Wesleyan archeology Prof. Sarah Croucher, center, at an archeological… (Brad Horrigan, Hartford…)
MIDDLETOWN — —
Fifteen volunteers knelt in dirt digging for household items on Saturday, starting an excavation intended to discover more about the culture of a once-prosperous African American community in town.
The excavation, coordinated by Wesleyan archaeology professor Sarah Croucher, is a collaboration between the Cross Street A.M.E Zion Church and Wesleyan University.
Its focus is the area now known as the Beman Triangle, a historic landmark in Middletown bordered by Vine Street, Cross Street and Knowles Avenue. It was the site of a successful and religious African American community from 1847 to the 1920s. Many residents were involved with the Underground Railroad, the temperance movement and abolitionist societies.
The five-acre property was established by Leverett Beman, a shoemaker who wanted to develop a supportive African American community. Once Beman purchased, divided and moved onto the land in 1847, members of the A.M.E. Zion Church built and moved into 17 other homes in the area.
The church became a central part of the community, and residents thrived socially and economically despite ongoing racism.
This landmark is the first known residential subdivision in the state to have been laid out by a free black man for black homeowners, according to the Connecticut Freedom Trail website.
"That's the fascinating thing about history," said Joaney Campbell of Middletown, a volunteer from A.M.E. Zion Church. "You can't get to the future until you know about your past, and this is about learning where you come from."
Because of this, Croucher emphasizes the importance of community archaeology — the idea that communities should have control over their own history — by placing Middletown at the forefront of the project.
"I don't want to set a research agenda. My role is to pull together the different strands of the project and teach the craft of archaeology," she said, adding that she hopes the knowledge gained from the dig will promote a dialogue about history and archaeology among town residents.
According to Croucher, the church hopes to uncover the importance of religion to the Beman Triangle residents.
"The community seemed to have a lot of faith and optimism," she said. "We want to discover [what it meant for them] to live with the view that things are going to get better in the future."
Archaeologists also want to discover more about women's roles in the community.
"Everything is slanted towards men," Croucher said. "We have vague hints that women were very active with anti-slavery and temperance societies, but we don't know much about them, so we want to build a fuller gendered picture of community life."
Any material that is discovered will become part of Wesleyan's archaeological records, where they will be accessible to students for exhibitions and research.
Site tours of the dig are open to the public from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sunday and on April 28 and 29, weather permitting.
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