Asylum Hill (Hartford, Connecticut)

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Originally known as 'Lords Hill', in 1807 the Asylum for the Education and Instruction of Deaf and Dumb Persons was founded, and for one hundred years, provided services to the deaf. The institution relocated to its present home in West Hartford, whereupon it became the American School for the Deaf. The establishment of the school gave the area its name.

The Asylum Hill Congregational Church was organized in 1864 by a group of wealthy residents in the neighborhood. Designed in 1865 by Irish-born architect Patrick C. Keely, it is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Among the more notable neighborhood residents who attended this church is Samuel Clemens, better known as Mark Twain.

The Hartford Fire Insurance Company was founded in 1810. The 10-acre campus on which it is located was the site of Hartford's first reservoir, and later the location of the original American School for the Deaf. The insurance company was the first major corporation to move into the neighborhood, followed by the Rossia Insurance Company and the Aetna Life Insurance Company. With the advent of these businesses, clerical workers began to move into the neighborhood, creating a demand for lower-cost housing.

One of Hartford's most historic areas, notables such as Mark Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Calvin Day, James Goodwin and U.S. Senator James Dixon, lived on the Hill. The area became a prominent residential district in the 1840's as wealthy families sought more spacious homes outside of the city. Throughout the 19th century, impressive homes were constructed, many of which remain today.