Wicked Hartford

One of the oldest cities in America, Hartford holds plenty of sinful stories. Famed inventor and industrialist Samuel Colt sold arms to both the North and South in the buildup to the Civil War. The notorious Seyms Street jail was the subject of national criticism and scandal for its deplorable conditions. Local journalist Daniel Birdsall fought to expose corruption in the powerful insurance industry and local government at the expense of his own printing presses. Tension between unions and “robber barons” such as Jay Gould spilled into the streets during the Gilded Age. Author Steve Thornton takes readers on an exciting journey through the seedy underbelly of Hartford’s past.

Steve Thornton is the creator of The Shoeleather History Project, which documents and explores stories from Hartford’s grass roots. He maintains a website, leads workshops and conducts interactive walking tours that feature ordinary people who are the real makers of history. Steve has been an activist and organizer all his life and retired in 2013 as a vice president of District 1199/SEIU, Connecticut's largest healthcare union. He is a member of the National Writers Union and the IWW. Steve is the author of A Shoeleather History of the Wobblies: Stories of the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in Connecticut (Red Sun Press, 2013).