Witness Stones Project, Inc.

Restoring History & Honoring Humanity

#FranklinCoMA

Historic Deerfield Unveils Witness Stones

· ·

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

· ·

 

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.