Contact:
Jenny Smith, Pita Communications
(860) 293-0157 ext. 15; jenny@pitacomm.com
WEBB-DEANE-STEVENS MUSEUM HONORS
BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH SPECIAL TOURS
Activities Reveal the Stories of
Enslaved and Free African Americans in Wethersfield
Contact:
Jenny Smith, Pita Communications
(860) 293-0157 ext. 15; jenny@pitacomm.com
WEBB-DEANE-STEVENS MUSEUM HONORS
BLACK HISTORY MONTH WITH SPECIAL TOURS
Activities Reveal the Stories of
Enslaved and Free African Americans in Wethersfield
WETHERSFIELD, Conn. (December 19, 2008) –In honor of Black History Month, the Webb-Deane-Stevens Museum in Wethersfield will offer a special tour focusing on the enslaved and free African Americans who lived in town during the 18th century.
On Feb. 14 and 21 from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Feb. 15 and 22 from 1p.m to 4 p.m., the museum will host tours that provide a unique look at the struggles and triumphs of the African Americans who resided in Wethersfield, including those who lived and worked in the Joseph Webb and Silas Deane houses. In the Webb house visitors will climb up to the attic where the slaves slept and explore the area where William Lee, Washington’s personal valet, probably would have stayed while protecting Washington asleep in the room next to him. In the Deane house, visitors will hear about Hagar and Pompey who came to the Deane house as part of Elizabeth Deane’s dowry. The tour includes the “modern” 1770’s kitchen where Hagar worked and visited with her friends and the slave chamber where she and Pompey slept. Visitors will also learn about the path their lives took after the death of Silas Deane.
The tour includes the inspiring stories of many African Americans, such as Quash Gomer, who was captured in Angola and became a slave in Wethersfield. He later bought his freedom from his owner, married Elenor Smith and had 10 children. The tour will also reveal the Revolutionary War’s impact on slavery.
COST: Three-house tours cost $8 for adults, $7 for seniors over 60, AAA members and those active in the military and $4 for students and children ages 5 to 18, $20 per family (two adults and children). The last tour departs at 3:00 p.m.
For more information, please visit www.webb-deane-stevens.org or call (860) 529-0612.