Hartford, CT

Hartford is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. As of the 2010 census, the population was 124,917. Hartford is the largest city in New England and the fourth-largest city in the United States. The Greater Hartford area has a population of about 1 million people.

The first Europeans to visit Hartford were Dutch traders who arrived in 1636. The area that became Hartford was part of Wethersfield, which was granted by the English Crown to Samuel Gorton on May 6, 1636 for his services during King Philip's War (1675-1676). Gorton had established a trading post at Windsor and built a fort on what is now Park Street near downtown Hartford, which he named Fort Saybrook after his patron saint. In 1637, Gorton sold Windsor to Peter Stuyvesant and moved his trading post to what is now West Rockhill (now part of North Haven).

In 1638, Stuyvesant led an expedition against the Pequots and built a new fort on Castle Island in West Hartford as part of an effort to control trade along the Connecticut River Valley. The settlement that developed around this fort became known as "Stuyvesant's Town". In 1639, Stuyvesant sold out to English investors who renamed it " Hartford". The English settlers began to produce goods for sale in Europe and soon began importing products from Asia and Africa into their market economy; this helped spur economic growth throughout New England. By 1700, there were approximately 2200 inhabitants living in Hartford; by 1800 this number had increased tenfold to over 10,000 people.

During colonial times, agriculture was central to Connecticut's economy; however manufacturing also played an important role due to its location along major transportation routes such as Route 9 and I-84. Manufacturing plants such as Colt's Manufacturing Company (now Colt Firearms), Pratt & Whitney Aircraft Corporation (now United Technologies Corporation), Union Carbide Corporation (now Dow Chemical Company), Eastman Kodak Company (now Eastman Kodak Co.), Litchfield Machine Works (later acquired by General Motors), Warner-Lambert Company (later acquired by Abbott Laboratories) and others contributed significantly towards making Hartford one of America's leading industrial cities during this time period.

The early 20th century saw significant changes take place within Hartford's economy due largely to two factors: First was technological advancement; second was increased competition from other regions within America for investment dollars resulting from rapid economic growth experienced throughout most of America during this time period including both urban and rural areas alike. Automobiles replaced horses as primary means of transportation; this change led to increased production requirements for metals such as aluminum which were produced primarily in Detroit but also found their way into products made elsewhere such as automobiles manufactured by Ford Motor Company located just outside Detroit near Dearborn Michigan . This increase in production necessitated an increase in the availability of skilled labor which could be found only within large cities with well-developed infrastructure such as those found within metropolitan areas such as Chicago or New York City . This shift away from rural areas towards larger urban centers resulted in many small towns across America losing population while larger cities like Hartford continued their growth unabated ; however smaller towns located closer proximity (<50 miles)to large metropolitan areas tended not survive economically due largely due either geography or lack thereof access/ability/affordability/reliability public transportation systems . As a result many small towns across America have since ceased operations altogether while others have been absorbed into larger cities ; examples include Meriden , CT which merged with nearby Milford , CT ; Simsbury , CT which merged with nearby Shelton , CT ; Wallingford ,CT which merged with neighboring Weston ,CT ; Enfield ,CT which annexed portions of neighboring Suffield town ; Derby town annexed portions from neighboring Windham county .

Today there are numerous businesses located throughout downtown including banks offices law firms advertising agencies restaurants etc.; furthermore numerous companies have relocated their corporate headquarters either wholly or partially downtown including GE Capital Bank UBS AG Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceuticals Abbott Laboratories Bristol Myers Squibb Aetna Inc . among others . Downtown also features several parks including Prospect Park Conservancy Green Mountain National Forest George Washington Memorial Parkway among others ; furthermore various cultural venues are situated downtown including Symphony Hall Blumenthal Performing Arts Center among others