Participating Towns

Witness Stones Project Announces New Collaboration in Norwich, Connecticut

WSP · Jun 9, 2021 ·

The Witness Stones Project today announced a new affiliation with the Leffingwell House Museum and the Norwich Free Academy. Students at the coeducational independent school will be using the Project’s curriculum and landscape markers to expand their understanding of the history of slavery in colonial 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 Leffingwell House Museum’s mission is the education and promotion of the history of Norwich.

The Norwich Free Academy is committed to providing a safe, nurturing and rigorous academic environment in which all students gain the knowledge and develop the skills to become resourceful members of their local, national, and world communities.

Witness Stones Project to Partner with Mansfield Middle School to Recover the History of the Enslaved

WSP · May 15, 2021 ·

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 Mansfield Middle School. The middle school in Storrs Mansifield, Connecticut, will be using the Project’s curriculum and landscape markers to expand their teaching of the history of slavery in colonial Connecticut.

Mansfield Middle School in Northeast Connecticut serves 550 students in grades five to eight. Using interdisciplinary teams of teachers and differentiated instruction in a heterogeneous classroom environment, they strive to ensure that every student reaches her/his greatest potential.

Somerset County Awards Grants to Support Local History Projects

WSP · Apr 18, 2021 ·

Somerset County Commissioner Melonie Marano, right, presents a ceremonial grant check to John B. Buck, president of the Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum. Also participating in the presention is Cultural & Heritage Commission Program Coordinator Natalie Zaman. Photo: Somerset County, MyCentralJersey.com

By Mike Deak on MyCentralJersey.com on April 18, 2021

The Stoutsburg Sourland African American Museum – General operating funds will aid in the maintenance, enrichment and expansion of programs and outreach, including planning for a new Education and Exhibit Center on the top of Sourland Mountain in Hillsborough, virtual programming for signature events and enhancing the Sourland African American History Trail with an expanded map and signage. The grant will also support the creation of a new program, the Witness Stones Project, which will be brought to area schools. Continue reading.

Remarkable Discoveries

WSP · Mar 30, 2021 ·

Notations on the back of Tamar’s 1777 bill of sale to Luther Loomis. Photo: Bill Sullivan, Suffield Historical Society.

By Bill Sullivan in the Suffield Observer on March 30, 2021

The Suffield Historical Society’s April 13 meeting will be devoted to updating our community on intriguing developments regarding the research and installation of two Witness Stones Memorials. The meeting is open to the public, and newcomers are most welcomed. Please attend the 7 p.m. program by accessing the Zoom link below.

The first project began early last fall when the Society hosted an online class for adults interested in learning about Tamer (aka Tamar). She was enslaved by Comfort Smith and Luther Loomis from the 1770s until 1798, when Solomon Smith, son of Venture Smith, purchased her freedom for marriage. The class was originally planned for three separate nights, and then many original discoveries extended this online class throughout the winter months and now into the spring. Continue reading.

Historical Society to Honor the Humanity of Greenwich’s Enslaved Individuals through Collaboration with Witness Stones Project

WSP · Mar 9, 2021 ·

Keith Stokes Keith, VP of the 1696 Heritage Group. Photo: Greenwich Free Press.

By Greenwich Free Press on March 9, 2021.

To shine a light on the history, humanity and contributions of enslaved individuals who resided in Greenwich as early as the 1600s, Greenwich Historical Society is partnering with the Witness Stones Project. Continue reading.

Frank Ward Strong Middle Schools Joins Witness Stones Affiliates

WSP · Feb 18, 2021 ·

The Frank Strong Middle School is a Regional District 13 school. The District’s goal is to sure an authentic learning environment that supports growth, innovation and critical thinking so that all students are successful in life, learning and work beyond school. The School will be bringing the Witness Stones Project to the school beginning in the 2021-22 school year.

Old Lyme Partnership Launches ‘Witness Stones’ Project to Honor Lives of Local Enslaved Persons, Introduce Related Curriculum in Schools

WSP · Feb 2, 2021 ·

Published in LymeLine.com on February 2, 2021.

OLD LYME — The Old Lyme Witness Stones Partnership has launched a public education and engagement effort that will introduce an educational curriculum for seventh-grade students of Lyme-Old Lyme Schools that will raise awareness of the town’s history.

The project will also involve the installation of small historical plaques on Lyme Street commemorating the lives of individuals, who were once enslaved in Old Lyme. Continue reading.

Wallingford Historic Preservation Trust Becomes WSP Affiliate

WSP · Feb 1, 2021 ·

The Wallingford Historic Preservation Trust is the owner and caretaker of the Royce House and the American Silver Museum at the Franklin Johnson Mansion. Its mission is threefold: 1. To acquire, preserve, interpret and educate the public about historic structures and culture in early Wallingford. 2. To feature the 1840-1980 period of silver manufacturing in Wallingford and Meriden. 3. To support a more fully accurate portrayal for all, WHPT commits to championing policies and practices of cultural equity that empower a just, inclusive, equitable nation.

In Spring 2022, they will be hosting a Witness Stones Project to explore the local history of slavery.

Historic Deerfield Joins Witness Stones Project

WSP · Jan 13, 2021 ·

Historic Deerfield will be using the Project’s curriculum and landscape markers to expand their teaching of the history of slavery in Deerfield, Massachusetts.

The education programs at Historic Deerfield are based on the belief that experiencing authentic objects is a powerful instrument of learning.The Witness Stones Project will be a complementary addition to those programs. Educators and students will explore how to use historic documents to understand the history of slavery and to restore the memory of those individuals who were enslaved. The collaboration will include professional development for classroom teachers and museum educators and public programming. It will be launched in autumn 2021.

Historic Deerfield is a museum of early American life situated in an authentic 18th-century New England village in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. Its historic houses and world-famous collection of early American decorative arts open doors to new perspectives that inspire people to seek a deeper understanding of themselves, their communities, and the world.

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Witness Stones Will Expand to New Schools, Adds New Collaborations

WSP · Jan 5, 2021 ·

By Jesse Williams published on ZIP06.COM on January 5, 2021.

GUILFORD — The Witness Stones Project, Inc, which had already seen significant expansion since retired Guilford social studies teacher Dennis Culliton and therapist Doug Nygren launched it in 2019, is set to grow even more in 2021 as conversations around Black Lives Matter protests last year have opened up even more avenues for the project to expand its reach. Continue Reading.

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