While Bushnell Park contains numerous landmarks, there are plenty other obscure and outstanding monuments scattered throughout Hartford, Connecticut. Many of them have a connection to the history of the city, but others celebrate the legacy of the region and country in a multitude of ways.
Hartford’s Ancient Burying Grounds are connected to the origin of the city, as they contain the remains of the city’s founders. That includes the Rev. Samuel Stone, which compelled the creation of a bronze sculpture of him in 2005 that is located at the entrance to the site. It is Hartford’s oldest historic site and the only one remaining from the 17th century. Events and walking tours take place the Ancient Burying Grounds on a regular basis.
The statue dedicated to the Marquis de la Fayette was erected in 1932. A plaque was added in 1957 that details his critical support of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. It is a copy of a 1907 statue in Paris that originally stood across Capitol Avenue, but was moved in 1979 to improve traffic patterns in the area.
The Stone Field Sculpture was created by Carl Andre in 1977. It consists of eight rows of boulders in a triangular shape, with the first row containing one large boulder. Each row contains more and smaller stones, with the eighth row having eight smaller boulders. Locally sourced, the stones were chosen so that their composition would reflect the makeup of rock in the area.
A mortar monument dedicated to the men of the First Connecticut Heavy Artillery Regiment sits in on the grounds of the State Capital. The mortar is claimed to have been in actual use by the regiment during the Petersburg campaign in 1864-1865 and was known as the “Petersburg Express.” The survivors of the regiment erected it forty years after the conflict, which is one of the reasons modern historians have come to challenge these claims.
These are just some of the obscure and outstanding monuments that can be seen and experienced throughout Hartford. Their connection to the past illustrates what it can mean to engage audiences in the present to spur interest and activity across the city that will extend into the far future.
