Sheldon / Charter Oak (Hartford, Connecticut)

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The Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood is significant to Hartford's history as it was the site of the original colonial settlement in 1623 as a Dutch trading post. It was here that, in 1636, Thomas Hooker and his colonists laid out house lots.

In 1855, Samuel Colt began buying up property and established the Colt Firearms Factory. He also built a village so that he workers could live within walking distance to the factory. It included a community house and library. Of the fifty brick, multi-family structures originally built, ten remain today. When willow trees began to overrun his property, he decided to open a factory for the production of willow furniture. Hearing that the best willow workers in the world were in Potsdam, Germany, he imported an entire village of workers to his Hartford location, building German-style homes to make the workers feel comfortable. The community became known as Potsdam Village. Several of these houses also remain today.

Upon Colt's death in 1862, his widow built the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd as a memorial to her husband and their three children who died in infancy. Architectural details of the structure include a variety of gun parts, earning the building the title of likely being the only church in the world with a gun motif. Upon Mrs. Colt's death, the 140-acre Colt estate was given to the city of Hartford as Colt Park. Today, the park provides public recreational facilities. Also planned for the park is the Hartford Botanic Garden, an 18.5 acre area that will utilize some of the outbuildings from the former Colt estate.

Samuel and Elizabeth Colt's mansion, Armsmear, still stands today as does the Colt Armory, the sweeping expanse of park between the two and other architecturally-significant structures in Coltsville that harken to a grander era. In 2008, Coltsville was named a National Historic Landmark by the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Towards the end of the 19th century, an influx of Polish immigrants occurred. Many worked in Hartford's factories and shops, including Colt, Capewell and Emhart. In 1881, George Capewell invented a machine that efficiently manufactured horseshoe nails, and his success made Hartford the "horseshoe nail capitol" of the world. The concentration of factories in the neighborhood allowed the Polish immigrants to settle along Sheldon, Governor, Woodbridge and Union streets. A second influx of Polish to the area during World War I grew the community.

Charter Oak Landing, the southern terminus of the river walk, sits just north of the Charter Oak Bridge. It provides passive recreational facilities and is home port of the Lady Fenwick, which offers daily cruises on the Connecticut River.