Witness Stones Project Inc.

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Historic Deerfield Unveils Witness Stones

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By Richard Damas on Spectrum News 1 on October 12, 2022

DEERFIELD, Mass. – Historic Deerfield paid tribute to American history Wednesday by unveiling memorials around the museum to the enslaved individuals who once lived in the area.

Historic Deerfield partnered with The Witness Stones Project and revealed 19 memorial plaques at 12 locations around the museum’s mile-long street.

According to the museum, around one-third of the individuals who once lived in the area were enslaved, and the plaques have the names of the individuals who they could find information on.

Witness Stones Board of Directors member Pat Wilson Pheanious is one of the descendant​s of the enslaved families and said growing up in New England, much of the history around slavery was hidden from her. Continue reading.

Historic Deerfield Unveils Witness Stones

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By Emma McCorkindale and Heath Kalb on WWLP on October 12, 2022

DEERFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – Historic Deerfield unveiled 19 memorial plaques at 12 different locations on Wednesday.

Historic Deerfield, in partnership with Witness Stones Project, unveiled 19 memorial plaques along the museum’s mile-long street. Inspired by the Stolpersteine Project in Germany which commemorates victims of the Holocaust, this project’s purpose was to further acknowledge and recognize those that were enslaved. The Witness Stones memorial is a 4 by 4 brass plaque identifying the enslaved person where they lived and worked. Continue reading.

 

Historic Deerfield Partners with Witness Stone Project to Unveil Memorials Honoring Enslaved Persons

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(Deerfield, M.A.) – Historic Deerfield, in partnership with The Witness Stones Project™, will be unveiling 19 memorial plaques at 12 locations along the museum’s mile-long street. The plaques honor enslaved persons who once lived in the historic homes that make up the Historic Deerfield Museum. The ceremony will take place on Wednesday, October 12, 2022 at 10:30 a.m. at 128 Old Main Street, Deerfield, Massachusetts.

The general public and media are invited to the unveiling ceremony.

 

Witness Stones Project Students Recognized by Hopewell Valley Historical Society

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Photo courtesy of HVHS Trustee Cheryl Jackson

By Amie Rukenstein on MercerMe.com on October 3, 2022

At its annual meeting on Sunday, September 18 at the Watershed Institute, the Hopewell Valley Historical Society announced award winners and attendees were treated to a talk about the historic Drake house and its most famous inhabitant, Muriel Gardiner Buttinger, who went to Europe to meet Sigmund Freud, fought the nazis with her husband Joseph Buttinger, and finally settled on the grounds of what is now the Watershed Institute.

Among the award winners were the entire 2021/22 8th grade class for their work on the Witness Stones project. Their Principal, Nicole Gianfredi told MercerMe: “I am so proud of our Timberlane students and their work with the Witness Stones Project. With the guidance of our social studies teachers, our eighth grade students engaged in research and civic engagement, while restoring the history and honoring the humanity of Friday Truehart. While it was an extraordinary learning opportunity for the students, it was an incredibly impactful experience for everyone at the [Witness Stones] Ceremony.” Continue reading.

New Jersey Witness Stone Affiliate Set to Expand

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On the property of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum in Skillman, visitors applaud a speaker at a celebration ceremony called “Preservation in Action.” Michael Mancuso | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

By Michael Mancuso in NJ.com on September, 22, 2022

If it takes a village to raise a child, sometimes that’s also what it takes to bring hidden history to light.

That is certainly the case for the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum (SSAAM), founded in 2014 with a mission “to tell the story of the unique culture, experiences, and contributions of the African American community of the Sourland Mountain Region.” Continue reading.

Witness Stones Project Honored As a Gamechanger

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Connecticut Explored has recently named the Witness Stones Project as one of its
20 Game Changer Honorees that advance the way we study, interpret, and disseminate history. Over the past five years, we have worked with more than 6,600 students in 45 communities to help restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities.

We thank Connecticut Explored for this honor and our community for your continued support!

 

Witness Stones Project to Partner with Hamden Middle School

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The Witness Stones Project, a nonprofit organization whose mission is to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities, today announced a new affiliation with Hamden Middle School. The public school in Hamden, Connecticut, will be using the Project’s curriculum and landscape markers to expand their teaching of the history of slavery in Connecticut.

Students will examine primary source documents, such property, church, and vital records; wills and probate inventories; and census data, in order to understand the reality of slavery and to restore the memory of those individuals who were enslaved. They will learn how to document and describe the dehumanization and paternalism of slavery; the economic and legal framework that supported slavery; and, the agency, resistance, and contributions of the enslaved to our local and national history. Finally, these students will be inviting their communities to witness as they install memorial stones for individuals who were enslaved in their town.

The mission of the Hamden Middle School is to provide challenging, high-quality learning experiences and supports so that all students develop skills, attitudes and practices for academic and life-long success.

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