A Connecticut Alphabet People and Places

1. A Connecticut Alphabet People and Places By Mrs. Mitchell’s 3rd grade Ms. Child’s 3rd grade Mrs. Yasner, Library 2011

2. A-Benedict Arnoldby Noah Bachner Would you like to learn about the Revolutionary War? Then you might find Benedict Arnold interesting. He was born on January 14, 1741 in Norwich, CT. He died on June 14, 1801 in London, England. In his life he did lots of things. He was an American general. He was a soldier and he was a traitor. He gave information to England for money. He also became a sea captain in the West Indies and Canada. As you can see he was a risk taker throughout his life. A dishonest person is called a “Benedict Arnold”.

3. B- P.T. Barnumby Brooks Klyver P.T. Barnum was a great man. P.T. Barnum was born in 1810. P.T. Barnum opened a circus- the Greatest Show on Earth. The show included an elephant named Jumbo. Barnum was also a politician. He was mayor of Bridgeport. He opened a circus and a traveling museum. The Barnum Museum opened on Feb. 2, 1893. Tom Thumb was a great exhibit to visit. The Egyptian mummy was name Pa-Ib. The mummy was donated in 1892 by Barnum’s second wife Nancy.

4. C-Samuel Coltby Jack Esse Do you know who invented the gun with the revolving cylinder? Samuel Colt enjoyed taking things apart to see how they worked. He manufactured firearms in Paterson, New Jersey in 1836. He had experience in firearms, explosives, ships and the sea. He was born in Hartford on July 19, 1814. Colt’s weapons were widely used in the Civil War. Samuel Colt developed his idea for a pistol with a revolving cylinder. In 1855 he completed construction of his new Hartford manufacturing plant which was the largest private arms manufacturing facility in the world. Samuel Colt died in 1862 at the age of 47 in Hartford.

5. D-Discovery Museumby Connor Rosow Do you like space? The Discovery Museum is the place for you! The Discovery Museum is located at 4450 Park Ave., Bridgeport, CT. It has a great planetarium, a hands–on science gallery and a new exhibit on guitars. The hours are 10:00-5:00 and tickets for children are $8.00 each. In the galleries there are exhibits on electricity, electronics, computers, sound and light. There is also an exhibit on magnetism.

6. E-Essex Steam Train by Matthew Blasius • Do you like boats and trains? Come on over to the Essex Steam Train and Boat ride! The Essex Steam Train is operated by the Valley Railroad Company. Winter is an exciting time to travel on the train. The Santa Special brings along a jolly friend- Santa Clause. In summer you can take a nice ride in the open car. The train travels northward from the Essex station through the scenic towns of Deep River and Chester. You might see a couple of creeks when you go over bridges. In the warm summer you can go on the river boat ride down the Connecticut River.

7. F-Fairfieldby Alexander Elliott Do you live in Fairfield? If you do, learn some facts from me. Fairfield is located in Fairfield County in Connecticut. Fairfield is one of the top 9 places to live in the USA. The population in 2006 was 57,340 people. It has an excellent school system. It also has many nice beaches. It is on Long Island Sound. In the spring there is an annual Dogwood Festival. We also have Fairfield University and the Fairfield Museum and the History Center.

8. F-Florence Griswold Museumby Cole Kirven Do you like art museums? Then go to the Florence Griswold Museum. It is located in Old Lyme, CT. For adults it costs $9.00 and $8.00 for seniors and for students it is $7.00. It is free to visitors 12 and under. It is open Tuesday – Saturday 10-5:00 and on Sunday it is open 1-5:00.Florence’s boarding house became the center of Impressionism in America.

9. G- Charles Goodyearby George Kessler Did you know that Charles Goodyear did not have anything to do with the Goodyear Rubber and Tire company? Charles Goodyear was born in New Haven, Connecticut on Dec. 29, 1800. He died in New York City. The family moved to Naugatuck ,CT when Charles was a boy. Charles invented the rubber vulcanization process. Rubber melted in hot weather and it froze and cracked in the cold weather.

10. G-Gillette CastleBy Zach Pearce Have you heard of Gillette Castle? Well, Gillette Castle is very interesting. It sits on top of the Connecticut River. It is located in Haddam, Connecticut. The castle was originally a private residence commissioned and designed by William Gillette. The Gillette estate, called the Seventh Sister, was built on a 184 acre tract on top of the southernmost of a chain of hills known as the Seven Sisters. Located at 67 River Road in East Haddam, the park consists of a castle and it receives 300,000 visitors annually. It reopened in 2002 after four years of restoration costing 11 million dollars. It now includes a museum, hiking trails and a picnic area and holds many theatrical celebrations.

11. H-Hartford By Danny Duffy If you like history and historians, then Hartford is the place to go. Hartford was founded by the Dutch in 1623 and then by the English in 1636. The English pronounced it as Herford. Hartford is located in the center of the state on the Connecticut River. You could visit the state capital. You could go to the Mark Twain and the Harriet Beecher Stowe homes. You could also visit Bushnell Park and the Wadsworth Athenaeum. In 1908 the first lollipop machine was invented in Hartford. So if you ever visit Hartford, go to these places!!!

12. H-Nathan Hale by Charlie Rosen Nathan Hale was born on June 6, 1755. Hale became a teacher at the Union Grammar School in New London, CT. He joined the army. He wanted to fight to make sure that Americans’ rights were protected. Hale worked as a spy for George Washington. He was captured by the British army. Before he was hanged, Hale said, “I only regret that I have but one life to lose for my country.”

13. I-Charles Ives American Composer!

14. J- Just the right place to live! Connecticut!

15. K-Kent Falls State Park Kent Falls is sometimes considered the highest falls in the state. It is actually a series of waterfalls and cascades that drop 250 feet. Kent Falls State Park is located 5 miles north of Kent, CT on Route 7 and is probably the most well-known falls in the state of Connecticut.

16. L-Lake Compounceby Ryan Lauter Do you like family rides? If you do, come to Lake Compounce. Lake Compounce is fun and exciting for you and your family. There are water rides and dry rides, plus it is just plain old fun. Lake Compounce is located in Bristol, Connecticut. It is the oldest continuously operating amusement park in North America. So come to Lake Compounce because I am sure it is the place for you.

17. M-Maritime Aquariumby William Conzelman Do you like aquariums? Then go to the Maritime Aquarium. The Maritime Aquarium is located in Norwalk, CT. At the touch tank you can touch turtles, rays, and spider crabs. The animals they have are seals, otters, rays, frogs, sea stars, green crabs, horseshoe crabs, tiger sharks and jelly fish. The hours are 10:00-5:00 PM. If you are a child it costs $9.95. The animals do amazing tricks. They have a harbor seal pool and a river otter habitat. They have a loggerhead sea turtle and a marine lab.

18. N-Noah Websterby Noah Gage Noah Webster was born on Oct. 16, 1758 in West Hartford, CT. At age 16 he entered Yale. He became a teacher. He studied law. He developed a series of school books known as the blue–back speller. It was in use for more than a century and sold over seventy million copies. He wrote the first dictionary in the United States. It was called An American Dictionary of the English Language.

19. N-New England Air Museumby Ryan Pilkington http://www.neam.org/ The New England Air Museum is very interesting. It is located at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The restoration hanger was completed in 1989. It contains 11,200 square feet of open space. The Lockhead F-Star fighter served with the USAF through the 1960’s and the end of the cold war.

20. O-Charter Oak Treeby Caleb Kirven The Charter Oak tree is a very important symbol in Connecticut history. In 1687 the Oak tree hid the Charter from the British. The people wanted freedom from the British and needed to write a charter. They grabbed the charter when the candles blew out and they hid the charter in the oak tree.

21. P-Peabody MuseumBy Steele Citrone The Peabody Museum is located in New Haven, Connecticut. The Peabody Museum was founded in 1866. It was a gift form George Peabody. The museum is open 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM but on Sunday it is open noon to 5 PM. You can see the Great Hall of Dinosaurs and the Age of Reptiles. There is a 110 foot long mural of dinosaurs. The Discover Room has some things that you will love. There is an Amazon rain forest exhibit. You should think about going to the Peabody Museum. It is fun!!

22. Q- QuinnipiacUniversityby Spencer Tuohy Quinnipiac University is a very interesting place. It is located in Hamden, Connecticut. Quinnipiac is located in the heart of New England about 90 minutes from New York city and 2 hours from Boston. This campus is home to residence halls, academic buildings, university offices, and athletic fields. Quinnipiac’s York Hill campus has a sports center, located just ½ mile away. They have schools for journalism, physical therapy, and physician assistants. Quinnipiac is a great University.

23. R- Connecticut River

24. S- IGOR SIKORSKY Sikorsky invented the helicopter.

25. T- Connecticut Trolley MuseumBy Cooper Eckert If you like trolleys, then you should come to the Trolley Museum. The museum has a lot of rail equipment dating back to 1869. During your visit you can see lots of trolley cars. Come in the fall to see the leaves. You can also come in the winter to see the lights. Most of the rail equipment is owned by the museum. The Trolley Museum is a very great place to visit.

26. U- USSNautilusby QuinConopask The Nautilus is a great submarine to visit. It has 6 torpedo tubes. In July, 1951 after several years of experiments with marine applications for nuclear power, Congress authorized the US Navy to build a nuclear powered submarine. It was launched on January 21st, 1954. It was the first vessel to reach the North Pole on August 3, 1958. You can visit it and you can go inside it but you cannot go into the back because it is still a secret.

27. U-University of Connecticutby Justin Saffan Do you know who the UConn Huskies are? They are the basketball team for the University of Connecticut. UConn was founded in 1881. The main campus is in Storrs, CT. UConn has a lot of sports. UConn has 14 schools- law, pharmacy, nursing, social work, medicine, fine arts, business, dental -medicine, engineering, graduate schools, Neag School of Education, liberal arts and sciences, and much more. UConn is a great school to go to.

28. V-Vernon, CT Vernon Hartford Vernon is located in the center of the state, just north of Hartford.

29. W-Wiffle Ballby Matthew Spencer If you like to play Wiffle ball, here are some interesting facts. The Wiffle ball was made by David Mullany of Fairfield, CT. The Wiffle ball was made with light plastic in 1953. The Wiffle ball is like a baseball but with a lighter bat and a lighter ball. There were a lot of successful leagues, and Wiffle ball was played across the United States.

30. X- Connecticut is an eXcellent place to live!

31. Y-Yaleby Jack Smalls Yale University is one of the top colleges in the U.S. It was founded in 1701 when a group of men got together and donated books to form a college. Yale is located in New Haven. The oldest building there is Connecticut Hall. The Peabody Museum is the oldest college-related museum in the U.S. From 1702-1707 classes were held in Milford and then in Saybrook, CT, until finally it relocated to New Haven. Then in 1709, a retired merchant named Elihu Yale donated enough money to finish the college. So because they were grateful they named the college Yale. Sometimes Yale is called Old Eli. Many famous people including George W. Bush went to Yale.

32. Z- Beardsley Park Zooby Connor Wackerman Do you want to have fun? Then visit the Beardsley Park Zoo. They just got a vampire bat exhibit. You can see the South American and North American animals. My favorite animals are the sheep at the zoo. You can see about 300 animals at the zoo. There are many endangered species. It’s in Bridgeport, CT at 1875 Noble Avenue. The phone number is 203-394-6565. The hours are 9 AM – 4 PM. If you like animals, go to the Beardsley Park Zoo.

33. The End