Books
All of the books listed below deal in some way with the history of Hartford. While hardly a complete bibliography, it does include the most important and best-known titles. To suggest additions, write to Editor and Webmaster Kevin Flood.
African American Connecticut Explored, edited by Elizabeth J. Normen. Published in 2014 by the Wesleyan University Press.
American Furniture, co-edited by William Hosley and Luke Beckerdite, published in 1995 by the Chipstone Foundation and the University Press of New England, Hanover, N.H. Several articles concern Hartford.
The Archaeology of Connecticut: The Human Era - 11,000 Years Ago to the Present, edited by William and Kirsten Keagan. Published in 1999 by the Bibliopola Press of the University of Connecticut. Distributed by the University Press of New England.
Bleeding Green: A History of the Hartford Whalers, by Christopher Price, published in 2022 by the University of Nebraska Press.
The Blue Laws: the Earliest Laws of Connecticut and New Haven Colonies, compiled and published by Silas Andrus in 1821, reissued by the Bibliopola Press of the University of Connecticut in 1999. Distributed by the University Press of New England. Includes the Civil Compact adopted by Hartford, Windsor and Wethersfield in 1638-39.
Bob Steele on the Radio: The Life of Connecticut’s Beloved Broadcaster, by Paul Hensler, published in 2019 by McFarland & Company Inc.
By Their Markers Ye Shall Know Them: A Chronicle of the History and Restorations of Hartford's Anciet Burying Ground, by William Hosley and Shepherd M. Holcombe Sr., published in 1997 by the Ancient Burying Ground Association.
Circus Fire: A True Story, by Stewart O'Nan, published in 2000 by Doubleday, New York.
The City of Hartford: An Illustrated History, by Ellsworth Strong Grant and Marion Hepburn Grant, published in 1986 by the Connecticut Historical Society with support from the Society for Savings.
A Clearing in the Distance: Frederick Law Olmsted and America in the Nineteenth Century, by Witold Rybczynski, published in 1999 by Scribner, New York.
The Club on Prospect Street, by Ellsworth S. Grant, published in 1984 by the Hartford Club.
The Colt Legacy, by Ellsworth S. Grant, published in 1982 by the Mowbray Company of Providence, R.I.
Colt: The Making of an American Legend, by William Hosley, published in 1996 by the University of Massachusetts Press of Amherst, Mass.
Connecticut: A Fully Illustrated History of the State from the Seventeenth Century to the Present, by Albert E. Van Dusen, published in 1961 by Random House.
Connecticut Historical Collections, by John Warner Barber, originally published in 1896 and reissued by the Bibliopola Press of the University of Connecticut in 1999. Distributed by the University Press of New England.
Connecticut in the American Civil War: Slavery, Sacrifice, and Survival, by Matt Warshauer, published in 2011 by the Wesleyan University Press.
Connecticut Industries Unite for WWII Victory, by Sharon L. Cohen, published in 2024. Includes reports that area companies filed in 1946 with the Connecticut Department of War Records. Available at www.highpointpub.com.
Connecticut Observed: Three Centuries of Visitors' Impressions, 1676-1940, edited by Richard Buel Jr. and J. Bard McNulty, published in 1999 by the Acorn Club and the Connecticut Humanities Council.
Connecticut Past & Present, by Odell Shepard, published in 1939 by Alfred A. Knopf of New York.
Connecticut: Driving Through History, by Suzanne Staubach, published in 1998 by the Covered Bridge Press, 1998. Contains history, illustrations, etc., on every community in Connecticut, including much on Hartford.
Crisis and Political Beliefs: The Case of the Colt Firearms Strike, by Marc Lendler, published in 1997 by the Yale University Press.
Crowbar Governor: The Life and Times of Morgan Gardner Bulkeley, by Kevin Murphy, published in 2011 by Wesleyan University Press.
Domesticating the Street: The Reform of Public Space in Hartford, 1850-1930, by Peter C. Baldwin, published in 1999 by the Ohio State University Press.
Frog Hollow: Stories from an American Neighborhood, by Susan Campbell, published in 2019 by Wesleyan University Press.
Forever Whalers: From Abrahamsson to Zuke, An Encyclopedia of Hockey's Icemen, by Jack Lautier, published in 1997 by Glacier Publishing.
Great Hartford Circus Fire: Creative Settlement of Mass Disasters, by Henry S. Cohn, with David Bollier, foreword by Stephen Joel Trachtenberg, published in 1992 by the Yale University Press.
The Great River: Art & Society of the Connecticut Valley, 1635-1820, edited by William Hosley and G.W.R. Ward, published by the Wadsworth Atheneum in 1985 to coincide with the 350th anniversary of Hartford's settlement.
Harriet Beecher Stowe: A Life, by Joan D. Hedrick, published in 1994 by the Oxford University Press, New York. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1995.
Hartford: An Illustrated History of Connecticut's Capital, by Glenn Weaver, published in 1982 by Windsor Publications, in Woodlands, Calif.
Hartford: Yesterday and Today, by Robert H. Arnold, published in 1985 by the Farmcliff Press of Glastonbury.
Hartford's Catholic Legacy: Parishes, by Joseph W. Duffy, published in 1994 by the Archdiocese of Hartford.
Hartford Heritage: A Postcard Book, by Jack McConnell, published in 2003 by the Greater Hartford Arts Council and the Globe Pequot Press.
Hartford Jews: 1659-1970, by Rabbi Morris Silverman. Published in 1970 by the Connecticut Historical Society.
Hartford in World War I, by David Drury, published in 2015 by the History Press.
Hartford Trolleys, by Connecticut Motor Coach Museum Staff, published in 2004 by Arcadia Publishing, as part of its Images of Rail series.
The Hartford Whalers, by Brian Codagnone, published in 2004 by Arcadia Publishing, as part of its Images of Sports series.
The Hidden History of Connecticut, by Wilson Faude, published in 2010 by The History Press.
History of Hartford County, 1633-1928, by Charles W. Burpee, published in 1997 by Higginson Book Company.
History of Hartford Streets, by F. Perry Close, published in 1969 by the Connecticut Historical Society.
The History of Trinity College, Vol. 1, by Glenn Weaver, published in 1967 by Trinity College. Download a PDF copy.
Historical Catalog of the First Church in Hartford, 1633-1885, edited by Charles T. Weller, et al, published in 1994 by the First Church of Christ in Hartford.
Hopes and Expectations: The Origins of the Black Middle Class in Hartford, by Barbara J. Beeching. Published in 2017 by the State University of New York.
Horace Bushnell: Minister to a Changing America, by Barbara M. Cross, published in Chicago in 1958.
Identity and Power: Puerto Rican Politics and the Challenge of Ethnicity, by Jose E. Cruz, published in 1993 by the Temple University Press.
Images of America: Hartford, Vol. 1, compiled by Wilson H. Faude, published in 1994 by Arcadia Publishing, an imprint of Chalford Publishing.
Images of America: Hartford, Vol. 2, compiled by Wilson H. Faude, published in 1995 by Arcadia Publishing, an imprint of Chalford Publishing.
Images of America: Hartford, Vol. 3, compiled by Wilson H. Faude, published in 1997 by Arcadia Publishing, an imprint of Chalford Publishing.
Images of America: Lost Hartford, compiled by Wilson H. Faude, published in 2000 by Arcadia Publishing, an imprint of Tempus Publishing.
In & About Hartford: Tours and Tales, by Marion H. Grant, published in 1978 by the Connecticut Historical Society.
Irving Street and Other Hartford Memories, by Dennis Sullivan, published in 2016 by DiggyPOD.
Jewish Cemeteries of Hartford, Connecticut: The Cohen/Goldfarb Collection, Vol. 1, by Edward A. Cohen and Lewis Goldfarb, published in 1995 by Heritage Books, Inc.
Jewish Community of Hartford, by the Jewish Historical Society of Hartford. Published in 2016 by Arcadia Publishing.
Mad Yankees: The Hartford Retreat for the Insane and Nineteenth-Century Psychiatry, by Lawrence B. Goodheart, published in 2003 by the University of Massachusetts Press.
Magician of the Modern: Chick Austin and the Transformation of the Arts in America, by Eugene R. Gaddis, published in 2000 by Alfred A. Knopf.
Making a Life, Building a Community: A History of the Jews of Hartford, by David G. Dalin, Jonathan Rosenbaum, published in 1997 by Holmes & Meier Publishers Inc.
A Matter of Degree: The Hartford Circus Fire and the Mystery of Little Miss 1565, by Don Massey and Rick Davey, published in 2000 by the Willow Brook Press.
Me: Stories of My Life, by Katharine Hepburn, published in 1991 by Alfred A.Knopf.
The Miracle of Connecticut, by Ellsworth S. Grant, published in 1992 by The Connecticut Historical Society and Fenwick Productions.
The Nineteenth Century Parks of Hartford: A Legacy to the Nation, by John Alexopoulos, published in 1983 by the Hartford Architecture Conservancy.
Nook Farm: Mark Twain's Hartford Circle, by Kenneth R. Andrews, published in 1950 by the Harvard University Press.
On The Line: How Schooling, Housing, and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and Its Suburbs, by Jack Dougherty and contributors. Draft published online in 2017 by Trinity College.
One Hundred Years of Hartt: A Centennial Celebration of The Hartt School, by Demaris Hansen, published in 2020 by the Wesleyan University Press. Hartt began as the Hartt College of Music and became part of the University of Hartford in 1957.
Organizing in Hard Times: Labor and Neighborhoods in Hartford, by Louise B. Simmons, published in 1994 by the Temple University Press.
Picturing Victorian America: Prints by the Kellogg Brothers of Hartford, Connecticut, 1830-1880, edited by Nancy Finlay, published in 2009 by the Connecticut Historical Society.
The Power Broker: A Biography of John M. Bailey, Modern Political Boss, by Joseph I. Lieberman, published in 1966 by Houghton Mifflin.
Puritan Parker: Historical Narrative of Sergeant William Parker, One of the Founders of Hartford, Connecticut and a Veteran of the Pequot Indian War of 1637, by Bernard S. Parker, published in 2011 by CreateSpace.
Remarkable Women of Hartford, by Cynthis Wolfe Boynton. Published in 2014 by the History Press.
Remembering the Old Neighborhood: Stories from Hartford's North End, edited by Joan Walden, published in 2009 by the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Hartford.
Revolver: Sam Colt and the Six-Shooter That Changed America, by Jim Rasenberger, published by Scribner in 2020.
Structures and Styles: Guided Tours of Hartford Architecture, by Gregory E. Andrews and David F. Ransom, with a forward by Brendan Gill, published in 1988 by the Connecticut Historical Society and the Connecticut Architecture Foundation.
Tempest-Tossed: The Spirit of Isabella Beecher Hooker, by Susan Campbell, published in 2014 by Garnet Books.
Trinity College in the Twentieth Century: A History, by Peter J. Knapp in collaboration with Anne H. Knapp. Published in 2000 by Trinity College. Download a PDF copy.
United Tastes: The Making of the First American Cookbook, by Keith Stavely and Kathleen Fitzgerald. Published in 2017 by the University of Massachusetts Press.
Victorian Hartford (Postcard History Series), by Tomas Nenortas. Published in 2005 by Arcadia Publishing.
Victorian Hartford Revisited (Postcard History Series), by Tomas Nenortas. Published in 2007 by Arcadia Publishing.
The Witchcraft Delusion in Colonial Connecticut, 1647-1697, by John Taylor. Originally published in 1908 by the Grafton Press, reissued in 1999 by Brohan Press.
Water for Hartford: The Story of the Hartford Water Works and the Metropolitan District Commission, by Kevin Murphy, published in 2004 by the Shining Tramp Press and in 2011 by the Wesleyan University Press.
Wicked Hartford, by Steve Thornton, published in 2017 by the History Press.
William Gillette, America's Sherlock Holmes, by Henry Zecher, published in 2011 by Xlibris.
Yankee Dreamers and Doers: The Story of Connecticut Manufacturing, by Ellsworth S. Grant, published as second edition in 1996 by the Connecticut Historical Society and Fenwick Productions. First edition published in 1974.
