Connecticut's Old State House

National Historic Landmark · Hartford, Connecticut

The 1796 statehouse on Main Street, designed by Charles Bulfinch before he went on to the Massachusetts State House and the US Capitol, and the oldest surviving statehouse in the country. It was Connecticut government for nearly a century and Hartford city hall for a century after that. Two things happened here that matter well beyond Connecticut: the Hartford Convention of 1814, where New England Federalists met to discuss secession and destroyed their own party doing it, and the first trial of the Amistad captives in 1839, which began the case that reached the Supreme Court and freed them. The restored Senate chamber and the Bulfinch courtroom are both open. Upstairs sits Joseph Steward Museum of Curiosities, a recreation of the strange cabinet of two-headed animals and portraits that ran here in the 1790s, which is either the best or the oddest room in Hartford depending on who you ask.

800 Main Street, Hartford, Hartford, Connecticut, 06103, United States

Open on a short week with at least one or two weekday closures, and on reduced hours in winter; the schedule has changed repeatedly with funding, so confirm before travelling. Closed on major holidays. The Amistad and Hartford Convention material is permanently installed. The surrounding square and the exterior can be seen at any time for nothing.

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