The first European settlers came to what is now Connecticut in 1635.  The state celebrated the 300^th anniversary of this event in 1935 in a number of ways.  One of them involved the DMV producing a special marker plate to commemorate the occasion, known as the Tercentenary.

Like every other state in the country, Connecticut’s citizens suffered severe hardships during the Great Depression of the 1930s.  Jobs were scarce and existing welfare programs were inadequately funded and unprepared to deal with the calamity that adversely affected almost everyone.  The DMV devised a special program to sell an “add-on” plate with the proceeds to go a state fund that supplied milk to needy children.  These plates, known as “toppers’ as they were designed to bolt onto the top of the regular marker plates, became available for sale to the public in 1935.  Displaying one or a pair on your vehicle was considered a way for a motorist to show publicly that he was doing his part to help the poor in those difficult times.

The toppers, the same size as the standard Connecticut markers, were white on a dark blue background with embossed lettering and were sold for $1.00 per pair.  They displayed “CONNECTICUT” above “TERCENTENARY” with “1635-1935” on the bottom.  Almost 60,000 pairs were sold in 1935 and 1936 making it a very successful and beneficial program.  No other add-on plate program has ever been done by the state.