Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses
Encyclopedia
The Mary and Eliza Freeman Houses are located in Bridgeport
, Connecticut
. The wood-framed, clapboard-covered, two-family houses were built in 1848 and were added to the National Register of Historic Places
on February 22, 1999 as the last surviving houses of Little Liberia, a neighborhood settled by black freedmen
starting in the early nineteenth century. The houses are the oldest remaining houses built by free blacks in Connecticut. The homes and nearby Walter's Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church are listed sites on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
sisters born free in Derby, Connecticut
, a center for the African American population at the time. They purchased two adjoining building lots in Bridgeport in 1848 and used the houses built there as rental property while they lived and worked in New York for a number of years. Eliza returned to Bridgeport around 1855 and Mary moved back to the community around 1861. They both died relatively well off for their times and situations and as well-respected members of the community
, Jail Hill
in Norwich
, the northern slope
of Boston
’s Beacon Hill, Sandy Ground
on New York’s Staten Island
, and Hard Scrabble in Providence, Rhode Island
. The name "Little Liberia" is based on oral tradition that the community's inhabitants identified with the new African nation of Liberia
established for freed African slaves.
Joel Freeman was the first African American to purchase land in Bridgeport's South End in 1831, moving a vacant shop that he purchased to the site. Accounts of African Americans living in the neighborhood date back at least to 1828 when the congregation of an African American church first organized. The growth of Little Liberia accelerated with the building of an African Methodist Episcopal Zion church in 1840 (cornerstone laid in 1835) near the corner of Broad and Whiting streets with the Stratfield Special School for Colored Children following soon after in 1845 at the same intersection. Walter’s Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church served as a stop on the Underground Railroad
. By 1850, a map shows two churches on Broad Street, designated North African Church and South African Church.
In 1998, a 104-year-old resident, who had arrived in Bridgeport nearly a century earlier when her family moved north from Virginia, described her neighborhood: "Little Liberia was a close-knit, safe African-American community where family life was highly respected and the spirit of the community was evident and prevailed, even during hard times." The community was first called "Ethiope" and developed as a village of free blacks, Native Americans, and Cape Verdeans, a village with its own school, lending library, churches and social organizations.
. The Freeman Center's goal is to eventually open the Little Liberia houses to school groups and historical tours and researchers. The city sold the houses to the Freeman Center, clearing up a dispute over back taxes and fees with an earlier organization seeking to preserve the homes.
Bridgeport, Connecticut
Bridgeport is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. Located in Fairfield County, the city had an estimated population of 144,229 at the 2010 United States Census and is the core of the Greater Bridgeport area...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. The wood-framed, clapboard-covered, two-family houses were built in 1848 and were added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
on February 22, 1999 as the last surviving houses of Little Liberia, a neighborhood settled by black freedmen
Free Negro
A free Negro or free black is the term used prior to the abolition of slavery in the United States to describe African Americans who were not slaves. Almost all African Americans came to the United States as slaves, but from the earliest days of American slavery, slaveholders set men and women free...
starting in the early nineteenth century. The houses are the oldest remaining houses built by free blacks in Connecticut. The homes and nearby Walter's Memorial A.M.E. Zion Church are listed sites on the Connecticut Freedom Trail.
The owners
The original owners, Mary (1815-1883) and Eliza (1805-1862) Freeman, were two African AmericanAfrican American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
sisters born free in Derby, Connecticut
Derby, Connecticut
Derby is a city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 12,391 at the 2000 census. With of land area, Derby is Connecticut's smallest municipality.The city has a Metro-North railroad station called Derby – Shelton.-History:...
, a center for the African American population at the time. They purchased two adjoining building lots in Bridgeport in 1848 and used the houses built there as rental property while they lived and worked in New York for a number of years. Eliza returned to Bridgeport around 1855 and Mary moved back to the community around 1861. They both died relatively well off for their times and situations and as well-respected members of the community
Little Liberia
Little Liberia, first settled by African Americans before Connecticut abolished slavery entirely in 1848, was one of several similar neighborhoods in urban centers in the Northeast where free blacks gathered to further themselves socially and economically. Other African American communities created in cities with growing job markets in the same time period include Trowbridge Square in New HavenNew Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
, Jail Hill
Jail Hill Historic District
The Jail Hill Historic District is located in Norwich, Connecticut. The district consists of 74 buildings and was added to the National Register of Historic Places on April 19, 1999.-See also:*Neighborhoods of Norwich, Connecticut...
in Norwich
Norwich, Connecticut
Regular steamship service between New York and Boston helped Norwich to prosper as a shipping center through the early part of the 20th century. During the Civil War, Norwich once again rallied and saw the growth of its textile, armaments, and specialty item manufacturing...
, the northern slope
Boston African American National Historic Site
The Boston African American National Historic Site, in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts's Beacon Hill neighborhood, interprets 15 pre-Civil War structures relating to the history of Boston's 19th century African-American community, including the Museum of Afro-American History's African Meeting...
of Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
’s Beacon Hill, Sandy Ground
Sandy Ground, Staten Island
Sandy Ground is a community within the neighborhood of Rossville in the New York City borough Staten Island, New York, located to the west of Prince's Bay, on the island's South Shore.-History:...
on New York’s Staten Island
Staten Island
Staten Island is a borough of New York City, New York, United States, located in the southwest part of the city. Staten Island is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull, and from the rest of New York by New York Bay...
, and Hard Scrabble in Providence, Rhode Island
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
. The name "Little Liberia" is based on oral tradition that the community's inhabitants identified with the new African nation of Liberia
Liberia
Liberia , officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Sierra Leone on the west, Guinea on the north and Côte d'Ivoire on the east. Liberia's coastline is composed of mostly mangrove forests while the more sparsely populated inland consists of forests that open...
established for freed African slaves.
Joel Freeman was the first African American to purchase land in Bridgeport's South End in 1831, moving a vacant shop that he purchased to the site. Accounts of African Americans living in the neighborhood date back at least to 1828 when the congregation of an African American church first organized. The growth of Little Liberia accelerated with the building of an African Methodist Episcopal Zion church in 1840 (cornerstone laid in 1835) near the corner of Broad and Whiting streets with the Stratfield Special School for Colored Children following soon after in 1845 at the same intersection. Walter’s Memorial African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church served as a stop on the Underground Railroad
Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was an informal network of secret routes and safe houses used by 19th-century black slaves in the United States to escape to free states and Canada with the aid of abolitionists and allies who were sympathetic to their cause. The term is also applied to the abolitionists,...
. By 1850, a map shows two churches on Broad Street, designated North African Church and South African Church.
In 1998, a 104-year-old resident, who had arrived in Bridgeport nearly a century earlier when her family moved north from Virginia, described her neighborhood: "Little Liberia was a close-knit, safe African-American community where family life was highly respected and the spirit of the community was evident and prevailed, even during hard times." The community was first called "Ethiope" and developed as a village of free blacks, Native Americans, and Cape Verdeans, a village with its own school, lending library, churches and social organizations.
Preservation
In early 2010, the two Freeman houses were said to be near collapse and that, for one, rebuilding, as opposed to restoration, might be necessary. At that time, Mayor Bill Finch announced $47,000 in Community Development Block Grant funds for the houses and a newly formed Mary & Eliza Freeman Center for History and Community is seeking additional funds from organizations such as the 1772 Foundation and the National Trust for Historic PreservationNational Trust for Historic Preservation
The National Trust for Historic Preservation is an American member-supported organization that was founded in 1949 by congressional charter to support preservation of historic buildings and neighborhoods through a range of programs and activities, including the publication of Preservation...
. The Freeman Center's goal is to eventually open the Little Liberia houses to school groups and historical tours and researchers. The city sold the houses to the Freeman Center, clearing up a dispute over back taxes and fees with an earlier organization seeking to preserve the homes.
See also
- History of Bridgeport, ConnecticutHistory of Bridgeport, ConnecticutThe history of Bridgeport, Connecticut was, in the late 17th and most of the 18th century, one of land acquisitions from the native inhabitants, farming and fishing. From the mid-18th century to the mid-19th century, Bridgeport's history was one of shipbuilding, whaling and rapid growth...
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, ConnecticutNational Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, ConnecticutThis is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Bridgeport, Connecticut.This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Bridgeport, Connecticut, United States...