WITNESS TO HISTORY
SLAVERY IN GUILFORD
We seek to uncover the history of slavery in our town, examine its legacy, and share what we learn.
Guilford Free Library Educational Series
Full event list and recordings of past talks can be found here
Thursday • April 3, 2025 • 7–8 pm • FREE
Guilford Free Library • 67 Park Street • Guilford
Connecticut’s
Sweet Tooth
New London, The Sugar Trade, and Slavery in the West Indies
With Matt Warshauer Ph.D.
New London and the Thames River region was once the most important port of trade in all of British North America. At a time when sugar was king and trade with the West Indies islands represented the pinnacle of Puritan economics, New London served as a hub for a dizzying array of goods that were collected via an intricate trade network and then shipped south to the Caribbean. Connecticut ships returned with their holds packed with sugar, molasses, and rum. What was the single most valuable item that the colony’s merchants shipped? Exactly how many chickens cackled their way to the islands? You’ll have to join us for the story of “Connecticut’s Sweet Tooth” to find out.
Exhibit at Guilford Free Library | November 1–30, 2024
Slavery in Guilford
Slavery was legal in Connecticut until 1848, but many residents today are unaware of the extent of this history. Our group has been combing through and deciphering yellowed and tattered handwritten wills and records kept by churches and the town, along with other resources. Our findings were the wellspring of a month-long exhibit in the library’s meeting room.
At the front of the room visitors will be able see the names of more than one hundred women, men, and children who were enslaved in Guilford, along with some basic facts about their lives. At the back of the room there is a detailed timeline that puts slavery into historical perspective, along with extracts from wills and other documents and several more-detailed profiles about the lives of specific people among the enslaved.
Our exhibit is the product of a collaboration between the Guilford Preservation Alliance’s Witness to History: Slavery in Guilford initiative and the Guilford Free Library. It is open to the public and will be on display throughout November.
Previous events at Guilford Free Library. Recordings can be found here
With Karyl Evans; Oct. 24, 2024; 6:30-8 p.m. (past)
With Constance L. Royster; March 21, 2024; 7-8 p.m. (past)
With Jeffrey Fletcher; February 22, 2024; 7-8 p.m. (past)
Feb. 23, 2023; 6-8 p.m. (past)
With Tamara Lanier; Jan. 19, 2023; 7-9 p.m. (past)
With Cornelia Bewersdorf; November 17, 2022; 7-8 p.m. (past)
With Dr. Nancy Steenburg; March 24, 2022; 7-8 pm (past)
With Jared Hardesty; January 13, 2022; 7-8 p.m. (past)
With Bennett Parten; November 4, 2021; 7-8 p.m. (past)
With Ken Minkema; October 5, 2021; 7-8 p.m. (past)
With Tamara Lanier; May 20, 2021; 7-8 p.m. (past)
With Professor Robert Forbes; April 21, 2021; 7-8 p.m. (past)
With Superintendent Freeman; March 11, 2021; 7-8 p.m. (past)
With Professor David Blight; Feb 11, 2021; 7-8 p.m. (past)