Freedom and Community in Urban New England

Summary

In understanding the archaeology of nineteenth century African American New Englanders, although some studies have targeted smaller, rural, sites, archaeologists and historians have tended to focus on communities in the largest New England cities, much less attention has been paid to smaller urban centers. However, for the first generations of emancipated New Englanders, smaller urban centers clearly exerted a significant draw. Middletown, Connecticut, was home to a growing community of African Americans through the early- to mid-nineteenth century, closely associated with the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church. This paper explores the complexities of freedom and race in nineteenth century New England through the archaeology of the Beman Triangle, a planned African American community in a mid-sized New England city. A focus on this site offers a way to begin to broaden our knowledge of communities to offer a mid-point between large cities and rural locales.

This Resource is Part of the Following Collections

• Society for Historical Archaeology 2014   •
• ‘Black Yankees’ and the African Diaspora: Contemporary Perspectives on the Archaeology of African Americans in New England

Individual & Institutional Roles

Contact(s): Society for Historical Archaeology

Record Identifiers

PaperId(s): SYM-37,03