Matty
boshembechle
Junior Chimp
Posts: 6,059
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« on: July 12, 2014, 12:55:48 AM » |
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After the Civil War, Hartford was the wealthiest city in America. Mark Twain in 1868 wrote of Hartford "Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief."
The Hartford population increased with every census from 1790-1950. Things were going great for Hartford. It was a wealthy, growing city. "At Christmas, they used to be like ants, people crawling all over the place, like Fifth Avenue. Everyone was happy," said Juan Roman, who moved to Hartford in 1952.
After 1950, everything changed. Over that time period, higher taxation drove the affluent residents to the suburbs. Hartford has lost 40% of its population since 1950. White flight accelerated as Hartford went from 92% white in 1950 to 29% white in 2010. Soon the schools began to decline and Hartford became poorer and poorer.
What once was America's richest city is now the 2nd-poorest, behind only Brownsville, TX.
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