Information about the Charter and the event held on February 4th.

One of Connecticut’s most significant legal and political documents, the Royal Charter of 1662, was on public view on Tuesday, February 4 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. before it went “into the vault” to ensure its preservation for future generations.

The 363-year-old Charter recently returned to the Connecticut State Library after undergoing conservation treatment. The 6-month process not only stabilized the document for many future generations but also revealed portions of the Charter which have not been visible for more than 100 years.

The Charter was granted to the Connecticut Colony by Charles II, King of England, in April 1662. The document gave royal approval to the structure and freedoms that were already in place under the Colony of Connecticut’s Fundamental Orders of 1639, the first written government framework in the nation created and implemented by a group of people to govern themselves.

Some twenty years later, Charles’ successor James II sought to revoke Connecticut’s Charter. According to the Legend of the Charter Oak, on Halloween Night in 1687, the Charter mysteriously disappeared when the King’s appointed Governor-General, Edmund Andros, tried to take possession of it at Sanborn’s Tavern in Hartford. James Wadsworth took the Charter and hid it in an ancient white oak tree on Wyllys Hyll where it supposedly remained until James II was overthrown and Andros lost power.

Where the Charter went that night in 1687 is still shrouded in mystery, but what is fact is that Andros took control of the colonial government on the King’s behalf the next day without further resistance and despite not having the physical document. Two years later, with Andros removed from power, Connecticut’s General Assembly voted to resume government as it had been under the Charter and this continued until 1818, when Connecticut wrote its first Constitution.

The public was invited to visit the Connecticut State Library to view the original Charter, two new high-resolution reproductions (one as it looks today after treatment and one in its original 1662 format) and an updated exhibit about the history of the Charter as well as both the true and legendary history of the Charter Oak.  View the CT-N recording of the event.

Moving forward, like so many documents of historic significance, the Charter is now stored securely away from day-to-day public view to protect it from cumulative light damage and other hazards. A high-resolution reproduction of the Charter, in its Charter Oak frame, is now on permanent display. The original Charter will be brought “out of the vault” only for future limited, significant occasions.

View the WNPR mini documentary on the Charter and the conservation treatment it received at the Northeast Document Conservation Center.

Local media coverage:

Fox 61 Story February 4, 2024

Image credit: Northeast Document Conservation Center