Hartford's 1878 Victorian Gothic capitol where a Civil War-era governor's ghost is said to favor a third-floor caucus room he never worked in.
210 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, CT 06106
Research updated May 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
Free
Free public guided tours offered by the League of Women Voters of Connecticut during state government working hours.
Access
Wheelchair OK
Paved; ramped public entrance with accessibility features throughout.
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1878 · National Historic Landmark · Seat of Connecticut General Assembly · Victorian Gothic Architecture · Civil War Memorial Building
The Connecticut State Capitol opened in 1878, replacing the 1796 Old State House on Main Street as the seat of the state government. The new building was the result of a state-government modernization effort during the post-Civil-War era and reflected Connecticut's growing 19th-century industrial wealth.
Architect Richard Mitchell Upjohn won the design competition with an Eastlake Victorian Gothic composition featuring a marble exterior, a gilded-dome central tower, sculptural ornamentation by James G. Batterson's firm, and elaborate carved interior detailing. The interior incorporates statues, paintings, battle flags, and historical artifacts — many connected to Connecticut's Civil War service.
The Capitol houses the chambers of the Connecticut Senate and House of Representatives along with offices for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, and other executive officials. A bronze statue of former Governor William Buckingham — Connecticut's Civil War-era chief executive — stands prominently in the rotunda near the west entrance. Buckingham served as governor from 1858 to 1866, encompassing the entirety of the Civil War, but died in 1875 — three years before the building opened.
The Capitol was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 1971. It remains in continuous use as the working seat of Connecticut government, and free public tours are offered through the cooperative effort of the League of Women Voters of Connecticut and the state legislature.
Sources
The Capitol's signature ghost story centers on William A. Buckingham, who served eight one-year terms as Governor of Connecticut from 1858 to 1866 — the entire span of the Civil War — and was later elected U.S. Senator before his death in 1875. A bronze statue of Buckingham stands inside the Capitol's rotunda near the west entrance.
According to Fox61 and Damned Connecticut, the earliest reported sighting dates to the 1920s. A lieutenant governor working late one evening in third-floor Room 324 — historically used by the Senate Republican Caucus and by Lieutenant Governors — reported that the room grew suddenly cold and that a door opened to reveal the apparition of Governor Buckingham. The man recognized the figure from the rotunda statue.
Fox61's reporting and the Damned Connecticut entry both note that the historical premise is unusual: Buckingham died three years before the Capitol opened in 1878 and never worked in the building. The most-cited explanations attribute the apparition to the bronze statue serving as a 'home' or anchor for his lingering presence, though no source claims paranormal investigation has corroborated this theory.
Reports of cold spots, footsteps in empty corridors near Room 324, and an occasional sensed presence have continued through the 20th century, though both Fox61 and Damned Connecticut note that documented sightings have tapered off and the most recent specific accounts they cite date to the 1980s.
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Public guided tour of the 1878 Victorian Gothic Connecticut State Capitol building, covering 140 years of legislative history, architecture by Richard Mitchell Upjohn, and the building's collection of historical artifacts including Civil War-era statuary.
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