The Dutch outpost and the tiny contingent of Dutch soldiers who were stationed there did little to check the English migration, and the Dutch soon realized that they were vastly outnumbered. A significant reason for establishment of the Dutch trading post was to better control the flow of wampum, the de facto currency of New Netherlands and portions of New England, to and from valuable Native American fur traders. The fort was abandoned by 1654, but the area is known today as Dutch Point the name of the Dutch fort 'House of Hope' is reflected in the name of Huyshope Avenue. It was home to perhaps a couple families and a few dozen soldiers. This fort was called Fort Hoop or the 'House of Hope.' In 1633, Jacob Van Curler formally bought the land around Fort Hoop from the Pequot chief for a small sum. The original site was located on the south bank of the Park River in the present-day Sheldon/Charter Oak neighborhood. Dutch fur traders from New Amsterdam returned in 1623 with a mission to establish a trading post and fortify the area for the Dutch West India Company. The first Europeans known to have explored the area were the Dutch under Adriaen Block, who sailed up the Connecticut in 1614. Hartford coordinates certain Hartford-Springfield regional development matters through the Knowledge Corridor Economic Partnership.

Other prominent industries include the services, education and healthcare industries. Nicknamed the 'Insurance Capital of the World', Hartford holds high sufficiency as a global city, as home to the headquarters of many insurance companies, the region's major industry. In sharp contrast, the Greater Hartford metropolitan statistical area was ranked 32nd of 318 metropolitan areas in total economic production and 8th out of 280 metropolitan statistical areas in per capita income in 2015. Today, it is one of the poorest cities in the U.S., with 3 out of every 10 families living below the poverty threshold. Hartford was the richest city in the United States for several decades following the American Civil War. Mark Twain wrote in 1868, 'Of all the beautiful towns it has been my fortune to see this is the chief.' It is also home to the Mark Twain House, where the author wrote his most famous works and raised his family, among other historically significant sites. It is home to the country's oldest public art museum ( Wadsworth Atheneum), the oldest publicly funded park ( Bushnell Park), the oldest continuously published newspaper (the Hartford Courant), and the second-oldest secondary school ( Hartford Public High School). Hartford was founded in 1635 and is among the oldest cities in the United States.

Census estimates since the 2010 United States census have indicated that Hartford is the fourth-largest city in Connecticut with a 2020 population of 121,054, behind the coastal cities of Bridgeport, New Haven, and Stamford. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960.

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