Connecticut’s Superlatives
Connecticut has an amazing array of superlatives (firsts, oldests, tallests, largest, longests, onlies, and smallests) to its credit. You’ll find these all over the site in the museum reports and elsewhere. Capturing them all on this page is an impossible task, so bear with me.
Some of these things are tagged with the “Dubious Claims” tag, which I believe are well deserved. In 1978 Bill Faude put together a book called Connecticut Firsts which informed some of the below. Let’s get to it.
Jump to US & World Firsts & Onlies
Jump to US Oldests
Jump to US & World Largests, Longests, Tallests, Mosts, Worsts, & Smallests
Jump to US & World Bests
US & World Firsts
Safety Fuse, Avon
Tinsmiths, Berlin
Civil War monument, Berlin
Orthodox Jewish Day School, Bloomfield
Hospice, Branford
Subway Sandwich Shop, Bridgeport
Airplane flight, Bridgeport
Chamber Music Festival, Canaan
Integrated school, Canterbury
Snow-making operation, Cornwall
Postage meter, Danbury
Public Burying Ground
Lilac Bushes
Copper Mine, East Granby
State/Federal prison, East Granby
Wasp engine, East Hartford
Scientifically-described dinosaur bones, East Windsor
Dead Union General, Eastford
Combs, Essex
Self-supporting summer theater, Essex
Submarine, Essex
Warship, Essex
Bird sanctuary, Fairfield
Bible translation by a woman, Glastonbury
Audubon Center, Greenwich
Operational nuclear-powered submarine, Groton
Bicycles, Hartford
Female governor, Hartford
Presidential car ride, Hartford
Constitution, Hartford
Two-sided building, Hartford
Public art museum, Hartford
FM radio station, Hartford
Paige Compositor, Hartford
Typed manuscript, Hartford
Payphone, Hartford
Cookbook, Hartford
Public Park, Hartford
Club Cocktails, Hartford
Commissioner of Education, Hartford
Building built for state government, Hartford
Fuller Brush Man, Hartford
Woman to receive a patent, Killingly
Polaroid picture, Lebanon
Free-standing keystone arch bridge, Lisbon
Railroad tunnel, Lisbon
Law school, Litchfield
Academy for Girls, Litchfield
Woolen mill, Manchester
Silk mill, Mansfield
Subdivision laid out by a black man for black homeowners, Middletown
Personal computer manufacturer, Milford
Vulcanized rubber, Naugatuck
Firefly Sanctuary, New Canaan
State agricultural experimental station, New Haven
Commercial telephone exchange and directory, New Haven
College Mascot, New Haven
Hamburger, New Haven
Holocaust Memorial, New Haven
Indoor Adventure Ropes Course, New Haven
College newspaper, New Haven
Burial ground with plots, New Haven
Black PhD, Yale Grad, and Phi Beta Kappa, New Haven
Hydroelectric power plant, New Milford
Business Computer, Norwalk
Chateau, Norwalk
Traitor, Norwich
Vanilla Coke, Pomfret
Women’s Library, Pomfret
Cotton mill, Putnam
Music school, Salem
Public Library, Salisbury
“President” of the United States, Scotland
Lookout tower for public use, Simsbury
Steel mill, Simsbury
Safety fuse, Simsbury
Steam boat, South Windsor
Bolt factory, Southington
Antarctica expedition, Stonington
Helicopters, Stratford
Cigar Factory, Suffield
Condensed Milk Factory, Torrington
Town named for George Washington, Washington
Brass Mill (water wheel hub), Waterbury
Known meteor, Weston
Dictionary, West Hartford
School for the Deaf, West Hartford
Municipal rose garden, West Hartford
Black US Representative, Windsor
Long-distance electrical power transmission, Windsor
Christmas Tree, Windsor Locks
Bishop Consecration, Woodbury
Bowling Alley, Woodstock
Schoolhouse in Continuous Use, Woodstock
Solair Nudist Resort, Woodstock
US & World Onlies
Hollow tile mushroom barn, Bloomfield
Trial using demonic possession as a criminal defense, Danbury
Ivory Bleach House, Deep River
Scherer Library of Musical Theater, East Haddam
George Washington Memorial Wallpaper, Enfield
Appalachian Trail section on a Tribal Reservation, Kent
Wall shared by a jail and a bank, Litchfield
Silk Vaults, Manchester
Greek Orthodox Chapel on an American State University Campus, Mansfield
Building with 3 ground level entrances on 3 different floors on the same road, Naugatuck
Iwo Jima Memorial with Iwo Jima materials, Newington/New Britain
Polish Post Office, New Britain
Eli Terry wooden clock, Plymouth
Eli Terry, Jr. Water Wheel, Plymuoth
Signer of all four founding documents, Sherman
Four train crash, Thompson
US Oldests
Russian publication, Ashford
Continuously mounted cavalry unit, Avon
Theological School, Bethlehem
Continuously operated suburban trolley line, Branford & East Haven
Horror Movie Museum, Bristol
Theme park, Bristol
Continuous agricultural fair, Brooklyn
Carillon made in US, Danbury
Co-Ed Camp, Deep River & Essex
Fife-and-Drum Corps Muster, Deep River
Gun Club, East Granby & Windsor
Roadside memorial, Ellington
Stone American colonial house, Guilford
Bell in the New World, East Haddam
(Former) Oldest family run business, Essex
Inn in Continual Use, Essex
Cider Mill, Glastonbury
Continuously operating ferry, Glastonbury/Rocky Hill
Wooden timber frame house still a private residence, Guilford
Continuously published newspaper, Hartford
Jazz Concert Series, Hartford
Saddlery, Hartford
Water-skiing Club, Litchfield
Operating industrial site, Manchester
High School Football Rivalry, New London/Norwich
Collegiate Sports Rivalry, New London
In-use union station, North Canaan
Continuously Operating Social Library, Pomfret
Post Office, South Windsor
Site of oldest ferry, South Windsor/Windsor
Continuous producer of hard cider, BF Clyde’s, Stonington
Surviving (non-wrecked) merchant vessel, Stonington
Surviving smack, Stonington
Skew arch bridge, Wallingford
Free-Standing Department store, Waterbury
Seed company, Wethersfield
Legible gravestone, Windsor
Parish, Windsor
Company on the stock exchange, Windsor Locks
US & World Largests, Tallests & Longests
Visible Model of the Solar System, Avon
Pile of Horseshoes, Bethany
Retail Animation and Entertainment Art Gallery, Cheshire
Collection of US Military vehicles, Danbury
Uncle Sam, Danbury
Stone arch bridge, East Hartford/Hartford
Irish Gift Shop, Farmington
Collection of Great Hunger related art, Hamden
Colonial Building, Hartford
Casino, Ledyard
Native American Museum, Ledyard
US Shortest & Longest: Cheney Railroad, Manchester
(CT’s) Largest Cairn, Manchester
Jack-in-the-Box, Middletown (Gone)
Wacky Wobbler, Middletown (Gone)
Indoor Planetarium Dome, Montville
Stainless steel diner, Newington
Dairy Store, Newington/Norwalk/Danbury
Suspended Natatorium, New Haven
Collection of colonial and antique locks, Plymouth
Movable parts mass production, Plymouth
Single ice-block competition, Putnam
Public school museum, Thompson
Single occupancy House, West Hartford
Chicken Cutlet Grinders, Wethersfield
Largest indoor collaborative artwork, Winchester
US & World Mosts/Worsts
Most Expensive Museum, Ledyard
Worst Trolley Accident, North Branford
Most Expensive Chocolate, Norwalk
Most Powerful Tandem Van de Graaff Accelerator, New Haven (Gone)
World’s Strongest Police Officer, Waterbury
US Smallests
Waterfall, Newington
Indian Reservation, Trumbull
US & World Bests
I’m completing another “Before you die” list over in my Food & Drink section, which you can check out here.
Yes, this is a subjective list and I struggled with where on CTMQ I should slot it, but I’m cool with it being here. This list comes from Patricia Shultz’s 1,000 Places to See Before You Die in the USA and Canada. She has released several editions, and I’ve pulled together the following list of Connecticut places from her 2016 effort. As you’d imagine, many places have since shuttered, but I’ll work around that. I think this list is a decent starting point for anyone and it tries to include all the regions of the state. The author (and her army of helpers) did a good job. Let’s get to it.
Again, alphabetical by town, the way I like it:
Golden Lamb Buttery, Brooklyn (Closed)
Scenic Route 169, Canterbury to Woodstock
Restaurant L&E, Chester (Closed)
Goodspeed Opera House, East Haddam
Gillette Castle, East Haddam
Connecticut River Museum, Essex
Essex Steam Train, Essex
Griswold Inn, Essex
Copper Beech Inn, Essex
Hill-Stead Museum, Farmington
Bruce Museum, Greenwich
Homestead Inn, Greenwich
Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough, Groton
Blue Oar, Haddam (Closed)
Mark Twain House, Hartford
Harriet Beecher Stowe Center, Hartford
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford
Old State House, Hartford
Connecticut State Capitol, Hartford
Max Downtown, Hartford
Foxwoods Casino, Ledyard
Mashantucket Pequot Museum, Ledyard
West Street Grill, Litchfield
White Memorial Conservation Center, Litchfield & Morris
Lenny and Joe’s Fish Tale, Madison
Mohegan Sun Casino, Montville
Winvian, Morris
Museum of American Art, New Britain
Frank Pepe’s, New Haven
Sally’s Apizza, New Haven
Libby’s Italian Pastry Shop, New Haven
Louis’ Lunch, New Haven
Yale Art Gallery, New Haven
Yale Center for British Art, New Haven
Beinecke Library, New Haven
Manor House Bed and Breakfast, Norfolk
Maritime Aquarium, Norwalk
Florence Griswold Museum, Old Lyme
Bee and Thistle Inn, Old Lyme (Closed)
Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum, Ridgefield
Chez Lenard, Ridgefield
Bernard’s, Ridgefield
Weir Farm, Wilton/Ridgefield
Mystic Seaport, Stonington
Mystic Aquarium, Stonington
Inn at Mystic, Stonington
Noah’s, Stonington
Inn at Stonington, Stonington
Mayflower Inn, Washington
Westport Country Playhouse, Westport
Good News Cafe, Woodbury
Inn at Woodstock Hill, Woodstock
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