Solomon Rowe House

African Americans in Rural Litchfield

Although primarily found in metropolitan areas, African Americans also lived in rural communities like Litchfield. In the 1870s, only a few Black families resided there, most working as manual laborers.

The Rowe Family and Their Historic Home

Among these families, Solomon Rowe (born 1817) purchased this house in 1864. It remains the only known 19th-century property in the county owned by a Black family.

Solomon Rowe’s Role in the Community

Before the Civil War, Solomon served as the sexton of St. Michael’s Episcopal Church and may have been active in the abolitionist movement.

This site is privately owned and not open to the public.