News from CSL

Freedom Trail Quilts now in Flickr Wednesday, February 15, 2012

In celebration of Black History Month, the Museum of Connecticut History’s Freedom Trail Quilts are now on Flickr! This collection of Freedom Trail Quilts shows the individual blocks–many of which commemorate Underground Railroad sites in Connecticut, as well as the entire quilt block from each of the four regions of Connecticut.

In 1995, the 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.