CTExplored/Inbox

May 01, 2023

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Game Changer: The Rise of Exclusionary Zoning in Connecticut

Adapted from Dougherty’s book On the Line: How Schooling and Civil Rights Shaped Hartford and its Suburbs, this article explains the origins of exclusionary zoning in Connecticut, tracing back to West Hartford in the 1920s.

It started with blocking a Hartford Jewish grocer named Jacob Solomon Goldberg from building a store in a residential neighborhood. After returning from serving in World War I, Jacob bought a small grocery store in downtown Hartford and hoped to open another one in West Hartford, a rapidly growing suburb. However, when he applied for a building permit for West Hartford in 1923, Goldberg was rejected.

Dougherty writes,

During this period of rapid growth, challenging Goldberg’s grocery was a way for West Hartford neighbors and leaders to share their fears about “undesirable” urban influences infringing on their suburb and threatening their property values. Some objected to business development, some resented immigrant outsiders, and Goldberg symbolized both.

Issues over Goldberg’s store arose during a period of anti-Jewish and anti-immigrant sentiments across the nation. In 1919, Connecticut Governor Marcus Holcomb launched the Department of Americanization to “convert the foreign-born and illiterate population.” The idea was derived from a vision to make the nation a culturally unified one. Discrimination from Hartford industries posed a challenge to Jewish and immigrant families, and many began to open retail businesses to enter the middle class. Companies like The Hartford, Aetna, and Travelers only hired Jewish people to be bookkeepers and barred them from positions of authority. Protestant-run Hartford Hospital and the Catholic-run St. Francis Hospital barred almost all Jewish doctors, while top corporate law firms refused any Jewish lawyers.

Goldberg and his allies challenged the constitutional authority of the local government to refuse a building permit, and after winning their case, Goldberg opened the Kingwood Market grocery store in 1924. However, West Hartford created a new zoning commission in July 1923, hoping to prevent other “undesirable urban elements” from entering their community.

Read the story in full at ctexplored.org to learn how this newly appointed zoning commission strategically developed exclusionary requirements which spread quickly across the state. Our Game Changer stories can be accessed for free!

Uncovering the roots of our state’s zoning history helps us understand present-day political battles to end exclusionary practices led by statewide advocacy groups such as the Connecticut Fair Housing Center, the Open Communities Alliance, and Desegregate Connecticut.

CT History for Kids: Connecticut’s National Historical Parks

Coltsville National Historical Park and Weir Farm National Historical are two National Historical Parks in Connecticut. National Historic Parks are different from private museums and other historical sites because Congress and the National Park Service determine which sites will become a part of the National Parks to “preserve and honor places that are important in the history of the country.” Coltsville is near Samuel Colt’s former factory in Hartford, which was famous for manufacturing firearms. Weir Farm in Ridgefield and Wilton, which is perfect for families to visit and enjoy, was named for artist J. Alden Weir. Weir painted in the impressionist style and was inspired by the Connecticut landscape. Weir Farm features many of his paintings.

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Explore!
Discover other natural and historic sites across the country at Every Kid Outdoors.

Visit Weir Farm and become a National Historic Park Junior Ranger! http://www.nps.gov/wefa/learn/kidsyouth/

Learn about more special places in Connecticut in our book, Where I Live: Connecticut.

The Latest from Grating the Nutmeg

163. How Connecticut Got Zoning (Game Changer Series)

This conversation is a perfect companion to the Spring issue article linked above. In this GTN podcast, Dr. Jack Dougherty, Professor and Director of the Educational Studies Program at Trinity College, uncovers the story of how Connecticut passed legislation that allowed zoning in the 1920s and how West Hartford became the first town to adopt zoning regulations, introducing the idea of exclusionary zoning.

Listen: How Connecticut Got Zoning (CTE Game Changer Series)

Support CT History podcast Grating the Nutmeg

We’re putting all the Grating the Nutmeg episodes into the Connecticut Digital Archive to preserve them for posterity. Help us with a donation if you can.

Programs and Exhibitions to Enjoy This Month

Lecture on Witchcraft at Elihu Burritt Library

Join the Friends of the Burritt Library on May 17th at 6:30 PM in Burritt Library at Central Connecticut State University for a fascinating presentation given by Dr. Leo Lgwe, Director of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches. In this presentation, Dr. Igwe will use several cases to illustrate the range of witch persecution and why this phenomenon persists in contemporary Africa.

RSVP to Renata Vickrey at VickreyR@ccsu.edu.

Derby Day at Pequot Library

A Fundraiser for Pequot Library | You are invited to the Pequot Library’s Derby Day Celebration on May 6 starting at 4 PM! Experience the excitement of the Kentucky Derby on the Great Lawn with festive tailgates, yard games, contests, and more.

RSVP at: https://buff.ly/3YytW7x.

Frederick Douglass Film Installation

Opening at the Wadsworth Atheneum on May 13, Lessons of the Hour is a multi-screen film installation created by artist Isaac Julien that anchors the exploration of abolitionist Frederick Douglass. Come see how Julien uses Douglass’s writing and filmed reenactments of his travels with contemporary protest footage in a 25-minute film that powerfully portrays his life.

Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art; thewadsworth.org

Editor’s Picks

“Jews in Hartford: Making their Presence Known,” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2008.

“Connecticut’s National Park Quest,” Connecticut Explored, Summer 2008.

“Making a Success of Coltsville,” Connecticut Explored, Winter 2005/2006.

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