Witness Stones Project, Inc.

Restoring History & Honoring Humanity

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Wallingford Slavery Project Reveals ‘History That Affects Us Today’

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Carol Naamon-Kelly, of Meriden, holds a portrait of her great grandfather Allen Lorenzo Washington on Thursday during an interview at the Record-Journal office in Meriden. Naamon-Kelly recognized her family’s name during a presentation on enslaved people at the Wallingford Public Library last year and then traced her family’s history of enslavement in Wallingford. Photos by Dave Zajac, Record-Journal

By Devin Leith-Yessian in the Record-Journal on May 12, 2022

WALLINGFORD — The descendants of a man who was enslaved on a Virginia plantation before coming to Wallingford with Union soldiers are reconnecting with their family’s history with the help of local researchers working on the Wallingford Historic Preservation Trust’s “Enslaved Wallingford” project.

Meriden resident Carol Naamon-Kelly first learned of the journey Allen Lorenzo Washington, her great grandfather, made from Virginia through the work of Bobbie Borne, who was writing about Washington’s life for a magazine article published in June 2021. Continue reading.

Witness Stones Project Installation Ceremony to Honor Essau and Grace

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Sunday, June 19, 2022
3:00 p.m.
Hosted by the Wallingford Historic Preservation Society at
The Nehemiah Royce House
538 North Main Street, Wallingford, Connecticut

The Wallingford Historic Preservation Society will bring the community together to remember and honor Essau and Grace and to place Witness Stones in their memory.

A Black History Trail for Wallingford

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Powder Horn of Dick Freedom courtesy of the Nehemiah Royce House.

By Lorraine Connelly in My Record Journal on February 11, 2022

Wallingford has many trails — a wine trail, a Trail of Terror, numerous walking trails, and the historic George Washington Trail to name a few. According to our town’s website, Gen. George Washington made two trips through town, one in 1775 to gather provisions for his troops and the other in 1789 as president. His route to Durham, known as the George Washington Trail, runs from the center of town through East Wallingford. Cement markers can be found along the trail.

In conjunction with the 350+2 Jubilee Celebration this June, Wallingford’s Descendants’ Committee is restoring and adding two new locations to the GW Trail — one in front of the Water Division on South Cherry Street, and another on North Branford Road south of the Water Division’s gate to the Ulbrich Reservoir dam. “The Wallingford Public Works Department will be installing them in the spring,” notes Bob Beaumont, chairman of the Descendants’ Committee. There will be a total of 14 commemorative plaques when the project is completed.

Along with honoring the lives of Wallingford’s descendants, the Wallingford Historic Preservation Trust will honor our Black colonial ancestors — who are related to us by their long historical roots in this town. Many of these ancestors have been forgotten and not commemorated formally. Continue reading.

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