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The Tomie dePaola Collection contains Tomie's artwork, sketch books, drafts, studies and paintings from the beginning of his career through his college years and his long career as an author and illustrator. The Collection also contains a significant number of marketing items based on his artwork.

In 1838, six Cheney brothers established the Mount Nebo Silk Company in Manchester, CT. The company adopted the family name in 1843. Aided by booming national markets, a protective tariff, and innovative production methods, the company grew into the nation's largest and most profitable silk mill by the late 1880s. The company pioneered the wastesilk spinning method and the Grant's reel. The company reached its peak in 1923, after which it quickly declined due to industry wide overproduction and competition from new synthetic fibers such as rayon. Although it revived slightly during World War II, the family sold the company to J. P. Stevens and Company in 1955. J. P. Stevens quickly liquidated the equipment and the remainder was sold to Gerli Incorporated of New York. In 1978, the mills and surrounding neighborhood were declared a National Historical Landmark District. The mill was permanently closed in 1984. Most of the mill buildings were sold to developers who converted them into luxury apartments and offices.

Established in January 1878 as the District Telephone Company of New Haven, Connecticut; opened the world's first telephone exchange that same year. Reorganized as the Southern New England Telephone Company in 1882. Provided telephone service to residents in the state of Connecticut until 1998.

Lewis Zurlo spent 32 years designing buildings in and around the western Connecticut area and was a member of the Danbury Preservation Trust. The collection includes personal and architectural materials Zurlo collected over his professional career and significant architectural information on a number of buildings in and around Danbury for which Zurlo and his firm's services were retained.

On 29 May 29 1792, the Hartford Bank was the first bank to be granted a charter in the State of Connecticut. On 8 August 1792, the Hartford Bank opened for business at a location on the south side of Pearl Street just a short distance from Main. Throughout its long history it has been situated in the business center of Hartford and always within a block of the original site. In 1865, it joined the national bank system and became known as the Hartford National Bank. By 1970, a total of twenty banks and trust companies had been consolidated into the Hartford National family and today their services cover the entire State of Connecticut.

George W. Heinold, lifelong resident of Madison, Connecticut, was an author on outdoor life and fishing who wrote extensively on his experiences primarily along the Connecticut shoreline. He published regularly in such periodicals as Outdoor Life, Field and Stream, and Readers' Digest.

The history of the Wauregan Mills, the Quinebaug Company and other related mills is very much tied to the history of the Atwood family. The collection includes family records and materials as well as records of the Wauregan Mills, Wauregan Company, Quinebaug Mill, Wauregan-Quinebaug Company, and Wauregan Mills, Inc.

In 1969, the Hartford National Bank and Trust Company became the first completely owned subsidiary bank of the newly established Hartford National Corporation. After this merger, the HNC had assets totaled over $1.1 billion. The purchase of Connecticut National Bank would almost double the number of banks under its management and increase its assets drastically. The HNC merged with Shawmut National Corporation. Hartford remained one of the two dual headquarters for the corporation until its eventual merger with Fleet Bank in 1995.

Sargent and Company was a manufacturer of locks and hardware, with headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut. Originally established in New York City as a commission business, Sargent and Company relocated to New Britain, Connecticut, several years later under the name J. B. Sargent & Company. Unable to expand at this location, Sargent purchased land in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved the company, one hundred employees and their families on 1 May 1865. By 1887, the plant had expanded to sixteen acres of floor space and employed almost 1,700 employees. Joseph B. Sargent was prominent in New Haven politics and was elected mayor in 1890. In 1892, he was nominated as the Democratic candidate for governor, but was defeated. Upon his death in 1907, his brother, George Stewart Sargent, became president of Sargent and Company. In 1972, Sargent and Company became a division of Walter Kidde & Company of Belleville, New Jersey, a manufacturer of safety, security and protection products.

The Connecticut School Desegregation Collection consisits of materials related to the legal issues surrounding school desegregation in Hartford and Bridgeport, Connecticut. The collection provides an overview of the regional and national concerns in the area of desegregation, and two court cases that fought to bring an end to school segregation and discrimination.