As is customary for early settlements, the settlers of Hartford created a large central common in which to congregate and hold meetings. The first meetinghouse was a very plain structure, measuring only 36 feet by 23 feet and had a thatched roof. More improved structures were subsequently built, but the area of town on which these buildings were located remained the same.

Unknown are the exact boundaries of Meeting-House Yard. For the first one hundred years, the town (of Hartford) as a corporation, owned all the land in the plantation and there was no need to record exact measurements. However, it is thought to have been a ten-acre field in 1640.

The square also contained a jail, burying ground, stocks and a whipping post. Though the locations of each of these are unknown, when the cellar for the former Courant building was being excavated, human bones were found. A public market was established around 1643, with Wednesday deemed as "market day."

During 1719-1720, the first State House was constructed. It was a wooden structure 70 feet by 30 feet and located in front of the present Old State House. It contained two rooms on the second floor and one large room on the first floor for public gatherings.