Hartford Circus Fire To Be Remembered At History Museum

Connecticut Museum of Culture and History

HARTFORD, CT — One of the most tragic days in Connecticut history will be remembered Thursday in Hartford, nearly 80 years after 168 men, women and children perished amid smoke and flames.

The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History in Hartford, located at 1 Elizabeth St., is hosting a special forum to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the horrific 1944 Hartford Circus Fire.

Entitled "Hartford Circus Fire Remembered," the program is part of the 2024 Woodward Lecture Series, which examines the impact and legacy of natural and human-made disasters in state history.

The program will take place Thursday, June 6, at 6 p.m.

Tickets are $15 for general admission, $10 for Connecticut Museum general members, and free for Connecticut Museum NARM-level and above members.

Tickets may be purchased online.

"As we near the 80th anniversary of the Hartford Circus Fire, the Connecticut Museum of Culture and History will remember a disaster that caused the loss of 168 lives and injured hundreds more," wrote the museum in an announcement.

Don Massey, author of "A Matter of Degree: The Hartford Circus Fire and the Mystery of Little Miss 1565," and former Hartford Fire Chief Charles Teale will lead a presentation on the fire.

That will be followed by a conversation moderated by the Connecticut Museum’s Deputy Executive Director and Chief Strategist Ilene Frank.

The evening will feature artifacts from the Connecticut Museum collection displayed exclusively for attendees.

The Hartford Circus Fire occurred on July 6, 1944, when Hartford residents headed out for what appeared to be a joyful day at the circus, according to the museum.

Then, suddenly, during a performance the circus tents rapidly caught ablaze, leading to panic and massive devastation.

“It’s about remembering the lives of those lost, but also understanding why this event had such an effect on our collective memory, even eighty years later,” said Natalie Belanger, public programs manager at the Connecticut Museum. “We’re thrilled to have such authoritative voices on the topic joining us to speak about it.”

Massey’s book documents arson investigator Rick Davey’s identification of one of the fire’s unclaimed victims as Eleanor Emily Cook, and Teale co-chaired the Hartford Circus Fire Memorial Foundation.

That foundation created a memorial to the victims on the site of the fire on Barbour Street.

The Connecticut Museum of Culture and History is a private, nonprofit organization established in 1825 as the state’s premier historical society, and also serves as the state’s home for folk and traditional arts support since 2015.

For more information and to purchase tickets, click on this link.