Dedication of Samuel Stone Statue on April 28

The Rev. Thomas Hooker led the group of about 100 Puritans who founded Hartford in June 1636, but he had a lot of help from one of his assistants, the Rev. Samuel Stone. In fact, it was from Stone's birthplace -- Hertford, England -- that the new settlement took its name. A delegation from Hertford will be among those at the dedication of the Samuel Stone statue at the Ancient Burying Ground on Thursday, April 28. The event is also meant to celebrate "a plan to develop the Main Street parcel of the Ancient Burying Ground."

The dedication begins at 5 p.m., rain or shine, at the Main Street entrance to the Burying Ground, which is adjacent to the Gold Building. Afterward, a wine reception will be held in the City Hall Function Room. Parking is available for $3 after 4:30 p.m. in the Gold Building garage; you must enter on the Pearl Street side and validate your ticket at the dedication, which is sponsored by Sister Cities International, the Ancient Burying Ground Association, the City of Hartford, and the Greater Hartford Arts Council.

Restoration Planned for Historic Belden Street Houses

A team of developers operating collectively as Belden Development LLC plans to begin restoration next month on five boarded-up, 19th-century houses on Belden Street, in the city's North End, according to the Hartford Courant. The houses are located at 22, 28, 32, 38 and 44 Belden St. The city acquired them through foreclosure in 2002; it's now selling them to the developers, who include the Milano Corp., the Broad-Park Development Corp. Inc., the Corporation for Independent Living Inc., the Greater Hartford Realty Management Corp., and the Hopgood Group LLC. The Courant says this is "essentially the same group" that completed the Mortson-Putnam Heights project in the Frog Hollow neighborhood.

Three of the buildings -- 28, 32, and 38 -- are described in "Structures and Styles: Guided Tours of Hartford Architecture," a 1988 book by Gregory E. Andrews and David F. Ransom. The authors say the three brick houses "document the North End's development before 1890, when the Second Empire and Italianate styles were in vogue. Brownstone lintels and sills, in many shapes and textures, often incised with delicate, floral Neo-Grec designs, prevailed."

Gravestone Symposium on April 23

The Connecticut Gravestone Network will hold a symposium on Saturday, April 23, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Middlefield Community Center, at 405 Main St., Middlefield. There will be lectures, displays, and exhibits. Admission is $10 for the public, $5 for CGN members. For more information, visit the CGN site at www.ctgravestones.com.