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Accountancy, State
Board of, 1907-2007 (RG 182).
The State Board of Accountancy was established in 1907 per Public Acts,
Chpt. 202. It was terminated in 1979 by P.A. 77-614, s. 573(d)(6),
reestablished as a component of the Dept. of Consumer Protection, per P.A.
77-614, s. 209. It was transferred to the Office of the Secretaty of the
State in 1985 per P.A. 85-504. It was terminated in 1992 by P.A. 92-212 and
reestablished as a separate entity. P.A. 11-48 placed the State Board of
Accountancy within the Office of the Secretary of the State effective July
1, 2011. Records include minutes, 1907-2007 and Public Accountants Program
Files, 1955-1958.
Administrative Services, Department of, 1875-1989 (RG 177)
The Department of Administrative Services (DAS) was established in 1977, the
result of an extensive reorganization of state government. The records come in part
from the Division of State Personnel and the Advisory Committee of the Bureau of
Purchasing Standards. The DAS records consist primarily of subject files and materials
from the state employee suggestion program.
Aging, Department on, 1977-1983 (RG 164)
The Commission on Aging was established in 1993 when the Department on Aging
disbanded and folded its program functions into the Division of Elderly Services
in the newly created Department of Social Services. The commission’s purpose is
to “advocate on behalf of elderly persons on issues and programs of concern to the
elderly including, but not limited to, health care, nutrition, housing, employment,
transportation, legal assistance, and economic security.” Materials in this collection
were created by the former Department on Aging and include meeting minutes of the
Advisory Council and administrative files.
Agriculture,
Department of, 1866-1978 (RG 098)
The Connecticut State Board of Agriculture was established in 1866 under Chapter
65 of the Connecticut Public Acts. The board helped establish the Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station and the Connecticut State College, later the University of Connecticut.
It was the forerunner of the present Department of Agriculture, organized in 1925.
The department’s mission is to foster a healthy economic, environmental and social
climate for agriculture by developing, promoting and regulating agricultural businesses;
protecting agricultural; enforcing laws pertaining to domestic animals; and promoting
an understanding among the state's citizens of the diversity of Connecticut agriculture,
its cultural heritage and its contribution to the state's economy. Records in this
collection were created by both the State Board of Agriculture and the Department
of Agriculture and include meeting minutes, financial records, newspaper clippings,
and scrapbooks.
Appropriations
Committee, 1899-2000 (RG 002:025)
Arts, Connecticut
Commission on the, 1962-1978 (RG 097)
This collection contains materials documenting the administration of such Commission
on the Arts activities as the exhibit, “300 Years of Connecticut Architecture,”
the American Revolution Bicentennial, Project Create, and Artists-in-Schools, plus
programs on art, dance, environmental awareness and music. It includes correspondence,
newspaper clippings, and press releases.
Attorney General, Office of the, 1903-1973 (RG 009)
The records consist of Attorney General opinions, case files, subject files
and correspondence. The opinions include written requests to the Office of the Attorney
General for opinions about state agencies and policies. They include written formal
and informal opinions including summaries of verbal opinions issued on a variety
of topics as well as arbitrator’s reports. There is also a large collection of attorney
general opinions on the Workmen’s Compensation Act (1950-59). Case files include
testimony transcripts, consultants’ reports, correspondence, and other supporting
documentation concerning cases handled by the Office of the Attorney General. Subject
files contain materials pertaining to the official business of the Attorney General’s
office and include correspondence, proposed bills, newspaper clippings, tax forms,
maps, and blueprints.
RG 009:004,
Connecticut vs. Massachusetts, 1890-1932, bulk 1928-1932
RG 009:005, Francis
A. Pallotti vs. William J. Cox, 1942
RG 009:006, Abele
vs. Markle, 1947-1981, bulk 1970-1975
RG 009:007, Indian
Litigation Files, 1666-2008, bulk 1965-2008
Baldwin (Raymond E.) gubernatorial records, 1939-1941 (RG005:027)
Baldwin (Raymond E.) gubernatorial records, 1943-1946 (RG005:029)
Banking, Department of,
1865-1971, bulk 1918-1963 (RG 014)
A number of Connecticut banks failed during the depression of 1929, and in 1935
the General Assembly assigned to the Banking Commissioner the responsibility for
liquidating their affairs. These are the papers from the Liquidation Division. The
records are comprised of receivership files and include records of foreclosures,
correspondence concerning closed banks, and administrative files. In addition, the
collection contains the records taken over from the banks that were in receivership.
Included in the bank records are legal papers, income tax returns, real estate files,
correspondence, and bank records of accounts.
Bipartisan Senate
Committee of Review, 2007 (RG 002:025)
Boundary Commissions,
1821-1962 (RG 075)
This record group includes materials created or collected by persons who served
as Connecticut’s agents on the bi-state commissions that established and maintained
the boundary lines between Connecticut and neighboring states. Henry R. Buck, Henry
W. Buck, and W. Robinson Buck, who served on the commission for an extended period
of time, collected the bulk of the material while conducting research on Connecticut’s
boundaries. The collection includes bi-state agreements, field notes, commission
reports, maps, photographs, plans, sketches showing the location of boundary markers
and a history of Connecticut’s State Boundaries. Many of the materials in this collection
have been published.
Boundary Line
Perambulations, State, 1965-1997 (RG 089:010)
The Department of Transportation is responsible for the perambulation,
examination, restoration or repair of the state line boundary monuments between
Connecticut and its neighbor states of New York, Massachusetts, and Rhode
Island. These records are comprised of the results of four decennial state
boundary line perambulations: 1965-1966; 1975-1976; 1985-1986; and 1997. Each
perambulation encompasses Connecticut's boundaries with New York, Massachusetts,
and Rhode Island. The results of the perambulations include photographs, maps,
and descriptions of bounds.
Bowles (Chester)
gubernatorial records, 1949-1951 (RG 005:031)
Capitol and to
Procure Site for New Building for State Officials, Commission to Make Repairs to
[State], 1904-1914 (RG 060)
The Commission was established by the General Assembly in 1903 to make repairs to
the State Capitol and to “investigate and ascertain the necessity of erecting an
additional building.” In 1905, the Commission was asked to purchase land, to procure
plans and specifications for a new State Library and Supreme Court building, and
obtain bids for its construction. The new building was opened in November 1910.
Records include correspondence, meeting minutes, arbitration agreements and contracts,
financial records, and photographs documenting the construction of the new State
Library and Supreme Court Building (see Picture Group 220).
Capitol, Commission on
Preservation and Restoration of Connecticut State, 1971-1973 (RG 084)
The Commission, formed in March 1972 under the chairmanship of the Public Works
Commissioner, was set up to arrange and obtain funding for a restoration of the
State Capitol. A major portion of the project was the cleaning, strengthening, and
restoration of the plaster figure, the Genius of Connecticut, a bronze version of
Randolph Rogers which stood for some years on the dome. The collection includes
the final report on the restoration.
Capitol Commissioners,
1871-1880 (RG 027)
In July 1871, the General Assembly created the Board of Capitol Commissioners to
issue bonds and expend funds to construct a new state capitol building in Hartford.
The legislature accepted plans of architect Richard M. Upjohn of New York and awarded
the construction contract to James G. Batterson. In 1873, dissatisfied with the
original plans that called for a German style clock tower, the General Assembly
appointed a new commission to direct changes and improvements in the design and
specifications. For instance, a dome replaced the tower. The legislature occupied
the new capitol in 1879, and the Commission turned over its files to the Comptroller
on November 30, 1880. The record group contains minutes of meetings and secretary’s
notes, financial records such as receipts, materials lists, account books, vouchers
and bank books, incoming and outgoing letters, time books and payroll, contracts,
proposals, specifications and estimates, a record book, and diaries of activities.
Also included are Upjohn plans, drawings, and descriptions, plans of competing architects,
and applications for employment.
Census Records for Connecticut, United States, 1790-1930 (RG 100)
Following the Revolutionary War, there was a need for a census of the entire Nation.
The first census was taken in 1790. Over the years, the Nation’s needs and interests
became more complex and the content of the decennial census changed accordingly.
The 1810 census included the first inquiry on manufacturers, quantity and value
of products was conducted. In 1840, questions on fisheries were added. In 1850,
the census included inquires on social issues, such as taxation, churches, pauperism,
and crime. The sole purpose of the censuses and surveys is to secure general statistical
information. Personal census information is closed for seventy-two years after the
date of the census. The collection contains official manuscript copies, photostats,
and microfilm copies of the United States census schedules for Connecticut, with
a few schedules for neighboring states.
Children and Families, Department of, 1855-2000 (RG 178)
In 1969, the General Assembly passed P.A. 664 that centralized “the state’s
efforts to prevent delinquency and treat juveniles” in a new agency known as the
Department of Children and Youth Services. The new agency absorbed the Connecticut
School for Boys (established 1854) in Meriden and the Long Lane School for Girls
(established 1870). The agency currently is the Department of Children and Families
and its program areas include services in the areas of mental health, substance
abuse, protection for children and youth under 18, foster care, adoption, education
and juvenile justice and “funding to community service providers.” See also
Connecticut School for
Boys and Long Lane
School.
Civil Administration
Code, Commission on, 1915-1921 (RG 053)
In 1919, the General Assembly created this Commission “to investigate and report
on a civil administration code.” Five members were appointed, and the first meeting
was held in June 1919. The Commission collected data on state government organization
and expenditures, took testimony from government officials and others, held public
hearings between April and May 1920, and drafted its final report. The Assembly
received the report in the 1921 session and formed a new joint committee on the
matter. Legislators recommitted the bill reported out in May 1921, and the legislation
died. The record group contains minutes of meetings, reports and bills from the
legislature, printed reports of state agencies and administration codes of other
states, working papers and drafts, organizational charts, drafts of the final report,
and the report itself.
Civil Service Commission,
1913-1921 (RG 018)
Chapter 232 of the Public Acts of 1913 set up the Connecticut Civil Service Commission
consisting of three commissioners appointed by the Governor. Legislation divided
the State employment system into unclassified service exempt from the bill and classified
service that required applicants to take competitive examinations in order to be
placed on eligibility lists. The Commission made rules, created classified job titles
and tests, administered the tests and prepared eligibility lists, answered correspondence,
and sought information about exempted or unclassified employees in State departments.
Chapter 26 of the Public Acts 1921 abolished the commission. This record group contains
minutes of commission meetings, financial records, correspondence with the public
and state departments and institutions, subject files, papers and reports of appointments
made, a card file of applicants and their scores (1914), a ledger of applicants
and eligible candidates for each classified job, samples of forms and examinations,
and manuals issued by the Commission and by other states.
Civil War Centennial
Commission, 1959-1965 (RG 052)
In 1959, the General Assembly created this Commission to promote and publicize
the history of Connecticut’s participation in the Civil War. The Commission consisted
of twenty-five appointed members and had an office in the State Library. It held
about twenty meetings between November 1959 and March 1965. It encouraged the formation
of local groups to organize pageants, celebrations, and commemorative events, provided
speakers, promoted publication of pamphlets about Civil War leaders from Connecticut,
and distributed publications. John Niven wrote his book, Connecticut for the Union:
the Role of the State in the Civil War, for the Commission. The group contains administrative
files, minutes of meetings, general correspondence, correspondence with towns and
other states, newsletters, drafts of unpublished works, publications and related
materials of the Commission, and publications from other state Centennial organizations.
Comptroller, Office of the State, 1758-1954 (RG 008)
The Office of the Comptroller is responsible for superintending all matters concerning
the finances of the State. A wide variety of financial records are found in Comptroller’s
Records, many of them from the Committee of the Pay Table during the Revolutionary
War. They include accounts, bills, receipts, reports, vouchers, soldiers’ notes,
town accounts for supplies of soldiers’ families, saltpeter certificates and accounts,
and other papers. Other financial records covering the period from the 1780s to
the early twentieth century include journals, waste books, receipt stubs for payment
of soldiers and money loaned to the state, grand lists, Treasurers vouchers, Comptrollers
vouchers, Civil War returns for soldiers’ children and returns for family bounties,
plus State Pauper Records, 1844-1920, financial records of the School for Imbeciles,
1913-1954, and Military Separation Allowances, 1916-1919.
Connecticut 375
Commission, 1961-2010 (RG 166:005)
The 375 Commission was established by Executive Order 37 signed by Governor M.
Jodi Rell on January 20, 2010. The Commission raised funds and developed events
and festivities during the year long anniversary.
Connecticut Abraham
Lincoln Bicentennial Commission, 2008-2010 (RG 166:003)
The Connecticut Abraham Lincoln Bicentennial Commission was created to
commemorate the bicentennial of Abraham Lincoln's birth by encouraging
educational, historical and other organizations to develop Lincoln-related
programs and events throughout the state from 2008 to February 12, 2010.
Connecticut River Bridge
and Highway District Commission, 1879-1949 (RG 046)
In 1895, the General Assembly passed Special Act 343 establishing the commission
and charging it to build a new bridge over the Connecticut River. The previous structure
was made of wood and had recently burned. The first chair was Morgan C. Bulkeley,
under whose direction the bridge was completed and dedicated in October 1908. In
May 1927, the Commission renamed the bridge after Bulkeley. Until the 1930s, the
Commission maintained the bridge, but gradually its duties and title to properties
became the responsibility of the State and adjacent municipalities. On July 13,
1949, final liquidation of its accounts took place. The record group contains minutes
of meetings of the Commission, 1905-1949; bridge dedication materials, 1909-1927;
the builder’s bid and payment papers, 1903-1907; treasurers’ reports and financial
statements, 1895-1949; treasurer’s financial registers, 1911-1949; deeds and other
legal instruments, 1879-1949; and plans, drawings and maps, 1903-1949.
Connecticut River Valley
Flood Control Commission, 1927-2010, bulk 1953-2010 (RG 183)
The Connecticut River Flood Control Compact was signed into law by President
Dwight D. Eisenhower on June 6, 1953. The compact created the Connecticut
River Valley Flood Control Commission for the purpose of promoting
inter-state comity between and among the signatory states; assuring adequate
storage capacity for impounding waters of the Connecticut River and its
tributaries for the protection of life and property from floods; and
providing a joint or common agency through which the signatory states, while
promoting protecting and preserving to each the local interest and
sovereignty of the respective signatory states, may more effectively
cooperate in accomplishing the object of flood control and water resources
utilization in the basin of the Connecticut River and its tributaries.
Connecticut Stadium
Committee, 1993-1994 (RG 002:025)
Connecticut State
Police, 1919-1998 (RG 161:001)
The Connecticut State Police was established in 1903 by the Connecticut General
Assembly with the appointment of five state police commissioners and the first
superintendent. In 1905, the superintendent of the State Police also became the
State Fire Marshall. Over the years, the General Assembly has enacted many laws
changing the organization, size and duties of the State Police Department.
Today, the State Police is part of the Department of Public Safety, which was
established in 1979. Records in this collection include State Police
investigation files, Commissioner Long’s administrative files for 1990-91, and
case books kept by Troop A, Troop D, and Troop E.
Connecticut Valley
Hospital, 1866-1991 (RG 021:001)
Connecticut Valley Hospital opened in 1867 as the General Hospital for Insane of
the State of Connecticut and continues to operate. It accepted patients from
Fairfield Hills Hospital and Norwich State Hospitals upon the closures of those
facilities in 1995 and 1996 respectively. Includes records from superintendents,
trustees, fiscal, personnel, patients, medical staff and School of Nursing.
Correction, Department of, 1800-1974 (RG 017).
The General Assembly established the Department of Correction in 1967. Prior to
that year, the state’s major correctional facilities at Somers, Enfield, and Niantic,
and the earlier ones at Newgate and Wethersfield, existed as independent state agencies,
administered by a board of directors appointed by the governor. The new department
brought together all youth and adult correctional institutions and parole into a
single agency. Connecticut was the first state to consolidate these services. The
materials in this record group pertain mostly to the Wethersfield State Prison (1827-1963)
and include correspondence, financial records, warrants of commitment, prison discharges,
architectural drawings, and inmate records, 1900-53. The collection contains a few
records pertaining to Connecticut’s first prison at Newgate.
Cross (Wilbur L.)
gubernatorial records, 1931-1939 (RG005:026)
Defense, Council of,
1917-1919 (RG 030)
In April 1917, Governor Marcus Holcomb appointed an eleven-member council under
an Emergency Act (Chapter 43, P. A. 1917) passed after the United States declared
war on Germany and the Axis powers. The first meeting was held on May 8, 1917. Over
time, the Council formed committees to deal with areas such as publicity, Americanization,
fuel conservation, food supply, transportation, and military and naval affairs.
The Council also formed a Woman’s Division whose members sat on the council’s committees.
The Council coordinated, supported, and publicized the work of other war agencies
at the state and federal levels. Gradually the committees acquired staffs of their
own and an Executive Department headed by a director was formed. The Council was
discontinued in March 1919. This large group contains records including administrative
files, financial records, correspondence, subject files, and reference files of
the council’s executive department and several committees. Formats and types vary
but include photographs, posters, newspapers, artifacts, lists, card files, lantern
slides, copper and lead cuts and printing plates, sheet music, bulletins, mimeographed
circulars, telegrams, and other paper materials.
Dempsey (John) gubernatorial records (1961-1971), 1955-1971 (RG 005:034)
Dental Commission,
1893-1950 (RG 092)
Established in 1893, the Connecticut Dental Commission regulates the practice
of dentistry and dental hygiene including examining and licensing of dentists and
dental hygienists. Originally an independent entity, the Commission became part
of the Department of Public Health in 1979. The collection consists of applications
for licenses, lists of dentists in Connecticut, meeting minutes, and photographs.
The collection also includes the license of Dr. Evangeline Roberts Jones, the first
woman in the United States to practice dentistry full-time to support herself and
her family.
Developmental
Services, Department of, 1863-1994 (RG 170)
The records of the Department of Mental Retardation, established in 1975, consist
primarily of records of predecessor organizations like the Mansfield Training School.
The Mansfield Training School records consist of annual reports, minutes of meetings,
administrative files, land records, photographs, and other similar materials. Also
included are small quantities of papers from the Mystic Oral School Task Force and the Community
Services Division of the Department of Mental Retardation. The Department was
renamed to the Department of Developmental Services in 2007.
Early General
Records, 1629-1820 (RG 001)
This group consists of colonial and early statehood records which, because of their
nature or arrangement, cannot be attributed to the record groups for individual
state agencies. They include some of the most valuable and significant archival
materials in the State's custody.
Economic and Community
Development, Department of, 1939-1997 (RG 022)
The Department of Economic and Community Development administers programs and policies
to promote business, housing and community development. The agency combines housing,
tourism, and economic growth. It began in 1939 as the Development Commission; in
1973 became the Connecticut Development Authority in the Department of Commerce;
in 1979 a separate agency known as the Department of Economic Development; and in
1995 the agency as it is today.
Education
Committee, 1973-2003 (RG 002:025)
Education, Department of, 1845-1997 (RG 010)
The origins of the Department of Education date from an 1838 bill creating a
Board of Education to investigate and report on the condition of all common schools.
The current State Board of Education dates from 1865. A commissioner, who serves
as secretary of the board, heads the Department. Includes some attendance reports
and some passports and birth certificates of work permit applicants, 1870-1930.
Election Laws Commission,
1939-1941 (RG 038)
Set up under Special Act No. 1 (HB 74) at the 1939 session of the General Assembly,
the Election Laws Commission was a seven-member, bi-partisan body charged with studying
election laws and proposing revisions. The Commission held its first meeting on
February 6, 1939 and submitted its first report to the Governor on April 14, 1939.
Lawmakers extended the Commission to May 1, 1941, and it submitted its second and
final report on January 31, 1941. This record group contains the two reports, minutes
of meetings and transcripts of public hearings, correspondence concerning Attorney
General’s opinions, drafts of reports and proposed legislation, and reference materials.
Embalmers and Funeral
Directors, Board of Examiners of, 1903-1929 (RG 091)
The Connecticut Board of Examiners of Embalmers was established in 1903. Its
function is to examine and license embalmers and to make and enforce regulations
for the practice of that profession. In 1941 the act was amended to include provisions
for licensing funeral directors. Now known as the Connecticut Board of Examiners
of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, the Board works closely with the Department
of Public Health. Records include meeting minutes, cashbook, and a ledger listing
individuals from whom licenses fees were collected.
Emergency Relief
Commission, 1933-1937 (RG 032)
The General Assembly created the Emergency Relief Commission in 1933 (1933 Public
Acts, Chapter 276). It was the successor to the Connecticut State Emergency Committee
on Employment and the Connecticut Unemployment Commission. The ERC had two functions:
approval of local municipal bonds for relief purposes and supervision of emergency
unemployment relief projects. Records include files pertaining to projects funded
under the Federal Emergency Relief Act and its successor, the Civil Works Administration,
both in 1933. In 1935, funding for relief projects was transferred to the new Works
Progress Administration. The Commission went out of business on February 1, 1937.
Environment
Committee Task Forces, 1979-2004 (RG 002:029)
Environmental Protection, Department of, 1908-2006 (RG 079)
The Department of Environmental Protection was created in 1971 to address “the
profound impact on the life-sustaining natural environment” by “the growing population
and expanding economy of the state.” The new Department consolidated powers and
duties of a number of small state boards and parts of the Department of Agriculture
and Natural Resources. These included the Park and Forest Commission, the Commission
on Forests and Wild Life, the State Board of Fisheries and Game, the Water Resources
Commission, the Boating Commission, the Shell-Fish Commission, Marine Resources
Council, State Soil Conservation Advisory Committee, the State Board of Pesticide
Control, the State Geological and Natural History Survey Commission, and the Clean
Air Commission.
Environmental
Protection, Department of: Central Office, 1944-2004 (RG 079:001)
Includes: Commissioner; Staff Services; Bureau of Administration; Hearings; Tri-State
Regional Planning Administration; Internal Affairs; General Counsel; Interagency
files; Communications and Education; Affirmative Action; Human Resources.
Environmental
Protection, Department of: Air, Waste and Water, 1920-2004 (RG 079:005)
Includes: Deputy Commissioner; Planning and Standards; Bureau of Water Management;
Bureau of Air Management; Inland Water Resources.
Environmental
Protection, Department of: Natural Resources and Outdoor Recreation, 1940-2006 (RG
079:016)
Includes: Law Enforcement; Deputy Commissioner; Parks and Recreation; Water and
Related Resources.
Executive and Legislative Nominations Committee, 1985-2005 (RG 002:025)
Expenditures,
Governor's Study Group on Limitation of Government (1978), 1976-1979 (RG
028:008)
The Commission studied Connecticut's fiscal situation and evaluated various revenue
and expenditure control devices.
Fairfield HIlls
Hospital, 1933-1995 (RG 021:007)
Fairfield Hills Hospital operated from 1933 to 1995. Includes admission and
discharge registers, personnel records, and medical staff records.
Family Support, Office
of, 2001-2004, bulk 2001-2002 (RG 015:024)
The Office of Family Support was established by Governor Rowland after the September
11, 2001 terrorist attacks. It assisted families of the victims in locating financial,
legal, and emotional assistance.
Fiscal Study Commission,
State, 1956-1957 (RG 054)
The Commission was appointed by Governor Abraham Ribicoff in 1956 “to consider
general economy in State government, distribution of State financial aid to cities
and towns, limitation of State debt, and matters relating to these subjects.” Seventeen
members sat on the Commission and a staff supported its work. The Commission submitted
its report to the Governor on February 11, 1957. The records consist of correspondence,
minutes of commission and subcommittee meetings, an outside consultant’s report,
newspaper clippings, working papers and drafts, drafts of subcommittee reports,
and the final report, as submitted to the governor.
Fisheries and Game,
Board of, 1911-1990 (RG 079:003)
In 1895 the Fish Commissioners became the Commissioners of Fisheries and Game charged
with "the supervision of hatcheries and retaining ponds, the introduction and distribution
of such food fish and game as are adapted to the waters or lands of this State,
and the enforcement of all laws relating to fish and game." The Commission became
the State Board of Fisheries and Game in 1913. In 1971 the Board merged into the
new Department of Environmental Protection.
Flood Recovery
Committee, 1955-1956 (RG 039)
In response to the flood of August 1955, Governor Abraham Ribicoff appointed
a twenty-member committee to study emergency needs and immediate recovery problems
and recommend a program of rehabilitation. The Committee, its Coordinating Group,
and five subcommittees held numerous meetings. It issued its final report to the
governor on November 3, 1955. This group contains subject files pertaining to the
work of the Committee, other State committees working on the same problem, a coordinating
committee and five subcommittees, publicity, and the final report. Files contain
minutes, correspondence, lists of commercial businesses damaged, reports, newspaper
clippings, and other reference materials.
Forestry Department,
circa 1901-2004 (RG 079:022)
In 1921 the General Assembly reorganized the state forest administration. The State
Park Commission became the State Park and Forest Commission and had authority to
appoint the state forester, separating that office from the Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station. In 1971, the functions of the Forestry Department were incorporated
into the new Department of Environmental Protection.
Forfeited Rights,
Commission on, 1949-1975 (RG 157)
Established in 1949 and abolished in 1975, the Commission on Forfeited Rights
was charged with the responsibility of reviewing and acting upon petitions to restore
forfeited electoral rights for those who had been released from prison. The records
consist of minutes of meetings, sound recordings, petitioner case files, and administrative
subject files.
Fuel, Advisory Committee
on, 1947-1948 (RG 059)
In November 1947, members of the petroleum industry in Connecticut believed
there was a danger of a severe fuel oil shortage during the coming winter. Per their
request, Governor McConaughy appointed ten industry representatives to an Advisory
Committee on Fuel. The Committee met frequently and worked to establish cooperative
agreements between members to facilitate supply and transportation of oil into the
state, assist small and unequipped dealers whose supply was threatened, and organize
local committees to deal with emergency situations. In the spring, the crisis appeared
to be over and the Committee concluded its work in March 1948. Records include the
Committee’s report to the Governor, correspondence, workbooks, and subject files.
General Assembly, 1708-2000 (RG 002)
This record group contains the official records of the General Assembly, Connecticut’s
legislative body. These records, which follow chronologically the "Connecticut Archives",
consist of petitions, memorials, remonstrances, affidavits, resolutions, public
acts, annual reports, reports of legislative committees, gubernatorial messages,
and other official papers that document the activities of the General Assembly,
Connecticut municipalities, corporate bodies, and many individuals. Online finding
aids:
Government
Administration and Elections Committee, 1978-2006 (RG 002:025)
Government
Reorganization, Commission to Effect (Hull-Harper Commission), 1991-1992 (RG
028:010)
The Commission studied ways to reorganize state government into fewer cabinet level
agencies and emphasized implementation rather than investigation.
Governor, Office of the,
1630-2011 (RG 005)
See also individual Governors beginning with John Harper
Trumbull indexed under the Governor's last name.
Covers records of antebellum Governors only.
Grasso (Ella) gubernatorial records, 1975-1980, 1971-1982, bulk 1975-1980 (RG 005:036)
Hartford Housing
Authority investigation, Hartford Superior Court, One-man grand jury, Judge
William Maltbie, circa 1940-1951 (RG 003)
In the summer of 1951, State Supreme Justice William Mills Maltbie conducted a one-man
grand jury investigation of the Hartford Housing Authority
Health Care Access,
Office of, 1973-1998 (RG 044)
The Office of Health Care Access was established in 1994 to ensure that the citizens
of Connecticut have access to a quality health care delivery system. It was restructured
in 1995 as a sucessor to the Commission on Hospitals and Health Care. This record
group includes declaratory rulings and meeting packets. Declaratory rulings consist
of chronological, budget, and rate order final decisions. Meeting packets consist
of agendas, minutes, and calendars.
Henry Whitfield
House, 1768-1957 (RG 024:001)
The Henry Whitfield House was built in 1639-1640 in Guilford, Connecticut. The
house was purchased by the state of Connecticut and restored in 1901 as a state
historical museum. The Henry Whitfield House was restored from 1930-1937 to the
original 1639-1640 house.
Highway
Department, State, 1894-1993 (RG 089:001)
In 1895, the General Assembly established a three person board known as the
State Highway Commission to monitor town expenditures of state funds as well as
construction and improvements to public roads. In 1897, the legislature
abolished the board and created the State Highway Department headed by the State
Highway Commissioner. In October 1969. it merged into the new Department of
Transportation. Included here are road improvement registers, 1894-1913, papers
from the Supervisor of Repairs, 1921-1929; manuals and organizational studies,
1930-1970; Hartford Bridge
Commission, 1939-1951; Groton-New London Bridge Commission, 1939-1943; Old
Lyme-Old Saybrook Bridge Commission, 1945-1951; reports and studies, 1940-1962;
news clippings and maps,
circa 1940-1965; photographs, circa 1930-1958; certificates of finished
projects, 1895-1931; report on the Merritt Parkway, 1937; report on the West
Rock Tunnel, 1948-1949; George S. Koch papers, 1975; photographs and blueprints
of the Merritt Parkway toll plazas, 1939-1988; surveyor field books, 1956-1962;
papers of the personnel administrator, 1942-1969; engineers' files including
those of Warren M. Creamer, 1933-1984, and Harry Mardoian, 1917-1960;
blueprints, 1922-1960; and a manual from the Bureau of Fiscal Services, 1968.
Historical Commemoration Commissions, 1927-1991 (RG 166)
An artificial record group that contains materials on the Battle of Bennington
Sesquicentennial, Connecticut Commission on the Chicago International Exposition
of 1933, Connecticut State Commission on the New Sweden Tercentenary, United States
Constitution Bicentennial Commission of Connecticut, and the Yorktown Sesquicentennial
Celebration. The records include newspaper clippings, photographs, programs, scrapbooks,
and subject files.
Historical
Commission, Connecticut, 1776-1987 (RG 024)
The Connecticut Historical Commission performed a variety of functions having to
do with the preservation of historic sites and structures and other historical resources.
Housing, Department
of, 1943-1994 (RG 071)
In 1979, the General Assembly created a Department of Housing and transferred to
it housing programs of the defunct Department of Community Affairs. DOH was to be
the “lead agency in all matters relating to housing and community development, including
policy, development, redevelopment, preservation, maintenance and improvement of
housing and neighborhoods.” It inherited housing files dating from the old Connecticut
Housing Authority, the Housing Division of the Department of Public Works, and the
Department of Community Affairs.In addition, it also contains records from the Department
of Community Affairs and its predecessors including correspondence and quarterly
reports files from the Bureau of Housing Development, Division of Rental Housing
Management, 1958-1966; and maintenance and miscellaneous files pertaining to Elderly
Low Income Housing, 1945-1975. The Department of Housing became part of the Department
of Economic and Community Development in 1994.
Housing Rent Commission,
Temporary State, 1942-1956, bulk 1952-1955 (RG 036)
During the Second World War, national rent controls began under the Office of
Price Administration-directed offices. In 1947, anticipating the end of national
controls, the Connecticut General Assembly enacted a series of standby rent control
laws. One of these, Chapter 356 of the 1951 Supplement to the General Statutes,
created the Temporary State Housing Rent Commission. Appointed by the Governor,
the Commission extended state rent control over the 82 towns not under federal direction.
The Commission’s work ended on April 1, 1956. The record group contains correspondence,
memoranda, reports, instructions, hand written notes, minutes of meetings and agendas,
rent surveys, subject files, rent case docket registers, and statistical analyses
and working papers concerning demographics and housing and rental units in Connecticut.
It also includes federal manuals, bulletins, circulars, files of the Hartford Area
Rent Office (1942-1953), and papers of an attorney who handled questions of compliance
with U. S. regulations giving preference in housing to veterans.
Human Rights and Opportunities, Commission on, 1954-1989, bulk 1945-1984 (RG
154)
In 1943, the General Assembly created the first state race relations board in
the nation, known as the Interracial Commission. Over the years, the agency’s name
has changed, and today it is called the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities.
CHRO seeks to eliminate discrimination based on race, sexual preference, gender,
age, or religion in Connecticut by enforcing statutes, monitoring state agencies’
affirmative action plans and reports, and engaging in advocacy and public education.
Human Services Committee, 1987-1997 (RG 002:025)
Human Services,
Council on, 1973-1977 (RG 095)
In 1973, the General Assembly created the Council on Human Services to coordinate
planning and carrying out programs involving two or more agencies, to plan for increased
private sector participation, and to provide direction to and coordination with
federally funded programs. The Council took over administrative responsibility for
some existing programs and developed some new ones including Project Triage (home-care
for the elderly), the Wilderness School, the Parent Child Resource System, and the
Information and Referral Service. In 1976, the General Assembly abolished the Council
as an administrative agency, changing its status to that of an advisory body to
the Governor. In 1977, the Council was replaced by a human services reorganization
commission. Materials include correspondence, meeting minutes and audiotapes, reports,
subject files, and reference materials.
Human Services
Reorganization Commission (1977-1979), 1974-1979 (RG 028:007)
The Commission was responsible for the development, adoption, and implementation
of the Human Services Plan for Connecticut.
Hurley (Robert A.) gubernatorial records, 1941-1943 (RG 005:028)
Indian Affairs,
Office of, 1836-1995 (RG 079:018)
The Office of Indian Affairs works with the Connecticut Indian Affairs Council (CIAC)
and coordinates activities relating to the state's American Indian population and
state Indian reservations. The CIAC's responsibility is to advise the Dept. of Environmental
Protection Commissioner on matters relating to Connecticut's five tribes.
Infrastructure,
Governor's Task Force on, 1973-1984 (RG 155)
The Governor’s Task Force on Infrastructure was established by Governor William
O’Neill in April 1983 with the charge to develop a coordinated response to repair
and replace the State’s infrastructure of roads, bridges, public buildings, water
systems, and the like. The records contain background files, administrative files,
subcommittee files, and a local needs infrastructure survey.
Insurance and
Real Estate Committee, 1992-1997 (RG 002:025)
Insurance Costs and Availability, Governor's Task Force on, 1984-1986 (RG
158)
Established in 1984, the records of the Governor’s Task Force on Insurance Costs
and Availability include minutes of meetings, hearings, working papers, and the
final report, plus Connecticut Commercial Insurance Study survey forms.
Insurance Department, 1871-1979 (RG 011)
The mission of the Insurance Department is “to protect the consumer by administering
and enforcing the insurance laws in the most responsive and cost effective manner
to ensure the financial reliability and responsibility of all regulated entities.”
The Department is responsible for administration of the state’s laws regulating
the insurance industry. Records in this collection include quadrennial reports from
the Exam Division, 1930-1979, annual fire statements, and records from the Insurance
Commissioner.
Jamestown Tercentennial
Exposition, Connecticut Commission for, 1905-1908 (RG 080)
The Jamestown Tercentennial Exposition was held in Hampton Roads, Virginia, April
29 to November 30, 1907, to celebrate the three hundredth anniversary of the first
English-speaking colony. A Connecticut General Assembly resolution provided for
representation and authorized the appointment of a three-member commission. The
Commission oversaw the construction and furnishing of the Connecticut building and
the State’s exhibit hall at the Exposition. The records consist of correspondence,
shipping costs, scrapbooks, and the register of visitors from the Exposition Hall.
Judicial
Department, 1636-1911 (RG 003) (pdf)
This record group consists of all types of legal documents relevant to court
action, including, but not limited to, dockets, formal decisions, rules, appointments,
judges’ notes and opinions, indexes, case files, record books, executions, reports,
and administrative papers, as well as materials from related entities such as the
State Bar Examining Committee and Coroners and Medical Examiners. The records date
from 1636 to the late 20th century, with the bulk from the 17th through the 19th
century. Most extant state court records prior to 1870 are in the State Archives
along with a substantial volume of municipal and justice court records. Record Group
003 also includes probate records including wills, inventories, bonds, administration
reports, etc. until 1698, when the General Assembly established the separate probate
court system. See record group 004 for Records of the Probate Court. The records
of the Judicial Department include colony and statewide materials for the Particular
Court, 1639-65; Court of Assistants, 1665-1711; Superior Court, 1711-1879; and Supreme
Court of Errors, 1784-1901. The bulk of the records, however, are arranged by county
and consist of papers of county courts, courts of common pleas, superior courts,
supreme courts of errors, and maritime courts.
Judicial System,
Commission to Study the Integration of the State, 1943-1945 (RG 028:003)
The Commission studied the State's judicial system with regards to methods of appointment
of judges and their tenure in office and salaries.
Judiciary Committee, 1981-2006 (RG 002:025)
Labor, Department of,
1902-1988 (RG 020)
The Department of Labor (DOL) assists workers with income support between jobs,
protection on the job, training programs, assistance in searching for jobs and information
on the economy, wages, and the workplace. DOL provides employers with workplace
data and labor market information, recruitment assistance and programs to help maintain
employee skills. The Department started as a “bureau of labor statistics” and it
continues to fulfill this function as an arm of the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
by collecting, analyzing and reporting workforce data. The Bureau began in 1873
but disappeared by 1875. The legislature reconstituted it in 1885 and in 1901 added
the Factory Inspector. In 1915 legislation combined this post into a Department
of Labor and Factory Inspection and in 1950, the agency was first called by its
current name, the Department of Labor. This record group contains records of the
Commissioner, 1970-1988; records of the Division of Occupational Safety and Health,
1923-1987 (some of which are restricted); records of the United States Employment
Service, 1917-1919; administrative and meeting records of the various boards under
the Minimum Wage Division, 1936-58; and files of the Department’s own Employment
Service Division, 1937-1941.
Library, Connecticut State, 1850-2000 (RG 012)
The State Library provides a variety of library, information, archival, public
records, museum, and administrative services to state government, libraries and
library organizations, town government officials, students, and the general public.
The Library began as two law collections at the two state houses (New Haven and
Hartford) and was placed under the oversight of a legislative committee in the 1840s.
It was not until 1854, however, that the General Assembly created the post of State
Librarian. The most important State Librarian in the agency’s history was George
Seymour Godard (1900-1936), who was of critical importance in getting the building
at 231 Capitol Avenue constructed and occupied. He also expanded the library’s services
into new areas. Records include such formats as letterpress books, paper files,
sound recordings, films, discs, photographs, architectural drawings, ledgers and
logs, and ephemera. The group also includes materials of the Connecticut Friends
of the Library organization, 1979–1984. Records document the work of the State Librarian
and division heads, the State Library Board, the Library’s many divisions, and defunct
units such as the War Records Department. One of the largest series of this record
group documents grants assistance given to public libraries through the Division
of Library Development.
Library Improvement,
Committee on, 1963-1965 (RG 083)
Governor John Dempsey appointed a nine-member committee in December 1963 to
recommend action to improve library services to the state. The Committee adopted
a report with recommendations for action. Recommended legislation, which was passed
in June 1965 (Public Act 490), provided for reconstituting and expanding the State
Library Committee and combining the Bureau of Library Services (then in the Department
of Education) with the State Library. The collection includes correspondence, meeting
minutes, notes, newspaper clippings, and reference materials pertaining to the work
of the committee and the preparation of its report.
Lincoln (Abraham) Bicentennial Commission, Connecticut, 2008-2010 (RG 166:003)
Liquor Control
Commission, 1932-1934 (RG 037)
In 1932, Congress amended the Volstead Act to allow the sale of beverages with up
to 3.2% alcoholic content. The nation expected that the 18th Amendment to the Constitution
would be repealed. Under Chapter 15 of the Special Acts of 1933, the Connecticut
General Assembly set up a Liquor Control Commission to recommend legislation to
regulate the sale of beverages allowed under the Volstead Act and the manufacture
and sale of alcoholic beverages outlawed by the 18th Amendment. Lawmakers gave the
seven commissioners until April 14, 1933 to make their report. On March 30, 1933,
they submitted the draft statute that set up a Liquor Control Board. This record
group contains working papers of the Commission, including minutes of meetings,
copies of previous Connecticut statutes dealing with alcoholic beverages dating
back to 1918, and proposals for a statute. Also included are copies of statutes
from other states and Canada, some correspondence, articles, and a carbon copy of
the bill submitted and kept by the chair, John Buckley.
Litchfield
County, County Court Files, 1751-1855
(pdf version)
Litchfield County,
County Court Papers by Subject, 1750-1855
(pdf version)
Litchfield
County Court Minorities Collection, 1753-1854
(pdf version)
Lodge (John Davis)
gubernatorial records, 1951-1955 (RG 005:032)
Long Lane School,
1867-2000 (RG 178:002)
The Connecticut Industrial School for Girls was established in 1868 as a private
institution for delinquent girls. In 1917 the State took control of the school and
renamed it Long Lane Farm which changed to Long Lane School in 1943. Items in this
collection include documents about staff and student life, photographs, paintings
and artifacts.
Louisiana Purchase
Exposition, Connecticut Commission for, 1904 (RG 085)
The Commission was appointed to plan and direct Connecticut’s participation
in the Louisiana Purchase Exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri in 1904. Records
documenting the commission’s activities are not included. This collection only contains
visitor registers from both the Connecticut Headquarters at the Exposition and the
Connecticut Farm Products Exhibit and a sketch of the Connecticut Building.
Mansfield
Training School, 1863-1992 (RG 170:001)
The Mansfield Training School opened on July 1, 1917 as a home for persons with
mental retardation. It closed in 1993.
Martin Luther
King, Jr. Holiday Commission, 1972-2001 (RG 154:003)
The Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission was established when Governor
William A. O'Neil issued Executive Order Number 15 on January 10, 1986. The
Connecticut General Assembly in 1989 passed Public Act 89-258, "An Act Creating
the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission," to ensure the "commemoration of
the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in the state is meaningful and
reflective of the spirit with which he lived and the struggles for which he
died." The Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities is the secretariat for
the holiday commission.
McConaughy (James L.) gubernatorial records, 1947-1948 (RG 005:030)
Mental Health and
Addiction Services, Department of, 1866-1996 (RG 021)
The Department began as three mental hospitals: the first at Middletown in 1867,
called Connecticut Hospital for the Insane, now known as Connecticut Valley Hospital
(CVH); the next, in 1904, Norwich State Hospital; and the third, beginning in 1933,
Fairfield Hills State Hospital. Eventually all three were combined into one department.
The current agency is the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services. This
is the “single state agency for providing comprehensive mental health and substance
abuse services throughout Connecticut.”
Meskill (Thomas
J.) gubernatorial records (1971-1975), 1967-1975 (RG 005:035)
Metropolitan District
Commission (Hartford County), 1929 (RG 088)
The Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) is a non-profit municipal corporation
chartered by the Connecticut General Assembly in 1929 to provide potable water and
sewage services on a regional basis. Member municipalities include Bloomfield, East
Hartford, Hartford, Newington, Rocky Hill, West Hartford, Wethersfield and Windsor
and portions of other towns in the region. The collection includes a draft of the
proposed statute, correspondence, and related materials.
Metropolitan Traffic
Commission, Governor's, 1953-1955 (RG 057)
This Committee was appointed by Governor Lodge to study traffic problems affecting
the Hartford area. The Committee held meetings and conferences with town, business
and railroad officials, and technical experts. Its report was submitted to Governor
Ribicoff in 1955. The records include meeting minutes, correspondence, background
materials, newspaper clippings, and drafts of the committee’s final report.
Military Census,
1917-1920 (RG 029)
On February 6, 1917, Governor Marcus Holcomb addressed the General Assembly requesting
that a law be passed directing him to undertake a state military census of materials
and manpower “available for use in event of war.” The census required that all men
16 years and older fill out a questionnaire. Unofficially, the state intended to
use the census in order to identify enemy aliens. On February 7, the initial machinery
of the manpower census was set up. This separate bureau was transferred to the State
Library, which functioned as a Historical Records Department of the Council of Defense.
Eventually the Library oversaw an agricultural census and others of nurses, automobiles,
and industry. This record group contains administrative files, schedules, questionnaires
and forms, punched Hollereith cards, index card files, scrapbooks, tabulations of
summaries, numerous photostated lists, clippings, and reference files.
Military Department, 1776-1986 (RG 013)
The records of the Military Department consist primarily of materials documenting
the history of Connecticut’s militia, national guard units, and the service of Connecticut
volunteers during the Civil War. The records contain extensive materials documenting
the work of the Adjutant General, 1792-1807, including general orders, resignations
and discharges, correspondence, militia returns, pensions, and reports and rosters.
RG 013 also holds records of Civil War volunteer regiments, courts martial, bounty
and pension files, and fragmentary pre-Civil War records of militia regiments. The
Civil War regimental records include enlistment papers, muster rolls, monthly returns,
and muster out rolls. In addition, records exist for the First Company, Governor’s
Foot Guard, and Connecticut’s Civil War “Colored” 29th, 30th, and 31st Regiments.
Extensive documentation on various units of the Connecticut National Guard are included,
consisting of records on specific regiments, the Connecticut Home Guard, and of
artillery, naval, and air units. The bulk of the materials cover the period after
1820, although some records document the War of 1812 period.
Motor Vehicles,
Department of, 1903-1972 (RG 117)
The Motor Vehicle Department was established by legislative act in 1917 to protect
life and property by the administration of motor vehicle laws, to regulate, discipline,
and educate motor vehicle operators, and to provide revenue through licensing for
the construction and maintenance of state highways. The collection includes account
books, early vehicle registration records, administrative files, and scrapbooks
created by the Connecticut Highway Safety Commission.
New Haven Harbor,
State Commissioners for, 1925-1972 (RG 079:026)
The State Harbor Commissioners for New Haven Harbor was established in 1872.
The Board had responsibility for "the general care and supervision of new Haven
harbor and its tide waters, and all of the flats and lands flowed thereby, in order
to prevent and remove unauthorized enroachments and causes of every kind which are
liable to interfere with the full navigation of said harbor, or in any way injure
its channels, or cause any reduction of its tide waters."
New London
County, County Court Files, 1691-1855
(pdf version)
New London
County, County Court Papers by Subject, 1685-1856
(pdf version)
New London
County Court African Americans Collection, 1701-1854
(pdf version)
New London
County Court Native Americans Collection, 1698-1855
(pdf version)
Norwich State
Hospital, 1904-1996 (RG 021:008)
Norwich State Hospital operated from 1904 to 1996. Includes patient files,
admission registers, medical staff records, and blueprints.
O'Neill (William A.) gubernatorial records, 1980-1991 (RG 005:037)
Pardons, Board of,
1883-1889 (RG 025)
The Board of Pardons is an autonomous body within the Department of Correction for
administrative purposes only. Its five members are appointed by the Governor with
the advice and consent of either house of the General Assembly. All must be state
residents, three must be attorneys, one skilled in one of the social sciences, and
one a physician. The Board has jurisdiction over the granting of and authority to
grant, commutations of punishment or releases, conditional or absolute, commutations
from the penalty of death, and pardons, conditional or absolute. This group consists
of one book kept by the Board’s clerk containing minutes and notes.
Park and Forest
Commission, State, 1908-1967 (RG 079:017)
In 1913 the Assembly created a permanent State Park Commission charged with "supervision
of all lands acquired by the state, as public reservations, for the purpose of public
recreation or the preservation of natural beauty or historic association. In 1921
the name changed to the State Park and Forest Commission. The Commission now had
oversight of state forests as well as parks with the authority to appoint the State
Forester. In 1971 the Commission was absorbed into the new Department of Environmental
Protection.
Parole, Board of,
1933-1991 (RG 043)
The 1903 Indeterminate Sentencing Law allowed each of the state prisions to
authorize their own paroles. In 1957, a three member Board of Parole was created
to replace the State Prison Board of Directors as the paroling authority. On July
1, 1968, the Department of Correction was established with an autonomous, single
State Board of Parole, to replace the former three separate boards of parole. On
July 1, 2001, the State Board of Parole was replaced by Connecticut Board of Pardons
and Paroles. This record group contains minutes of meetings, public information
release logs, and "A Report to the Legislature of the State of Connecticut on Capital
Punishment and the Administration of Homicide Laws".
Philadelphia
Sesquicentennial Committee, 1926-1927 (RG 051)
Governor John Trumbull and the State Board of Control authorized Connecticut’s
participation in the “Philadelphia Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition” celebrating
the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Thirty-five thousand dollars were
allocated, and a committee consisting of George S. Godard, State Librarian and Chair,
former Governor Frank B. Weeks, and State Treasurer Ernest E. Rogers was appointed.
The Committee built, furnished, and operated a Connecticut building, modeled after
the old state capitol, and equipped it with exhibits of Connecticut life and industry.
At the end of the Exposition, the Committee sold the building, and it held its last
meeting on July 28, 1927. This record group contains minutes of meetings, an account
book, pay receipts, registers of visitors, official town seals, blueprints of construction
drawings and the contract for construction, ceremony programs and dinner menus,
speeches and press releases, and photographs of ceremonies, construction of the
Connecticut building, and other sites at the Exposition.
Planning Board, State,
1933-1937 (RG 082)
In the summer of 1933, President Roosevelt created the National Planning Board,
later to become the National Resources Board. That same year, Governor Cross appointed
a Connecticut State Planning Board. The Board “could render a valuable service by
undertaking such activities as the making of an air map, adding to our information
on the pollution of streams, and assembling other useful data.” In 1935, the General
Assembly passed legislation officially creating the State Planning Board (which
superseded the so-called Governor’s Board created under executive authority). The
collection includes reports and summary of work.
Planning maps,
Dept. of Housing, circa 1943-1980 (RG 071:003)
Town planning maps created through HUD's 701 Planning and Management Assistance
Program.
Policy and
Management, Office of, 1907-2004 (RG 015)
The Office of Policy and Management (OPM) is the governor’s staff agency. Its mission
is to provide information and analysis that the Governor uses to formulate public
policy goals for the State and assist State agencies and municipalities in implementing
policy decisions on behalf of the people of Connecticut. Records in this collection
include materials from predecessor agencies, the Board of Control, 1897-1927; Board
of Finance, 1915-1927; and the Department of Finance and Control, 1927-1977. The
record group contains materials from the Office of State Planning, Budget Division,
Finance Advisory Committee, Special Bond Committee, State Bond Commission, Comprehensive
Planning Division, Management and Justice Planning Division, and the Energy Division.
The papers include meeting minutes, working papers, correspondence, financial data,
land-use studies, reports, budgets, and scrapbooks. Also found are records pertaining
to the abolition of county government, 1960.
Post-War Planning Board,
1943-1945 (RG 040)
Authorized by an act of the General Assembly in June 1943, the Post–War Planning
Board’s charge was “to study and formulate plans for the readjustment and reconversion
of agriculture, manufacturing, business and mercantile activities within the state
from a wartime to a peacetime basis.” The Board issued Interim and Final Reports,
and ceased to exist on July 1, 1945. The record group consists of minutes of meetings,
September 22, 1943-June 19, 1945; correspondence, working papers and drafts of reports;
newspaper clippings and other reference materials; photographs; completed confidential
employment and planning surveys; and subcommittee records.
Price Administration,
Connecticut Office of, 1942-1949 (RG 035)
In August 1941, the Federal government set up the Office of Price Administration
in order to stabilize prices, obtain optimum production of essential war materials
and prevent a post-war price collapse. The agency set up nine regional offices,
one of which was the New England office located in Boston. The Boston office set
up the Connecticut branch office in December 1941, and in May 1942, Chester Bowles,
future Connecticut Governor, became its director. The Connecticut office ran a rationing
program, established price and rent ceilings, and engaged in various public information
activities. This record group contains a rent survey chart (no date), correspondence,
memoranda, press releases, bulletins, speeches and radio scripts, subject files,
records of the local Goshen office, and ration card applications for New Milford
and New London.
Prudence Crandall
Statue Committee, 1961-2010, bulk 2000-2002 (RG 002:025)
On July 1, 2001, House Bill 6568 provided for the establishment of a committee
to recommend to the Joint Committee on Legislative Management an artist to
sculpt a statue of Prudence Crandall, the state heroine, for the State Capitol
Building, and a location in the building for the placement of the statue.
Public Health,
Department of, 1799-2010, bulk 1877-2010 (RG 016)
In 1878, the General Assembly established a State Board of Health mandated to “take
cognizance of the interests of health and life” of the people of Connecticut. It
made sanitary investigations to inquire into and report on the causes of disease
and the sources of mortality. It distributed sanitary information to local boards
of health and compiled data submitted by these boards. It also had supervision of
birth, death, and marriage registrations. Today the Department of Public Health
is the State’s lead agency in public health policy and advocacy. Its major program
areas include prevention/education, regulation, planning, emergency medical services,
and local health administration.
Public Safety, Department of, 1919-1998 (RG 161)
Public Act 77-614 established the Department of Public Safety by merging the
Connecticut State Police, Office of Civil Preparedness, Municipal Police
Training Council, Connecticut Safety Commission, Board of Firearms Permit
Examiners, State Commission on Demolition, and Military (for administrative
purposes only. All records in this record group are from the Connecticut State
Police.
See Connecticut
State Police
Public
Transportation Commission, Connecticut, 1980-2001 (RG 089:031)
The Connecticut Public Transportation Authority was created within the
Department of Transportation (DOT) in 1975 to “advise and assist the
commissioner in the performance of his functions and duties relating to the
planning, development and maintenance of adequate rail and motor carrier
facilities and service in the state.” The Authority was charged to “at least
annually…hold public hearings in each of the urbanized areas of the state for
the purpose of evaluating the adequacy of such rail and motor carrier
facilities.” In 1983 the name was changed to the Connecticut Public
Transportation Commission.
Contains minutes of meetings, including for the Governor's Railroad Advisory
Task Force and the predecessory Connecticut Public Transportation Authority, and
public hearing minutes and testimony.
Public
Utilities Commission, 1911-1988, bulk 1911-1976 (RG 041:002)
The Public Utilities Commission began on September 9, 1911. In 1975
it became the Public Utilities Control Authority. Included are record books,
1911-1946; annual reports from companies, 1911-1949;
docket maps, 1869-1949, bulk 1911-1941; records of the Special Commission for an
Investigation of Problems Relating to the Street Railways, 1918-1919; dockets,
1911-1988; and daily log books, 1948-1976.
Public Utilities
Control Authority, 1975-1976 (RG 041:004)
In 1975 the General Assembly created the Public Utilities Control Authority
from the former Public Utilities Commission. In 1979 this became the Division of
Public Utility Control in the Dept. of
Business Regulation and in 1980 was made an independent department called the
Dept. of Public Utility Control. Included here are records of the
Reorganizational Task Force, 1975-1976.
Public Works,
Department of, 1951-2011 (RG 181)
Public Act 87-496, effective July 1, 1987, established the Department of
Public Works. Prior to that date, the Department functioned as a Bureau of
the Department of Administrative Services. On July 1, 2011 the department
was eliminated with construction responsibilities transferred to the new
Department of Construction Services and all other functions transferred to
the Department of Administrative Services. It was responsible for the
purchase, lease and construction of property and space to house State
agencies, and the operation and maintenance of State of Connecticut
facilities. Materials in the collection include architectural plans and
specifications for for State Capitol maintenance and repair projects,
photographs of various Public Works projects, groundbreaking and dedication
programs, and files documenting the Home Ownership Program.
Railroad
Commissioners, Board of, circa 1848-1912, bulk 1854-1911 (RG 041:001)
The Board of Railroad Commissioners began on July 1, 1853. On September 9, 1911
its functions became part of the Public Utilities Commission. Included are
record books, 1854-1911; correspondence,
1869-1911; railroad papers, circa 1848-1911; hearings, 1875-1883; street railway
papers, 1892-1912; records of the Asylum Street Bridge Commission, 1884-1892;
scrapbooks, 1879-1909;
accident reports, 1893-1911; and docket maps, 1870-1912.
Rell (M. Jodi) gubernatorial records, 2004-2011 (RG 005:040)
Research Commission,
1964-1971 (RG 058)
The Commission was established by the General Assembly in June 1965. Its principal
function was to support and encourage research and related activities “relevant
to the interests and welfare or economic betterment of the citizens of Connecticut.”
The Commission met monthly to determine policy and agree on priorities for the allocation
of funds. Projects covered many fields including research development and the environment.
Governor Meskill ended the Commission’s funding and it dissolved in 1971. The Commission’s
residual responsibilities were taken over by the Development Commission (see RG
022). Records include project applications (proposals), research support award files,
contract files, meeting minutes, correspondence, press releases, background materials,
and financial records.
Revenue Services, Department of, 1933-1985 (RG 076)
In 1901, the General Assembly created the Office of the Tax Commissioner. It
charged the Commissioner with inquiring into the assessment and collection of state
and local taxes. It also granted the Commissioner power to summon and take testimony
as part of an inquiry. The General Assembly also charged the Tax Department, over
the years, with collecting various state taxes. By the 1950s, the office had expanded
to include overseeing the inheritance, estate, and estate penalty taxes. In 1979
the Department became the Department of Revenue Services. Materials in this collection
include administrative files, tax collections, legislative files, war contract renegotiations
(1942-1944), personnel and payroll records, sales tax permits, and airline taxes.
Various units including the Sales and Use Tax Division, Excise Division, Municipal
Division, Inheritance Tax Division, as well as the Office of the Commissioner, created
these records.
Revenue Task Force, State,
1969-1971 (RG 045)
In 1969, the General Assembly created the State Revenue Task Force to prepare
recommendations for a revised Connecticut tax structure. It met first at the State
Capitol on September 9, 1969 and adopted its report at a final meeting on January
21, 1971. The Task Force commissioned outside reports, received recommendations
and heard testimony from government, community and business leaders. Hearings were
held in several major cities in addition to the regular meetings in the Capitol,
most of which were open to the public. The group contains minutes of commission
meetings, summary of recommendations, the final report, unpublished studies and
memoranda, statements at public hearings, sound recordings of public hearings, a
general subject file, and administrative files.
Ribicoff (Abraham) gubernatorial records, 1955-1961 (RG 005:033)
Salvage Committee,
State, 1821-1962 (RG 034)
The State Salvage Committee was organized in December 1941 as part of the State
Defense Council (later known as the War Council). It also served as the Connecticut
agent of the General Salvage Section of the Conservation Bureau of the U. S. Office
of Production Management. The Committee informed the public of the need for conserving
scarce materials and assisted in collecting and utilizing salvage. It worked with
local town salvage committees and with scrap and waste dealers on an Advisory Salvage
Board. It went out of business in early 1945. The record group contains minutes
and agendas of meetings, drafts and copies of speeches and reports, lists of local
and industry committee members, incoming and outgoing correspondence, town production
cards, publicity materials such as newsletters and photographs, administrative subject
files, and town correspondence and memoranda files.
School for Boys,
Connecticut, 1855-1955 (RG 178:001)
The State Reform School opened in 1854 in Meriden Connecticut. The name was changed
in 1893 to the Connecticut School for Boys. In January of 1970 the school came under
the
administrative control of the Department of Children and Youth Services. In 1972
the school merged with Long Lane School, the state reform school for girls, after
experiencing internal
troubles with staff and student discipline. Economic costs to the state were also
an issue. All boys staying at the school were transferred to Long Lane School between
1972 and 1973. Items in this collection include student and staff records and photographs.
Secretary of the State, Office of, 1789-1984 (RG 006)
The bulk of records for the Secretary of the State’s Office relate to elections
and commercial activities. The records of the Elections Division contain votes for
state and federal offices, 1819-1912, plus a variety of papers on state, municipal,
probate, and justice of the peace elections for much of the 20th century. Records
of the Commercial Recording Division include Articles of Incorporation for joint
stock companies, chartered companies, and voluntary associations, 1837-1946; Records
of Railroad Mortgages, 1849-1980; Certificates of Adoption of Trademarks, 1880-1963;
together with annual and biennial reports, certificates, lists of officers, and
other similar records for cooperative associations, non-stock corporations, specially
chartered corporations, domestic corporations, and foreign corporations, 1834-1979.
Also included are records of county commissioners; the 1965 Constitutional Convention;
returns on births, marriages, and deaths, 1848, 1853, 1855; and small quantities
of papers covering such subjects as letters received, oaths of office, sheriffs’
records, reports on jails, and temperance petitions.
Select
Committee of Inquiry, 1978-2004, bulk 1995-2004 (RG 002:025)
On January 26, 2004, House Resolution 702 formally established the Select
Committee of Inquiry to determine whether sufficient grounds existed to impeach
Governor John G. Rowland. Speaker of the House Moira K. Lyons (D-Stamford)
appointed Arthur J. O'Neill (R-Southbury) and John Wayne Fox (D-Stamford) as
co-chairmen.
Selective Service System,
1940-1975 (RG 093)
President Franklin Roosevelt signed the Selective Training and Service Act of
1940, which created the country’s first peacetime draft and formally established
the Selective Service System as an independent Federal agency. That same year, the
first local Selective Service boards were appointed in Connecticut. From 1948 until
1973, during both peacetime and periods of conflict, men were drafted to fill vacancies
in the armed forces that could not be filled through voluntary means. In 1973, the
draft ended and the United States converted to an all-volunteer military. The registration
requirement was suspended in April 1975. It was resumed again in 1980 by President
Carter and continues today. The records of Connecticut’s Headquarters of the Selective
Service System documents the various activities of the local boards and such committees
as the Youth Advisory Committee, State Medical Advisory Committee, Advisory Committee
on Scientific, Engineering, and Specialized Personnel, and the Industry Advisory
Committee. Records include manuals, procedural directives, statistical reports,
requests for draft deferments, newspaper clippings, publications, meeting minutes,
and correspondence.
Services and Expenditures,
Governor's Commission on (Etherington Commission, 1971), 1959-1973 (RG 028:005)
The Commission studied State government to determine the most efficient and economical
means to deliver services to citizens.
Shannon (James
C.) gubernatorial records, 1948-1949 (RG 005:030)
Sickness, Commission on
the Prevention and Care of, 1939-1940 (RG 042)
In 1939, the General Assembly enacted House Bill 1650 that established a five-member
commission appointed by the Governor to study the problems associated with physical
and mental diseases in Connecticut, delivery of services by state facilities and
expenditures made by them and those that the state should make. Originally called
the Commission on the Treatment and Care of People Afflicted with Physical or Mental
Disabilities, the group was better known as the Commission on the Prevention and
Care of Sickness. HB 1650 required that the commission report its findings and recommendations,
including draft legislation, to the Governor on or before January 1, 1941. In 1939,
the Commission first held an investigation of charges against personnel of Norwich
State Hospital for the Insane. Then it conducted studies and surveys of state agencies
and institutions. Noteworthy is a report on the incidence of cancer. This record
group contains correspondence, supplementary studies, survey reports, articles and
newspaper clippings, transcripts of testimony and public hearings, draft recommendations,
and the final report, published in 1940.
Siting Council,
Connecticut, 1973-1992 (RG 041:003)
The Connecticut Siting Council has jurisdiction over the siting of power
facilities, transmission lines, hazardous waste facilities and various other
forms of infrastructure including telecommunications sites.
Included are hearing transcripts, 1973-1992.
Social Services,
Department of, 1809-1960 (RG 019)
The Department of Social Services provides assistance to families and individuals
through programs such as child-care block grants, energy assistance, vocational
rehabilitation, refugee assistance, programs for the elderly, temporary assistance
for needy families, food stamps, Section 8 housing vouchers, and the state child
support enforcement plan. The Department has evolved through several titles that
reflect the changes in public policy toward those citizens in need: Board of Charities,
1873-84; State Board of Charities, 1884-1921; Department of Public Welfare, 1921-35;
Office of the Commissioner of Public Welfare and the Public Welfare Council, 1935-1953;
Department of Welfare, 1953-75; Department of Social Services, 1975-1979; Departments
of Human Resources and Income Maintenance, 1979-1993; and, once again, the Department
of Social Services, 1993-present.
Soldiers', Sailors' and
Marines' Fund, 2007-2011 (RG 078)
The Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Marines’ Fund was established in 1919 to assist
needy wartime veterans and their families. The agency is administered by The
American Legion.
Spanish War Veterans,
Department of Connecticut Uniter, 1898-1973 (RG 081)
The United Spanish War Veterans was organized in 1904 by the amalgamation of
a number of veterans’ organizations including the National Army and Navy Spanish
War Veterans, the National Association of Spanish-American War Veterans, and the
Service Men of the Spanish War. It was composed of men and women who “served at
any time during the war between the United States of America and the Kingdom of
Spain, or at any time during the war for the suppression of the insurrection in
the Philippine Islands, including the China Relief Expedition.” The objectives of
this organization were to unite veterans who served during the war, to honor the
dead, to assist veterans and their families, to perpetuate the memories of the war,
and to collect and preserve the records of service of the individual members of
the organization. Materials include administrative files, financial records, rosters,
records relating to individual camps, documents relating to various encampments
and social events, photographs and memorabilia, including a diary written by Catharine
Pilgard, a nurse who served during the Spanish-American War.
Special Care Sanatoria, 1910-1990 (RG 179)
This artificial record group was created for all materials relating to state-run,
special-care hospitals, specifically tuberculosis hospitals. All institutions included
in this collection were created or administered by the State Tuberculosis Commission
(RG 016). Among the sanatoria created by the Tuberculosis Commission was Uncas on
Thames Sanatorium in Norwich. It was opened in February of 1913. In 1932 a surgery
unit was added. In the earlier days of the Tuberculosis Commission, all surgery
that was performed in the state was done under the direction of the chief Surgeon,
who had facilities at Uncas. Laurel Heights Sanatorium in Shelton was formerly known
as the Shelton or Fairfield County Sanatorium and was opened in August 1910. Cedarcrest
was the second of the sanatoria to be formed in 1910 in the Hartford Area. The Director
of the Laboratory of Pathology and Research who performed the post-mortem exams,
biopsies, and clinical pathological conferences and related research was located
at Cedarcrest. The smallest and most recent of the sanatoria was Seaside. Architect
Cass Gilbert designed the facility. Seaside admitted only children under the age
of 15, whereas the other sanatoria admitted only patients over 15. Because of Seaside,
Connecticut was considered a pioneer in providing special institutions for children.
Most patients at Seaside had bone tuberculosis. Records in this collection include
administrative files, autopsy reports, laboratory reports, patient registers, publications,
training manuals, school records (Seaside), and patient files.
Special Revenue,
Division of, 1971-2011 (RG 026)
The General Assembly created the Commission on Special Revenue by Pubic Act 865
in 1971. Its first action was to institute a lottery in Connecticut. In the late
1990s, the State transferred administration of the lottery to the Connecticut
Lottery Corporation. Today the Commission is a Division and is a part of the
Department of Revenue Services for administrative purposes only. The Division
supports activities of the Gaming Policy Board and both regulate the conduct of
legalized gambling within the state and monitor compliance with Tribal-State
Compacts. The group consists of Commission on Special Revenue/Gaming Policy
Board meeting minutes; hearing decisions; and sample lottery tickets.
Special Tax Commission,
1932-1935 (RG 047)
Special Act 474, approved by the General Assembly in 1933, established a “Temporary
Commission to Study the Tax Laws of the State and Make Recommendations concerning
their Revision,” which took the name Special Tax Commission. The Commission held
six public hearings and obtained the assistance of private citizens and state government
officials. It submitted a report to Governor Wilbur Cross in November 1934. At first
a 94-page summary was available to the public, but a full report of 642 pages appeared
later. Commission records include minutes of meetings, correspondence of the research
director and staff and commission members, correspondence between the chair and
research director, commission administrative files, files pertaining to a study
of the impact of a proposed change in the beginning of the fiscal year, publicity
material, and a general file consisting of working files, reference materials, working
papers, drafts, notes, and correspondence.
State
Departments, Commission on the Reorganization of, 1935-1937 (RG 028:002)
The Commission made recommendations and proposed legislation to streamline State
government that at the time consisted of 160 agencies among the three branches.
State Government,
Commission to Study the Management of (Thomas Commission, 1989-1991), 1989-1990
(RG 028:009)
The Commission conducted a comprehensive study of state government and made cost
cutting and revenue enhancement recommendations for agencies
State Government,
Committee on the Structure of (Filer Committee, 1975-1977), 1976-1977 (RG
028:006)
The Committee studied the overall functions of state government and its agencies
as well as their relationships with commissions and committees.
State Government
Organization, Commission on (1949-1950), circa 1940-1950 (RG 028:004)
The Commission used nineteen survey units to study various aspects of state government
and make organizational recommendations.
State Tax Revenue and
Related Fiscal Policy, Bipartisan Commission on, 1982-1983 (RG 077)
In 1981, the General Assembly created a bipartisan commission to “conduct a
study and undertake an analysis of state tax revenue, state tax laws, administration
of state tax laws, and state fiscal policy in relation to tax revenue.” The twenty-seven
member Commission began holding meetings in early 1982 and issued preliminary findings,
recommendations, and opinions. The committee also invited public comment by mail
and at five public hearings. The commission’s final report was submitted to Governor
William O’Neill in January 1983. This collection documents the committee’s activities
and includes transcripts of meetings (including sound recordings), written comments
from the public, background information, administrative files and correspondence.
Also included is an annotated copy of the final report.
Steamship Terminals,
Commissioners of,1915 (RG 089:037)
The Commissioners of Steamship Terminals were empowered, in addition to general
liaison assistance in the promotion of water transportation and port development
throughout the state, specifically to acquire, own, construct, maintain and
operate docks, piers, terminals, equipment, warehouses, etc. "or any other
appropriate harbor facilities" in New London, Waterford, Groton, Stonington,
Ledyard, Preston, Montville and Norwich. Consists of one publication,
Connecticut Shipping Terminal at New London (1915) from the time of the
Rivers, Harbors and Bridges Commission and seven photographs showing the
progress of hydraulic work from August to October 1915.
Tax Reform,
Governor's Commission on, 1972 (RG 086)
Appointed by Governor Meskill, this nine-member Commission was created to analyze
existing and potential revenue sources, review the State revenue structure, particularly
with reference to its impact on various segments of society and on the climate for
business and industry, examine the state of the property tax system, and recommend
steps to be taken toward the complete reform of Connecticut’s existing tax structure.
Records include meeting minutes, correspondence, administrative files, newspaper
clippings, press releases, and drafts of its final report.
Tax Study Commission,
Connecticut, 1966-1967 (RG 087)
This nine-member Commission was created by the General Assembly in 1965 to study
the property tax laws with respect to personal property of businesses. Records include
correspondence, working papers, drafts and the final version of the Commission’s
report to the General Assembly.
Teachers' Retirement
Board, 1917-1963 (RG 023)
The State Teachers' Retirement Board administers the Teacher’s Retirement System
that provides members, public school teachers and their beneficiaries, with retirement,
disability, survivorship, and health benefits.
Teenage Alcoholic
Use Study Commission, 1961-1967 (RG 048)
In 1965 by Special Act 257, the General Assembly created this commission to
continue the study of the problem of teenage alcohol use and to implement recommendations
of the earlier (1961) Teenage Liquor Law Coordination Commission. On December 6,
1966, the Commission held a conference on the problem at the Capitol. This group
contains minutes of meetings, a transcript of the conference, meeting notices and
agendas, background papers, reference files, newspaper clippings, correspondence,
and Soundscriber discs.
Tercentenary Commission,
Connecticut, 1928-1959, bulk 1929-1936 (RG 056)
The General Assembly created this commission in 1929 to plan for the commemoration
of the 300th anniversary of Connecticut’s settlement. The Commission expanded from
seven members to eleven, supported by an executive secretary and staff. It created
several subcommittees to conduct work. Its program included publications, exhibits,
public ceremonies, musical events, pageants, parades, school activities, an industrial
exhibit, religious observances, and the sale of medals, plates, and auto tags. The
record group contains minutes of meetings of the Commission, its executive committee,
and sub–committees, administrative, personnel, and financial records, scrapbooks,
photographs, postcards and files about local celebrations, reports of public libraries,
music, local history material, much of which was assembled by Connecticut school
children, and visitors’ registers.
Traffic Commission,
State, 1935-1995 (RG 089:030)
The State Traffic Commission was established as the legal traffic authority of
Connecticut, to provide rules and regulations for the establishment of uniform
traffic control signals, devices, signs, and markings for the use of vehicular
and pedestrian traffic upon the public highway. These records consist solely of
meeting agendas and minutes, 1935-1995.
Transportation, Department
of, 1941-2003, bulk 1973-2003 (RG 089)
The Department of Transportation was created in 1969 per P.A. 768, sec. 3,
with the merger for four agencies: State Highway Department, Department of
Aeronautics, Connecticut Transportation Authority, and the Commissioners of
Steamship Terminals. Included here are tolls and concession log books,
1942-1988; records of the Commissioner, 1941-2003, bulk 1973-2003;
photographs, 1988-1989; Bureau of Aeronautics, Bradley International Airport,
Automatically Controlled Transportation, 1974-1975; Mianus River Bridge Collapse
investigation, 1983;
legislative proposals, 1994; and films, 1973-1996. The bulk of the films are
road logs.
Transportation
Accountability Board, 1986-1987 (RG 089:032)
The Transportation Accountability Board was created as an independent,
non-partisan body charged with overseeing the operations of the Connecticut
Department of Transportation. The Board held its first meeting on January 8,
1986 and was abolished as of July 1, 1987. Includes meeting material, 1986-1987;
and subject files, 1986-1987.
Transportation
Authority, Connecticut, 1956-1973 (RG 089:024)
The Connecticut Transportation Authority was established in 1963, per P.A. 639.
In 1969 it merged into the new Department of Transportation, per P.A. 768, sec.
9, and was incorporated into the Bureau of Rail and Motor Carrier Services.
These records consist of two accessions. The first is an unprocessed accession
that includes material dating 1956-1973: correspondence, Interstate Commerce
Commission dockets, Tri-State Transportation Commission reports, Penn Central
Transportation Company material, and New Haven R.R. reorganization material. The
second accession is Executive Director Samuel Kannell’s administrative files,
1963-1971 that includes Governor’s Office memoranda and correspondence, and
material relating to the Capitol Region Transportation Task Force, Penn Central
Transportation Company, Tri-State Transportation Commission, Northeastern
Regional Transportation Committee, and New York Metropolitan Transportation
Authority.
Treasurer, Office of the State, 1741-1979 (RG 007)
The records of the Treasurer document three major activities: those as agent
for receiving, disbursing, and investing state funds; administration of the Connecticut
School Fund; and the duties of the Veterans’ Bonus Division. The function to receive,
disburse, and invest state funds is documented through a variety of accounts, certificates,
daybooks, receipt books, receipt stubs, cash and account books, ledgers, and correspondence,
1743-1960. They also include small quantities of turnpike returns, Insurance Department
certificates, and waste books. The records of the Connecticut School Fund, 1793-1948,
consist of correspondence, journals, reports, accounting records, and deeds for
lands in Ohio, Massachusetts, and New York. Veterans’ Bonus Division files, 1947-1979,
consist primarily of bonus application or claim files and card indexes, the bulk
of which are only available on microfilm, and a small quantity of death claim files.
The World War I Bonus covered those with military service between 1898-1920; World
War II Bonus 1941-1946, Korean War Bonus, 1950-1953; and Vietnam War Bonus, 1964-1975.
Trumbull (John
Harper) gubernatorial records, 1925-1931 (RG 005:025)
Unemployment
Commission, Connecticut, 1931-1933 (RG 031)
In December 1930, Governor John Trumbull and Governor-elect Wilbur Cross formed
the Connecticut State Emergency Committee on Employment. The committee was charged
with cooperating with state and federal agencies in investigating and mitigating
the effects of serious unemployment and with encouraging employers to gather statistics
and other information, so that a solution to unemployment could be devised. The
Committee reported its findings in February 1931, and later in July, it went out
of business. Its successor was the Connecticut Unemployment Commission authorized
by the General Assembly under Special Acts, 1931, Ch. 468. It continued the work
of its predecessor, working with local groups providing relief and served as a point
of contact for federal relief activities such as the distribution of Army blankets
and clothing, sale of wheat and cotton, and the Civilian Conservation Corps employment
program. The Commission reported its findings in a report in December 1932 and went
out of existence at the end of June 1933, succeeded by the new Connecticut Emergency
Relief Commission. RG 031 contains minutes of meetings, financial records, general
subject files consisting of correspondence, newspaper clippings and other publications,
and reports, together with files of town surveys of relief organizations, construction
projects, and payroll and man hours. In addition, the collection contains a scrapbook
of newspaper clippings and files of the New Haven office.
Veterans Advisory
Commission, 1943-1949 (RG 049)
In the summer of 1943, Governor Raymond E. Baldwin appointed a volunteer Connecticut
Reemployment Commission to plan for the orderly reentry of veterans into the workforce,
reemployment of displaced war workers, and the coordination work of all relevant
State, local and private agencies. In 1945, the General Assembly made the Commission
a statutory agency under the new name, Veterans Reemployment and Advisory Commission.
At the end of the fiscal year of 1947, the Commission’s name became the Veterans
Advisory Commission and it went out of existence on June 30, 1949. The group consists
of meeting minutes, special memoranda, lists of members of the commission and local
committees, interviews and reports of the “Town Planning Survey,” administrative,
financial, and personnel files, subject files, field representatives’ files, and
files pertaining to on the job training and apprenticeship programs.
Veterans' Affairs,
Department of, 1866-1991 (RG 073)
The General Assembly created the Department of Veterans’ Affairs in 1987 to
assist the State’s nearly 400,000 veterans in obtaining benefits or privileges entitled
to them under state and federal law. The Veterans Home and Hospital in Rocky Hill
merged with the Department in 1988 and its new mission is to provide comprehensive
health, social and rehabilitative services to all resident veterans in Connecticut.
Records in this collection include those from Fitch’s Home for Soldiers and Orphans
(1866-1940) and Veterans Home and Hospital (1940-present). Materials include patient
records, deceased veterans discharge files, death records, administrative records,
and historic subject files.
War Council, 1940-1945 (RG 050)
After war broke out in Europe in 1939, the State created the State Defense Council,
similar to the one during the First World War. It coordinated domestic mobilization
through advisory committees of leading citizens, local councils and public officials,
and agencies of the U.S. government. By 1943, this body was known as the War Council.
It went out of business on October 1, 1945. Records include minutes, directives
and circulars, general files, surveys, publications, and files (correspondence,
memoranda, reports, subject files, and lists) documenting the work of sections dealing
with protection services, an air raid network, air raid wardens, blackouts, bomb
reconnaissance, communications, fire and plant protection, training, fuel, food,
manpower, radio, film and statewide evacuation.
Washington (George)
Bicentennial Commission, 1931-1933 (RG 055)
In 1931, Governor Wilbur L. Cross appointed a five-person commission to direct
Connecticut’s participation in the national celebration of the two hundredth anniversary
of the birth of George Washington. The Lieutenant Governor served as chair, and
State Librarian George S. Godard was the secretary. Between September 28, 1931 and
June 27, 1932, the Commission held regular meetings and planned, sponsored, or encouraged
a variety of activities. The record group contains minutes of meetings, general
files of correspondence, memoranda, clippings, scrapbooks, paintings and drawings
of children’s contest entries, and a photostat copy of a history of Connecticut’s
participation arranged by town. The Commission gave the original volume to the United
States Bicentennial Commission.
Water Resources
Commission, 1925-1981 (RG 079:023)
The State Water Commission was created in 1925 to reduce, control or eliminate water
pollution. It merged into the Water Resources Commission in 1957 that was formed
to study the water resources of the State.In 1971 the Water Resources Commission
merged into the new Department of Environmental Protection.
Weicker (Lowell P.) gubernatorial records 1991-1995. 1977-1994, bulk 1991-1994 (RG 005:038)
Women, Permanent
Commission on the Status of, 1972-1993 (RG 176)
The General Assembly created the Permanent Commission on the Status of Women
(PCSW) in 1973. The Commission was charged to work to eliminate sex discrimination
within the state. The Commission’s first task was to review existing statutes to
ensure conformity with the 1974 state equal rights amendment. It continues its efforts
to ensure equal employment, housing, credit, and educational opportunities for the
state’s women. In addition to its legislative efforts, the PCSW assists individuals
who believe they have suffered sex discrimination in employment and other areas.
The PCSW offers advice on legal rights and assists with filing formal complaints
with the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (RG 154). Records include
materials created by the Executive Director, Public Information Office, Legislative
Coordinator, Office Manager, and Intake Officer. The collection includes administrative
files, correspondence, reports, subject files, photographs, newspaper clippings,
and financial records.
Work Projects
Administration, Connecticut, 1995-1944 (RG 033)
In 1935, the Federal government established the Works Progress Administration
as the central agency in control of relief projects for the unemployed in the nation.
When the Federal Emergency Relief Administration closed in late 1935, the WPA replaced
it. In 1939, the agency’s name changed to Work Projects Administration. In Connecticut,
main offices for the WPA were in New Haven and district offices were in major cities.
It was abolished on June 30, 1943 and liquidated a year later. This group primarily
documents the Writers’ Project and associated “white collar” projects. It contains
correspondence, working papers, research reference materials, directives, circulars,
manuals, completed survey forms, contracts, maps, photographs, clippings and scrapbooks,
drafts of interviews and reports, field notes, scripts of radio programs, administrative
and financial records, and manuscripts of unpublished works. Areas of activity include
Connecticut: A Guide, ethnic histories, town and city histories, histories of city
parks, Historic Buildings Survey, Church Records Survey, Manuscripts Inventory,
the Federal Art Project, American Imprints Inventory, history of the Hartford Flood
of 1936, and a variety of guides.
Worker's Compensation Commission, 1914-1950 (RG 174)
Established by an act in 1913 as the Board of Compensation Commissioners, this
Commission administers the State’s workers’ compensation laws. It “facilitates voluntary
agreements, adjudicates disputes, makes findings and awards, hears and rules on
appeals, and closes out cases through full and final stipulated agreements.” Records
include approved and rejected case files from the Hartford or First District, 1914-1939;
files from the Waterbury or Fifth District; awards and stipulations, 1914-1950;
voluntary agreements, 1914-1950; and findings and awards, 1937-1950.