Dan Wadsworth was the fifth generation family proprietor of Wadsworth’s Inn, an old stagecoach hostelry three miles from Hartford, Connecticut, on the old Albany turnpike. It was one of twenty-one taverns within a distance of twenty miles on that pike, and one of the earliest structures in the area. Although the tavern was not a staging inn for every passing coach, it enjoyed an aristocratic patronage. The building had been erected by Elisha Wadsworth in 1828, and was a public house until 1862, serving travelers between Albany and Hartford.

As much attention he may have received by being a well know tavern proprietor, Dan was “largely” known for something more “substantial”…his enormous girth. Dan was President of the Fat Men’s Club of Connecticut, a position reserved for the heaviest man to tip the scales at the annual club dinner held at Lake Compounce, Connecticut.

The exclusive club was formed in 1903 and limited to those men weighing in at 200 pounds or greater. Apparently Dan was a capable and amiable man, serving as President, even when occasionally surpassed in avoirdupois by another rotund club member.
Dan’s popularity was not limited to the performance of his duties behind the tavern bar, or as a leader of husky men at an annual dinner. When Dan was arrested the third time for illegal liquor sales in 1908, his conviction required incarceration in the local jail. The local jailer, however, was concerned that the wide Wadsworth, who could barely fit through the jail cell door, might put on additional weight during 60 days of inactivity and three square meals. After being assigned to spend his time in the jail’s hospital ward, Wadsworth was visited by many prominent citizens who offered to provide bail money.

Wadsworth refused the charitable acts, stating “I have a good bed here, plenty of good food to eat, and would just as soon spend the next two months here as any place else.”

Dan Wadsworth was a descendant of William Wadsworth, one of the founders of Hartford, as well as Captain Joseph Wadsworth of Charter Oak fame. Weighing nearly 400 pounds, Dan passed away at his Inn on May 18, 1910 with the distinction of being the heaviest man in the state of Connecticut.