\Hartford is the capital of the state of Connecticut, int the Hartford County. It is located on the Connecticut River, near the center of the state. As of the 2000 census, the population of the city was 121,578.
Its main newspapers are the daily Hartford Courant and the weekly Hartford Advocate.
It is the home of Trinity College, the Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford Seminary, the University of Hartford (in the adjoining city of West Hartford), and the University of Connecticut Law School. The Institute of Living was one of the first mental hospitals in the nation.
Hartford is also a center of the insurance industry, and home to Colt Firearms and large corporations like United Technologies (Pratt & Whitney, Otis, Sikorsky).
Mark Twain lived in Hartford for many years, and the Mark Twain House is a national historic site.
Wallace Stevens, the poet, was an insurance executive here.
Katharine Hepburn and Stephen Cole Kleene were born here.
Hartford, Connecticut, is just south of Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut; the airport also serves the Springfield, Massachusetts area.
History
Dutch fur traders from New Amsterdam set up trade in the site as early as 1623, after Adriaen Block explored it in 1614. They named their post the 'Hope House' (Huys de Hoop), and by 1633 Jacob van Curler had added a block house and palisade while New Amsterdam sent a small garrison and a pair of canons. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but its neighborhood in Hartford is still known as Dutch Point.
The first English settlers arrived in 1636. Thomas Hooker led 100 settlers with 130 head of cattle in a trek from Newtown (now Cambridge) in the Massachusetts Bay Colony and started their settlement just north of the Dutch fort.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 46.5 km² (18.0 mi²). 44.8 km² (17.3 mi²) of it is land and 1.7 km² (0.7 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 3.67% water.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 121,578 people, 44,986 households, and 27,171 families residing in the city. The population density is 2,711.8/km² (7,025.5/mi²). There are 50,644 housing units at an average density of 1,129.6 persons/km² (2,926.5 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 27.72% White, 38.05% African American, 0.54% Native American, 1.62% Asian, 0.11% Pacific Islander, 26.51% from other races, and 5.44% from two or more races. 40.52% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 44,986 households out of which 34.4% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 25.2% are married couples living together, 29.6% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 39.6% are non-families. 33.2% of all households are made up of individuals and 9.6% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.58 and the average family size is 3.33.
In the city the population is spread out with 30.1% under the age of 18, 12.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 18.0% from 45 to 64, and 9.5% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 30 years. For every 100 females there are 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 86.0 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $24,820, and the median income for a family is $27,051. Males have a median income of $28,444 versus $26,131 for females. The per capita income for the city is $13,428. 30.6% of the population and 28.2% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 41.0% are under the age of 18 and 23.2% are 65 or older.
