1633: the Dutch sent Jacob van Curler up the river to establish a fort near the head of navigation. They called it "Huys de Hoop" - Fort Hope, or the House of Hope. The tiny garrison could not stop English settlements and farms around it, and the English were pushing southwest from Massachusetts, so the Dutch eventually gave up in the Treaty of Hartford (1650), pulling back to "New Amsterdam" and present day New York.
The site is now Hartford, the capital of Connecticut. The "Fort Hope" area was long known as "Dutch Point" and lies near the Colt Firearms factory complex and Armsmear mansion in the "Charter Oak" or "Coltsville" historical study area on the south side of Hartford. Look for "Huyshope Avenue" and "Dutch Point Lane" on www.MapQuest.com. The greenspace to the south is Colt's Park.
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Not far from there, the innovative technology and industrial science of Colt Firearms made Samuel Colt a very rich man, though he died young (47).The factory burned down in 1864, some say by arson by Southern sympathizers.Colt's wife had it rebuilt, complete with the onion dome.
In his day, Colt was seen as a visionary in industrial development and labor relations. He bought 200+ acres in the South Meadows of Hartford that was undeveloped and "worthless" because the Connecticut River flooded it every year. In a move the original Dutch garrison would have praised, he built a river dike to make the land usable. He reduced work hours, imposed fair labor standards on his subcontractors, built decent housing and social/recreational halls for his workers on the premises.
See a panel discussion of Colt's "Legend and Legacy" (largely built by his wife after his death). A bit follows:
"The Colt empire was built on a foundation of guns, art, religion, and personal mythology. Sam Colt was complex and flamboyant -- a self-proclaimed genius whose real accomplishments were matched by relentless self-promotion and repeated self-invention. His faithful wife Elizabeth proved herself to be no less extraordinary, and in the end made Sam Colt’s legend bigger than ever, and his empire her own."
See online images of Colt factory & the local memorials his wife commissioned, and the sprawling mansion that they built.
But even the greatest empires fall to time and disruptive technologies. By 1990, Colt Manufacturing was a failing business in a shrinking industry, and no one was interested in buying it. The State of Connecticut sank $25 million in state pension funds into a buyout which was criticized then as a political maneuver to save almost 1000 union jobs. Colt filed bankruptcy within two years, and the state lost most of its investment. The state calculated it lost only $21 million, after the "Colt" trademark was sold to the Economic Development Authority of Connecticut in 1994. See Congressional testimony.
The old, low-slung brick factory still dominates a portion of Hartford, hugging Interstate I-91 just south of the newer 'skyline' buildings. Its landmark "onion dome" is still maintained a bright blue with gold leaf stars.
On October 7, 2003, President Bush signed legislation directing a study of Coltsville as a possible new National Park. See National Review comment (favorable) on the plan, with links.
Posted by dougsimpson at October 15, 2003 03:07 PM | TrackBack