Community Corner
New London Historian Leads Walking Tour Sunday
Tour will explore one of the city's earliest -- and most diverse -- neighborhoods.
Join New London City Historian Sally Ryan on Sunday, May 17 for a walking tour of the Hempstead Historic District, one of the city’s first African-American neighborhoods.
The walk, sponsored by the Hempsted Houses, leaves at 2 p.m. from the National Register site at 11 Hempstead St. It will take about 90 minutes.
Hear the stories of the people who lived in this neighborhood and explore how this diverse area evolved. The neighborhood grew up around the Joshua Hempsted House, built in 1678. Residents have included slaveholders, civic leaders, abolitionists, a Revolutionary War hero and at least two enslaved people.
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Stay afterward for cookies, lemonade and a chance to talk more with Ryan. The cost is $10 for adults ($8 for AAA members and seniors over the age of 65) and includes admission to the Hempsted Houses. The event is free for Connecticut Landmarks members.
Ryan, a retired teacher at Edgerton School, has a lifelong passion for the history of her hometown. She has been the city’s municipal historian for many years and is also the site historian at the Hempsted Houses.
