The Connecticut Historical Society (CHS) houses the collections of the Connecticut Cultural Heritage Arts Program (CCHAP), the state folk arts initiative that began in 1991 at the Institute for Community Research in Hartford. To further its new strategic plan CHS adopted CCHAP in June 2015.

A private, nonprofit, educational organization established in 1825, the Connecticut Historical Society is the state’s official historical society and one of the oldest in the nation. Located at One Elizabeth Street in Hartford, the CHS houses a museum, library, and the Edgar F. Waterman Research Center that are open to the public and funded by private contributions. The CHS’s collection preserves materials of Connecticut's social, cultural and family history and includes more than 4 million manuscripts, graphics, books, artifacts, and other historical materials accessible at our campus and on loan at other organizations.

The Connecticut Historical Society mission  - Connecting you and the story of Connecticut  - aims to cultivate a vibrant sense of place in communities across the state; to develop compelling, relevant content that expands our knowledge of diverse people and history here; and to engage all ages in the historical process to better understand our world.