Hidden Gems Of Connecticut

HARTFORD, CT — There's a slight factor of haste this week when it comes to visiting the latest Connecticut Hidden Gem. That's right, the Amistad is in Hartford but. only for about a month.

Last week, the replica of the 1800s slave ship whose revolt spurred a groundbreaking trial in a Connecticut court room (and subsequent movie) sailed up the Connecticut River to Hartford. The Amistad is docked at Riverfront Recapture’s Mortensen Riverfront Plaza for a month-long series of community events, ecumenical services and educational programs.

Thousands of students from five capital-area school districts will participate in the Amistad Journey to Freedom to learn the Amistad Story and its connection to current events of today.

First charged with high seas crimes after taking over the ship, the Mende people were exonerated in a New Haven court, marking an early victory for Black and White abolitionists.

Discovering Amistad’s team of educators, assisted by Student Educators from Eastern Connecticut State University, will spend a month teaching at middle and high schools in Hartford, Farmington, Windsor, Bloomfield and East Hartford. Students from these districts will be brought together at a Symposium to discuss what they learned and to learn from each other. Community and Educational leaders will be invited to attend and to participate in future collaborations.

But the Amistad can be viewed by all.

See more about the Amistad on the Discovering Amistad site and the Mystic Seaport site. It is slated to be in Hartford until Oct. 1.

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Connecticut. Other columns in this series for 2021 include:

• 9/11 memorials
• Club Champion Golf Fitters
• New England Civil War Museum and Research Center
• Avery's Soda
• Salt 2.0 Restaurant
• The Grave of Jonathan, The Original Husky
• Golden Gavel Auction House
• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• The Cogswell Temperance Fountain
• The Old State House
• BouNom Bakery
• Union Pond Park/Jay Howroyd Fitness Trail
• The Submarine Force Museum/USS Nautilus
• The UConn Dairy Bar
• Grove Hill Cemetery, Vernon
• Backwoods Smokin' BBQ
• The Ranch House
• Connecticut State Police Museum
• Berlin Historic District
• Connecticut Parachutists Skydiving Club
• Tail Winds Ice Cream Shop
• The MLK Mural
• The Hilltop Restaurant and Bar
• Fork & Fire
• Lena's Italian Kitchen
• The Benedict Arnold Trail
• Swank Pearce
• Vernon Depot Historic Park
• Farr's Sporting Goods
• Robs Drivin Diner

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