Reverend Horace Bushnell

Connecticut native Horace Bushnell (1802–1876) was the minister of Hartford’s North Congregational Church (now Immanuel Congregational) from 1833 to 1859. Bushnell’s belief in the interrelation of man, nature, and God are manifested in Bushnell Park—America’s first publicly funded park—located a block west of the Wadsworth Atheneum. Bushnell proposed the creation of the park to the city’s political leadership; approved by public vote in 1854, the park took almost another ten years to develop.