CT FREEDOM TRAIL
The 5-acre triangle of land at Cross and Vine Streets was laid out by Leverett C. Beman (1810-1883) in 1847. The neighborhood is the first known residential subdivision in the state to have been laid out by a free black man for black homeowners. There are 16 historic homes in this district today, with more than half constructed between 1840 and 1890. The remaining homes were built between 1940 and 1959. The growing neighborhood was home to several remarkable African Americans. Resident Isaac Truitt had been enslave in
Delaware before he moved to the community. He and several other residents were veterans who fought with the 29th Regiment in the Civil War. The Beman family was involved in the anti-slavery movement. Leverett’s father, Jehiel, was the first pastor of the
Cross Street A.M.E. Zion Church which was originally located in the neighborhood and it was under his direction that it became known as the
Freedom Church. His wife, Clarissa Beman founded the Middletown Colored Female Anti-Slavery Society in 1834. Leverett’s brother, Amos Beman, was the pastor of the Temple Street Congregational Church in
New Haven and often represented
Connecticut at national anti-slavery conventions.
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