Frank Webb Home Grant: Witness Stones, West Hartford

  • School Year: 2019-2020
  • Applicants: Jessica Blizter Lead Teacher & Sally Nyhan, Jennifer Omartian (Bristow), Stephen Camberis (Sedgwick), Bill Dewitt (King Philip)
  • School: King Philip Middle School
  • Subjects: Social Studies

The Witness Stones Project is a West Hartford community-based partnership between the Noah Webster House and the West Hartford Public Schools. All 8th grade students across our three middle schools engage with local historians to uncover the lost stories of persons that had been enslaved within the area of what is now West Hartford. Through examination of actual local historical records and artifacts, students will develop interpretations in an effort to tell the stories of real enslaved persons. In addition to the academic work students complete in the classrooms, the project involves an installation of a "witness stone" for each of the individuals studied. These stones become permanent markers within the West Hartford community to commemorate the individuals remembered and to represent the work done by students to bring their stories back to us.

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