Freedom Trail Quilt Project

The Freedom Trail Quilt project and the display of the quilts in the Museum of Connecticut History represent an acknowledgement by public and private groups of the great significance of the Freedom Trail story within the history of Connecticut and the nation.

Connecticut General Assembly authorized the designation of some forty public and private historic properties to form a network which would convey the dramatic and important story of Connecticut’s African-American experience – the Connecticut Freedom Trail. Included are historic properties which have been deemed worthy for inclusion on the National Register of Historic Places, National Register of Historic Landmarks and the Connecticut State Register of Historic Places. Among the gravesites, monuments, homes and other structures included are sites associated with the Underground Railroad, the Amistad Case, and such notable persons as Paul Robeson, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and Prudence Crandall.

In 1997, a grass roots citizens group of interested volunteers from every corner of the State came together to form the Freedom Trail Planning Committee. They dedicated their time and efforts to creating a lasting tribute to the Connecticut Freedom Trail through one of the most traditional of American art forms – quilting. Four quilts, representing each region of Connecticut, were completed in 1998.

Funding for the Connecticut Freedom Trail was provided and administered by the Connecticut Historical Commission and Department of Economic and Community Development, Tourism Division, 1999.

Quilt framing was donated by Pratt & Whitney, 1999.

Connecticut Freedom Trail Planning Committee:

The Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism graciously granted permission for the State Library to use, in this web exhibit, verbatim and paraphrased descriptions of the individual squares from the brochure produced by one of its predecessor agencies, the Connecticut Historical Commission.

Related Resources Available at CSL:

• The Amistad Affair
• Prudence Crandall
  • Biographical Sketch
  • Resources at the Connecticut State Library
• The Life and Times of William Webb: An African-American Civil War Soldier from Connecticut
• Log Book of Slave Traders between New London and Africa, 1757-8
• Research Guide to African-American Genealogical Resources at the Connecticut State Library
• Research Guide to Materials Relating to Slavery in Connecticut at the Connecticut State Library
  

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  Underground railroad sites in Connecticut