Connecticut Trivia & Tidbits
Looking for Connecticut trivia? Try our list Connecticut little know facts, tidbits and trivia.
—In 1835, the state Legislature granted a rail charter to the Fairfield County Railroad, but after 15 years the project languished. The project was scaled back and renamed the Danbury and Norwalk Railroad. The first line opened in 1852 with two trains making the 75-minute trip between the two communities.
first appeared: 5/4/2008
—Civil War Gen. Ulysses S. Grant was accompanied by 55 Waterbury soldiers when he met with Confederate Gen. Robert E. Lee for the surrender at Appomattox Court House, Va., on April 9, 1865. A total of 942 Waterbury natives fought during the Civil War.
first appeared: 3/9/2008
—Jen Rizzotti, point guard for the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team, led the Huskies to their first national championship in 1995 and earned AP Player of the Year in 1995-96. She played eight seasons of professional basketball after graduation in 1996.
first appeared: 2/24/2008
—While coastal and river communities endured attacks by the British during the American Revolution, Litchfield (pop. 8,316) was considered a “safe” town for the Continental Army. Munitions and provisions passed through the town on major roads connecting Hartford and southern Connecticut to Continental Army troops in the Hudson Valley.
first appeared: 2/10/2008
—In the early 1950s, writer Ring Lardner Jr. spent 10 months at the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury. He was one of the Hollywood Ten who refused to answer a House Un-American Activities Committee question about membership in the Communist Party.
first appeared: 1/27/2008
—The Beardsley Zoo in Bridgeport, the state’s only zoo, is devoted to the wildlife of North and South America and to the preservation of endangered species. Among its attractions are an indoor rain forest exhibit, a New England farmyard, greenhouse, picnic grove, carousel and the Peacock Café.
first appeared: 1/13/2008
—Vin Baker, who grew up in Old Saybrook (pop. 10,367), was a scoring leader at the University of Hartford and a four-time National Basketball Association All-Star. He also was a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. team at the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
first appeared: 12/30/2007
—The Military Museum of Southern New England in Danbury is dedicated to the preservation of U.S. military history. The museum began as a memorial to the American Tank Destroyer units of World War II and now houses more than 10,000 artifacts covering all of the armed services.
first appeared: 12/2/2007
—On a tour of the United States in 1824 and 1825, French general Marquis de Lafayette, who fought with the colonists in the American Revolution, was presented with the Lafayette Presentation Button set, a gift from the Hayden, Scovill and Leavenworth Co. of Waterbury.
first appeared: 11/18/2007
—In 1728, the first steel mill in the United States began operations in Simsbury (pop. 23,234). The city also can lay claim to manufacturing the nation’s first safety fuses, used to ignite gunpowder, in 1836.
first appeared: 11/4/2007
—In 1937, Connecticut pioneered the first use of a multiyear permanent automobile license base plate. A novel aspect of these aluminum plates was that they were fitted with metal inserts that were a different color each year, identifying the year of registration.
first appeared: 10/21/2007
—The Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (FCHT) is a multiuse trail that, once completed, will run from Farmington north through Avon, Simsbury, East Granby, Granby and Suffield to the Massachusetts border—a total of 21.4 miles. The FCHT Council expects the trail, built largely along abandoned rail corridors, to be completed by the end of this year, with only one gap in East Granby, where bridge repairs are needed.
first appeared: 10/7/2007
—Baseball player Jeff Bagwell of Killingworth (pop. 6,018) was the National League’s Most Valuable Player in 1994. When he retired from the Houston Astros last year, he had amassed 449 home runs and 1,529 runs batted in.
first appeared: 9/30/2007
—Danbury’s nickname, “Hat City,” evolved from its leading role in the millinery industry in the late-18th century. By the mid-20th century, hat-making shops had all but disappeared from the city.
first appeared: 9/9/2007
—One of the first cotton mills in the nation was built in Putnam (pop. 9,002) in 1806. Available waterpower and the opening of the railroad in 1840 provided the impetus for a flourishing local textile industry.
first appeared: 8/26/2007
—In 1986, Norwalk paired with the Nicaraguan town of Nagarote to foster community development. The nonprofit Norwalk-Nagarote Sister City Project sponsors delegations, material aid shipments and a variety of projects, including developing Nagarote’s first library.
first appeared: 8/12/2007
—In the fall of 2004, Eagle Scout Phillip Goulet, 20, a resident of Winsted (pop. 7,321), pulled two women from a burning car. Unable to get a signal on his cell phone, Goulet drove the women to the hospital. Goulet later was commended by Gov. M. Jodi Rell for his heroic efforts.
first appeared: 7/29/2007
—The International Skating Center of Connecticut in Simsbury (pop. 23,234) draws both first-time skaters and Olympic competitors, and frequently hosts world-class skating shows.
first appeared: 7/15/2007
—Danbury, a military depot during the American Revolution, was burned and looted by British troops in April 1777. The city’s motto, Restituimus, Latin for “We have restored,” refers to its resurrection after the fire.
first appeared: 7/1/2007
—“P.T. Barnum: Bethel to Broadway to Bridgeport” is among the new exhibits at the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport. Exploring showman P.T. Barnum’s life and career, the exhibit begins with his 1810 birth in Bethel and concludes with the circus known as the “Greatest Show on Earth.”
first appeared: 6/17/2007
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