park river watershed revitalization initiative
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| 1633 - Dutch Point - Park River Mouth © CT State Library | 1819 - Little River Map © CT State Library | 1850 - Trinity College Overlooking the Little River © CT State Library | 1852 - The Little River Near Union Station © CT State Library | 1900? - Hartford River Community © CT State Library | 1863 - The Park River and the City © CHS | 1890? - Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch and Bridge © CHS | 1907 - The Park River East of Main Street © CT State Library | 1912 - City Beautiful Downtown Master plan © CHS | 1912 - City Beautiful Master plan © CHS | 1936 Downtown Flood from Travelers Tower © CT State Library | 1936 - Ford Street Flood Water © CT State Library | 1941 - Park River Conduit Under Construction © CT State Library | 1949 - Downtown Park River Conduit Completed © CHS | 1950 - River Conduit from Capitol to Connecticut River © CHS | 1955 - Conduit Extension Plan © CT State Library | 1885 Nook Farm © CT State Library | 1964 Nook Farm | 1955 - Conduit Section © CT State Library | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| HARBOR - 1614-1654 (40 Years) | LITTLE RIVER - 1654-1852 (198 Years) | GREEN NECKLACE - 1853-1935 (82 Years) | SUDDEN HAZARD - 1936-1949 (13 Years) | FORGOTTEN RIVER - 1950-1999 (49 Years) | NEW RIVER DEVELOPMENT - 2000-2005 (5 Years) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1614 | 1633 | 1636 | 1653(4) | 1760 | 1833 (1834) | 1824 | 1852 | Mid 1850's, 60's | 1853 | Dec 2, 1853 (Nov) | Jan 5, 1854 | 1861 | 1865 (1864) | 1872 | 1874 | 1885 | 1890's | 1907 | 1909 | 1912 | 1936 | 1938 | 1940 | 1940 | 1941-42 | 1941-42 | 1945 | 1949 | 1955 | 1961-63 | 1964 | 1969 | 1985? | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Adriaen Block Sails Up the Connecticut River to the Mouth of Hartford's Little River | The Dutch Build the House of Hope Trading Post at the Mouth of the Little River and Use the Mouth as a Harbor for Nearly Twenty Years | Thomas Hooker and His Ecclesiatical Society Settle Just North of the Little River. That Same Year The First Mill is Built Along the Little River | The Dutch Abandon the House of Hope | The Town Begins to Sell Off Its Property Along Both Banks of the Little River | Hartford's Main Street Stone Bridge is Built Over the Little River. At the Time of it's Completion, it is the Largest Stone Arch Bridge in the United States | Washington College (renamed Trinity College in 1845) Is Established on the Grounds of the Future State Capitol Overlooking the River. | The Capitol Avenue Industrial District begins to form along the Little River | Companies Within the Capitol Avenue Industrial District Continue to Dump Their Waste Into the River | Plans Are Drawn Up by Rev. Horace Bushnell to Replace The Slums Along the Polluted River with a New Municipal Park | Hartford Council Votes to Approve the Bushnell Park Plan | The Bushnell Park Plan is Approved by Hartford's Voters | The Newly Formed Park Commission Acquires the Services of Jacob Weidenman to Design the New Park and River Landscape | Bushell Park Opens with the Little River as its Main Design Feature. The Little River is Eventually Renamed the Park River | Trinity Sells Off It's Property and Existing Campus to the City of Hartford as the New Site for Connecticut's New State Capitol Building | Mark Twain's House is Completed Along the East Bank of the North Branch of the Park River | The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Arch Is Completed Along the South Bank of the River in Bushnell Park | The Capitol Avenue Industrial Center Continues to Grow. Numerous District Companies Continue to Dump Their Waste Into the Park River | A Formal Hartford Master Plan is Established by the City's New Planning Commision | The City's Planning Commision Calls for the Cleansing of the Park River and the Creation of a Park River Pollution Control Network | The Firm of Carrere and Hastings Complete a Visionary City Beautiful Plan for Hartford. The Plan Proposes Building a Vast Network of Parkways along the Park River Corridor. | The Flood of 1936 Submerges Bushnell Park and Most of Downtown. | The Hurricane of 1938 Floods Bushnell Park and Downtown Again. The City Contacts the Federal Government to Resolve the Park River Flooding Hazard | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Begins Work on the Park River Conduit; At the Time the Largest Public Works Project in New England | The Hoadley Bridge and Wood Footbridge Spanning the River are Demolished. The Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Bridge is Buried | Components of the Stone-Arched Hoadley Memorial Bridge are Reused to Make the Present-Day Hoadley Memorial Entrance | The Park River is Removed from Bushnell Park and Rerouted Underground. A Pond is Built in Bushnell Park to Symbolize the River's Original Path | The Coland-Whitehead Highway is Opened to Traffic | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Completes the Bushnell Park Phase of the Park River Conduit | After the Flood of 1955, Plans are Put in Place to Extend the Park River Conduit to Include The Rmainder of the Main Branch and Parts of the River's North and South Branches | The North Branch region around Nook Farm is Buried to Make Way For the City's New Hartford Public High School | The New Hartford Public High School is Completed on the Former Grounds of the Nook Farm Neighborhood. | The Interstate 84 Segment from Hartford to Southington is Opened to Traffic, Part of which is Built Over the Original Path of the Park River | The Park River Conduit is Offically Completed. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
timeline: Nicholas Caruso: 2005;
photographs: Connecticut Historical Society, and the Connecticut State Library