Old District Schoolhouse for Colored Children Site

During 1803-1804, the “Old District School House for Colored Children” was established behind the Congregational Church near Colchester’s town green, predating any other attempt in Connecticut to provide educational opportunities specifically for African American youth. It attracted students from outside the bounds of Colchester. One of its graduates was Reverend Amos Beman, who was later associated with Hartford’s Talcott Street Congregational Church (now Faith Congregational) and New Haven’s Temple Street Congregational Church, both of which are included on the Freedom Trail. The school closed in 1848 as its students found acceptance at Bacon Academy and other local schools. While no longer standing, the school is depicted in the sketch of Colchester’s green in John Warner Barber’s Connecticut Historical Collections (1835).