Waterbury Colored Burying Ground

Waterbury’s Forgotten Burial Ground: The Colored Cemetery at Silas Bronson Library

The grassy area in front of Silas Bronson Library in Waterbury, CT, holds a significant yet largely forgotten history—it is the original site of the town’s Colored Cemetery, a burial ground designated for Waterbury’s non-white population during the 18th and 19th centuries.

The Grand Street Cemetery and the Colored Burial Plot

Established in the 1600s, the Grand Street Cemetery was Waterbury’s first burial ground. By the 1700s, a portion of the cemetery was designated as the Colored Burial Plot, where African Americans were laid to rest. When Riverside Cemetery opened in 1853, burials at Grand Street Cemetery gradually declined, and by the 1880s, it was rarely used.

In 1867, wealthy merchant Silas Bronson left $200,000 to Waterbury for the creation of a library. The Silas Bronson Library, originally opened in 1870, was rebuilt in 1894 directly on the former cemetery grounds. While some remains were relocated to Riverside Cemetery at the expense of their families, most were left behind.

A Lost but Not Forgotten Legacy

Today, the site of the Colored Cemetery is located near a statue of Benjamin Franklin, marked by a stone bench placed in 2005 by the Mattatuck Museum, with support from the Mayor’s Arts and Tourism Commission and the Friends of Silas Bronson Library. It is estimated that as many as 40 African Americans remain buried beneath the site.

This historic location serves as a somber reminder of segregation even in death and highlights the lack of documentation and recognition given to those deemed of lesser value. Despite these injustices, the site remains a place of memory, honoring the lives and contributions of Waterbury’s early African American residents.

This site is open to the public