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Through research, education, and civic engagement, the Witness Stones Project seeks to restore the history and honor the humanity and contributions of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities.
The Country School began participating in the Witness Stones Project in the fall of 2019, with 8th Graders setting out to research and tell an untold story about a woman named Lettuce Bailey who was enslaved in Madison, Connecticut, by a local minister. By recovering and sharing her history in ways that would also honor her humanity, students also sought to tell a broader narrative about our region and its history. Their project concluded with the public installation of a permanent brass marker honoring Lettuce and her contributions to our collective history.
During the 2020-21 school year, students extended their research to include Tamar, Lettuce's mother. And in 2021-22, they focused on another Madison resident, Theophilus Niger, who is commemorated with a marker near Horse Pond, where he lived as an enslaved and later a free man. We invite you to explore this website and learn about these remarkable individuals.
Like history itself, this website and these stories are works in progress and will evolve over time.
On Doing Witness Stones: Student Reflections
"Having the opportunity to research an unknown person from our own community has given me a deeper understanding and appreciation for what historians do. Telling Tamar's story has also given me a different perspective on what I see as the American identity."
"It is so important to recognize Tamar’s life as a human being and not as an enslaved person. This year's events with police brutality have brought more attention to these topics and have made connections with what we are studying in regards to Tamar’s life."
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