Topic: Connecticut Business Collections in UConn Archives & Special Collections

The University of Connecticut’s Archives & Special Collections holds many collections related to Connecticut business history. This guide provides a curated selection of published materials, manuscript collections, and digitized materials available in the CTDA. The guide is meant to provide a starting point for research into Connecticut businesses in UConn's Archives & Special Collections--it is not a comprehensive listing of all materials related to these topics held by the UConn Archives & Special Collections. 

Several pages of this guide draw from previous work done by Archives & Special Collections staff and student workers presented through Collection Spotlights hosted on the Archives & Special Collections blog. These posts are linked throughout the guide, and can provide you with additional information and resources on the topics covered on the guide.

The Connecticut business collections document Connecticut’s evolution from an agrarian society to one that played a vital role in the Industrial Revolution. Comprised of daybooks from grist mills, dairy farms, and quarries of the early 19th century to annual reports and stock statements of companies whose dealings extended internationally in the mid and late 20th century, the majority of the archives are of businesses that made Connecticut an industry leader in the 19th and early 20th century. Products include textiles and silk, brass and hardware manufacturing, clocks and watches, heavy machinery and tools, and telecommunications, with some collections in the areas of banking, rubber manufacturing, knitting needles, surgical sutures, toiletries and thermoses.