Old State House

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Interpretive guides in historical garb take you through the site of the first written constitution and Amistad trial.. The Scene


Built in 1796, the original meeting place for the Connecticut Assembly has been fully restored as a museum. The site has been a hotbed of historical events: the first person hanged for witchcraft in the New World took place in 1647, George Washington first met the leader of the French army in 1780, and in 1839 the Amistad trial opened.



The Best


At the museum's opening and closing each day, people in period costumes fire an authentic Revolutionary War cannon. Inside docents dressed in period costumes, answer questions about the history of the building. Ever seen a unicorn horn? Joseph Steward's Museum of Curiosities contains that and other unusual objects like its famed two-headed calf.





The Rest


Traveling exhibits generally focus on art or crafts with shows like "Masterpieces of American Art."