FT 22: the Connecticut Historical Society archive and State Capitol building

Sunny and Posy have been taking a Connecticut history class at our homeschool co-op taught by one of the dads who is an archivist at the State Library. So we decided to pay a visit to our state capitol building.

We started across the street at the State Library and found the Connecticut Charter enshrined in a special vault. According to the signs, this is the actual charter from 1662 creating Connecticut as a British colony and granting almost full autonomy to the local leaders, which was unheard of at the time. The legend is that in 1687, the king decided he wanted to take control of this little colony and sent someone to retrieve the Charter. If they didn't have it anymore, they no longer had autonomy. ... Or something like that. Well, at a certain moment, a wind came through and all the candles were blown out, and when the lights were lit, the Charter was GONE! And hidden in the hollow of a tree. The people kept their right of self-governance.

The Charter Oak tree was memorialized right away, and 200 years later, collapsed in a windstorm in 1856. There is now a "gravestone" marker at the location where the tree was, and the wood was preserved and used to make a number of items in and around the state capitol, including this frame for the Charter.

The Connecticut state heroine is Prudence Crandall, who was a teacher in the 1830s and allowed an African-American girl to participate in her classroom. It's the first instance of an integrated classroom in this country that I'm aware of, but it didn't last long. Ms. Crandall continued to educate African-American girls for a number of years even after the white parents pulled their daughters from her school, until basically she was run out of town. After the Civil War, however, she was honored by the state for her actions and granted a pension until her death.

I like this kind of heroine for my daughters to learn about.

The Wishing Chair is in the Senate Chamber - it is designated for the Vice Governor ... who wishes to be Governor! HA! It is also made from Charter Oak wood. We all took turns sitting in the chair and making our own wishes, not necessarily to be Governor.

We love learning about our new adopted state and its history. I worked on the House floor in the Oregon legislature, so my favorite place is always in the House of Representatives. Except when children are flopping around and not cooperating ...