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Various native tribes lived in the area prior to colonization, all of who, belonged to the native Algoquin people. The first known Europeans to have explored the area were the Dutch under Adriean Block, who sailed up the Connecticut in 1614. Dutch fur traders returned in 1623 to establish a trading post. In 1633, Jacob Van Curler bought the area from the Pequot indian chief for a small sum. The fort established by the Dutch there, known as Fort Hoop (or ‘house of hope’) was ultimately abandoned in 1654 but the area is still known today as Dutch Point.
English settlers began to steadily arrive from 1636, and soon thereafter the Dutch colony realized they would be greatly outnumbered. In 1650, Peter Stuyvesant met with representatives of the English settlers and negotiated a boundary between the two colonies. The English colony was originally titled Newtown, but changed to Hartford in 1637 in honor of co-founder Samuel Stone’s hometown of Hertford in England.
The etymology of the name Hartford means ‘deer crossing’, hence a male deer on the city seal.
Throughout the 19th century, thanks to the advance of the Industrial Revolution, Hartford became one of the wealthiest towns per capita in the United States. But in the 1950’s, many Puerto Ricans moved to Hartford and the city began a steep decline as many families moved to the suburbs outside of the inner city. This decline wasn’t fully arrested until recent years, even though the city nearly filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy in 2017 that was only averted by a government bailout.
The industrial and economic decline of Hartford over the latter 20th century is a reminder that what was working well at one time doesn’t always last and sometimes intervention is needed to resolve a problematic situation. This not only applies to the running of a city but also to everyday and more mundane matters like, for example, the locks in your home, your business, or even your vehicle.. And when such matters occur and a dependable, reliable, and trustworthy local residential, commercial, and automotive locksmith company near you is needed to address said problems, we here at SURE LOCK & KEY are ready, willing, and able to rise to the needs of our customers by providing them with the very best such services in the current marketplace, bar none.