Community Corner

Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

The latest Gem commemorates the contributions of a Revolutionary hero.

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The Lafayette statue in Hartford.
The Lafayette statue in Hartford. (Tim Jensen/Patch)

HARTFORD, CT — OK, the latest Hidden Gem sits in the middle of Hartford's government district, but how many times has one driven through the area without really noticing what it was and why it's there?

Once one realizes its there, the sculpture at 231 Capitol Avenue served at a 12-foot-high history lesson. It shows The Marquis De Lafayette on horseback.

Lafayette was a high-ranking french military official who helped the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War. According to the Historical Marker Database, the sculpture is a replica of the Lafayette sculpture outside the Louvre, in Paris. Artist Paul Wayland Bartlett gave the plaster model to the State of Connecticut, where it was placed in the State Capitol. In 1930, Frances B. Storrs donated $20,000 to make a bronze cast for the City of Hartford. The casting and dedication took place in 1932.

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There is a small turtle under the horse’s left rear hoof, the meaning of which is not known.

A plaque reads:

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"To the Marquis De La Fayette, born September 6, 1757, died May 20, 1834.A true friend of Liberty, who served as a Major General in the Continental Army with “all possible zeal, without any special pay or allowances” until the American colonists secured their freedom, and whose frequent visits to this State, as Aide to Washington, as Liaison Officer with supporting French troops, and in the pursuit of freedom, are gratefully remembered. This Plaque is dedicated by the Connecticut La Fayette Bicentennial Committee in the Bicentennial Year of the birth of this great Frenchman, September 21, 1957."

Lafayette made a triumphant trip to Hartford after the war. According to historical accounts on Sept. 3, 1824 after stopping in Worcester, the Marquis spent the night at the Springs Hotel in Stafford. He also stopped at what is now the Tolland-Vernon line before making his way to Hartford, where the horseback monument stands.

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to Chris.dehnel@patch.com.

Other Hidden Gems in this series:

2023

2022

2021 and earlier

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