![]() The Norwich Freedom Trail focuses on sites that embody the struggle toward freedom and celebrates the accomplishments of Norwich’s African American community, and of others who helped the community at a time when anti-slavery efforts in Connecticut faced stiff, fierce and often violent opposition.Īlthough this tour largely concentrates on the abolitionist movement, it also touches on more modern African-American history in Norwich, including the story of folk artist Ellis Walter Ruley, and the recent work of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Norwich Branch NAACP. Buckingham’s historic home still stands in downtown Norwich, and he is buried in the city’s Yantic Cemetery. As Connecticut’s Civil War governor, William Buckingham led the state through the turmoil of the period, supported the Emancipation Proclamation, enlisted blacks into two regiments to fight for the Union, and advocated extending the right to vote to black men. ![]() Lincoln’s brilliant analysis of “the problem of slavery” the problem slavery presented to the nation was an important factor in his nomination as the Republican candidate for president later that year. The trail also sheds light on Norwich’s connection to Abraham Lincoln, who spoke here in 1860 in support of the re-election of Connecticut Governor William A. An escaped slave from Virginia, Smith became a successful Norwich shoemaker, his journey to freedom embodies the struggle of those who escaped from slavery to make new lives in the North in the years before the Civil War. As a young teenager, Sarah Harris broke a barrier as the first black (female) woman to enter one of Connecticut’s prestigious academies for privileged well-to-do young white women. Smith, both residents of the historically African-American community known as Jail Hill, made their own marks. Later on others, like Sarah Harris and James L. Among them is, David Ruggles, who became a nationally known African-American “conductor” on the Underground Railroad. All found ways-some quietly, others in the public forum-to fight for liberty and human dignity in an era of social and political upheaval. This courageous cast of individuals including men, women, and children, ranges from former slaves to progressive educators and humanitarians, elected officials, and civic leaders. The Norwich Freedom Trail is a part of the Walk Norwich Trail system and celebrates Norwich’s rich, diverse, and largely untold story of African-American heritage, highlighting notable people who played important roles in the movement to end slavery and advance civil rights before and after the United States Civil War.
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