A new venture for local high schoolers
Published:
By Julian Layne ’25
If you visit “Connecticut's Revolution,” the new exhibition at the Museum of Connecticut History in Hartford, you'll discover more than Revolutionary War artifacts.
Also present throughout the exhibition is work of Central faculty whose research tells a richer, more inclusive story of Connecticut's past.
Among the exhibition’s featured artifacts are discoveries from Central's Archaeology Laboratory for African and African Diaspora Studies (ALAADS), where years of archaeological research have helped preserve the stories of free and enslaved Black communities in the Connecticut region.
Those contributions reflect Central's commitment to research that extends beyond the classroom, connecting scholarship with public history and helping preserve Connecticut's heritage as the nation celebrates the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
Dr. Anthony Martin, adjunct professor in Central's Department of Geography, Anthropology, & Tourism, served on the exhibition's advisory committee—an experience he viewed as an opportunity to help ensure Connecticut's story would be told from multiple perspectives.
“I had already sat on some project committees in the past, and they wanted an archaeologist because most committee members were historians," Martin said. "The role of the advisory committee was to recommend topics that highlighted the entire history of Connecticut for the America 250 exhibit.”
Meeting monthly, the advisory committee brought together historians, archaeologists, museum professionals, and cultural experts to shape an exhibition that reflects the many people and communities that tell the story of Connecticut.
Martin's contribution extended well beyond committee meetings. Between 2010 and 2018, he participated in archaeological excavations at the Quosh and Roswell Freeman homesite in Osbornedale State Park in Derby. The excavation uncovered artifacts connected to the Freeman family, whose members served as Black Governors—respected community leaders elected within free and enslaved Black communities during the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Faculty and student researchers later cleaned, cataloged, and studied those discoveries in the ALAADS directed by Dr. Elizabeth Clay, an assistant professor of Anthropology at Central.
Today, several of those artifacts—including a comb, a decorated personal case, and ceramic fragments recovered during the excavation—are on display in “Connecticut's Revolution.”
According to the exhibit, Quosh Freeman and his son, Roswell Freeman, both served as Black Governors in Derby. Despite the continued practice of slavery in Connecticut, Black Governors helped maintain order, mediate disputes, and serve as liaisons between Black communities and local white officials.
For Martin, sharing stories like theirs is what makes the exhibition especially meaningful.
“This exhibit is important because it is inclusive and displays much of the history of Connecticut,” he said. “Even little-known pieces of history, for example, the Black Governors. The goal of the exhibit is to tell a diversified story of the state.”
Martin credited several members of the Central community whose work helped make the exhibition possible.
He highlighted Clay, director of ALAADS, along with retired lab coordinator Janet Woodruff, for their leadership in preserving and interpreting the archaeological collection. He also recognized emeritus professor Dr. Warren Perry and retired professor Jerry Sawyer, who contributed to the Freeman site excavations and research from the project's earliest stages. Central History professor Dr. Matthew Warshauer is another faculty supporter who raised funds to stage the exhibition.
Their combined efforts helped preserve artifacts that now introduce thousands of museum visitors to an important chapter of Connecticut's history.
About the exhibition
The exhibition is part of Connecticut's America 250 initiative, a statewide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary that encourages residents and visitors to explore the stories that shaped America's founding. “Connecticut's Revolution” will remain on view through July 9, 2027.
Featuring more than 100 artifacts, historical documents, and personal accounts, “Connecticut's Revolution” moves beyond familiar Revolutionary War narratives to highlight the experiences of soldiers, political leaders, women, Indigenous communities, Loyalists, and free and enslaved Black residents whose lives shaped Connecticut during a pivotal moment in history.
The exhibition website offers several highlights that are sure to draw history buffs. Noteworthy documents include a “Goddard Broadside,” one of only nine copies of the Declaration of Independence printed by Mary Katharine Goddard in Baltimore in January 1777. Also on view is Connecticut’s resolution of June 14, 1776, that sanctioned the state’s Continental Congressional delegates to vote for independence.
Other items on display include the standard of the Second Regiment Light Dragoons; a fragment of a sculpture of King George III that was torn down in 1776; a pocket watch that crossed the Delaware River with its owner, Colonel Elisha Bostwick, and George Washington; a silk cloak that Deborah Champion of New London wore on a mission across British lines; and a powder horn gifted to Benedict Arnold, among many other unique objects with stories to tell. Learn more at https://ctvisit.com/events/connecticuts-revolution/.
The Museum of Connecticut History is located within the Connecticut State Library at 231 Capitol Ave. in Hartford. Admission is free. The museum is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., with select Saturday hours.