Connecticut in 1893 - Hartford, New Haven, Bridgeport

This map of central Hartford was published in 1893 by D.H. Hurd & Co. of Boston as part of the firm's Town and City Atlas of the State of Connecticut, compiled from government surveys, county records, and the publisher's own on-the-ground investigations. Hurd's atlas hand-colored each ward individually across this sheet, a level of finish the firm used specifically to keep its dense city plans legible, and this particular sheet was issued as one of three linked views of Hartford, with companion pages covering the city's north and south sections separately. It covers the central district of Hartford, Connecticut's capital, at a time when the city was a well-established industrial and insurance center anchoring the state's economy.

The map lays out Hartford's numbered wards, including the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th, each washed in its own color to mark the city's voting precincts. Railroad lines are traced through the central district, reflecting Hartford's position as a rail hub within Connecticut. Major buildings and institutions central to city life are recorded throughout the map. High Hill Cemetery is marked as a named landmark within the mapped area. Together, the wards, railroads, and civic buildings sketch the working core of a capital city that was, by 1893, an entrenched center of Connecticut's industry and insurance business.

This central Hartford sheet is well suited to a Hartford family, a Connecticut transplant, or a collector building out a set of New England capital cities. Because this sheet covers only the city's central wards, it pairs naturally with the atlas's companion north and south Hartford pages for anyone wanting a fuller picture of the capital at this exact moment. It's available unframed in a full range of sizes, from a compact study print to a larger statement piece.