http://content.kiplinger.com/magazine/archives/best-cities-2010-west-hartford-conn.html

We, snooty West Hartforders, have always known it!

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click on the picture to view the virtual tour

Little Liberia is the location of what was a free black community in the period of the 1820s until about 1865. It is the oldest black settlement in Connecticut and most probably a major station of the underground railroad.  The little settlement was originally called Ethiope and later called just Liberia.  Founded by extremely wealthy black Americans, the community had its own school, churches and a free lending library 25 years before the city of Bridgeport had one.    And all of this at a time when Connecticut and New York still very much relied on the slave trade.  South Street Seaport- in New York, where Mary Freeman made her fortune-was turning out slave ships complete with shackles at a rate of 2 per month to ship cargoes of slaves that Connecticut insurance companies insured.  Yet Mary Freeman died the 2nd richest person in the area- the first being P.T.Barnum, a strong supporter of the little community which at its height may have had a population of 300 or so.

The story of this place is not of the kind often heard.  What’s more interesting is that it might be one that’s more common than one would think- after all, this one’s been sitting under our noses all this time and only just, with great effort and lots of luck, being uncovered. It adds dimension to the story of our small state

Only two houses remain.The Freeman houses. They are all that’s left of the settlement of which the town kept no record except as ‘colored’. In an 1850 town map, the entire little community was simply labeled colored, while the rest of the town sported the names and occupations of the owners of each house. The houses are on their original foundations and have the potential to be restored to the state they were in when the ladies died.  Mary’s house still retains all its original woodwork and hardware.  Eliza’s house has been burned, however, the charred wood is preserved in a way that makes it possible to be replicated exactly.  Even better- detailed account was taken of every item of their estates down to the number of sheets, description and number of dresses etc.  With the right resources, this bit of history can be reclaimed.  The vision of those working on the project is to restore the houses to the condition they would have been in when Ethiope or “Little Liberia” was thriving to serve as a kind of living museum.

You can find more information at www.thefreemanhouses.org

 1. The tax credit for both first time and repeat buyers applies only to sales with contract dates of April 30th or earlier. You don’t have to close before April 30th, just have a signed purchase contract.  For first time homebuyers the credit is up to $8000 and for repeat buyers, the cap is $6500.  For borrowers with FHA insured mortgages, the credit can be ‘monetized’ so that it can be applied to downpayment and closing costs