value of $3,276,000.

Manufactures.—Connecticut is one of the foremost manufacturing States in the Union. There were in 1914, 4,104 manufacturing establishments in the State, employing 226,264 wage-earners. The capital invested amounted to $620,194,000. There were paid in wages $125,220,000. The value of materials used was $288,511,000, and the value of the finished product was $545,472,000. The principal articles were cotton goods, foundry and machine shop products, hardware, and brassware. Other important manufactures are woolen goods, silk and silk goods, plated and britannia ware, hats and caps, brass castings and finishings, corsets, and worsted goods.

Banking.—In 1919 there were 66 National banks in operation, having $20,306,000 capital, $13,577,478 in outstanding circulation and $12,858,850 in United States bonds. There were also 3 State banks, with $550,000 capital, $12,179,000 in deposits, and $14,515,900 in resources. In the year sending Sept. 30, 1919, the exchanges at the United States clearing-houses at Hartford and New Haven aggregated $722,532,000.

Education.—The school population of the State is about 330,000, with an enrollment of about 250,000. There are about 8,000 teachers, with an average monthly salary of about $75. The annual expenses of the towns for educational purposes is about $10,000,000. For higher instruction there are public high schools, private secondary schools, public normal schools, at Bridgeport, New Britain, New Haven (State Normal School), and Willimantic, and Yale University, New Haven University, New Haven (opened 1701, Cong.); Wesleyan University, Middletown (1831, M. E.), and Trinity College, Hartford (1824, P. E.). Among the principal private secondary schools are: the Hotchkiss School, at Lakewood; Morgan School, at Clinton; Norwich Free Academy, at Norwich; and Bulkley School, at New London.

Charities and Corrections.—The charitable and correctional institutions include the Connecticut Hospital for the Insane at Middletown, the Norwich Hospital for the Insane at Norwich, the Connecticut State Prison at Wethersfield, the Connecticut School for Boys at Meriden, the Connecticut Industrial School for Girls at Middletown, the Connecticut Colony for Epileptics at Mansfield, and the Connecticut School for Imbeciles at Lakeville.

Railways.—There are about 1,000 miles of railway in the State. The New York, New Haven and Hartford has about 850 miles, the Central New York about 83 miles, and the Central Vermont about 58 miles. There has been practically no new construction of railways in recent years.

Finance.—The receipts for the fiscal year ending 1918 amounted to $15,198,326, and the expenditures to $13,706,034. There was a balance at the end of the year of $642,572. The State has a funded debt of about $12,000,000.

State Government.—The governor is elected for a term of two years and receives a salary of $5,000 per annum. Legislative sessions are held biennially. The legislature has 258 members in the House and 35 in the Senate, each elected for a term of two years. Connecticut sends five representatives to Congress.

History.—The first settlement in Connecticut was made at Hartford, in 1633, by the Dutch. The first constitution was adopted in Hartford in 1639, and formed the basis of the charter of 1662. In 1686 the royal governor, Andros, attempted to obtain the charter, but, according to popular belief, it was hidden in the hollow of an oak tree. On the dethronement of James II. the colonial government resumed its functions. Connecticut took an active part in the French, Indian, Revolutionary, English (1812), and Civil Wars. She instructed her delegates in the Continental Congress to propose a declaration of independence, and was the fifth State to ratify the Federal Constitution. The Hartford convention, most memorable of gatherings in the State, assembled Dec. 15, 1814. It protested against the war with England and against the action of the national government with reference to State defense. This convention, which adjourned Jan. 5, 1815, raised the Federal party in the estimation of the people.

 Copyright, L. L. Poates Eng. Co., 1921