Spend an afternoon with Hempsted staff on the Thames River Heritage Water Taxi to learn about New London’s history. Beginning in 1639 when the first enslaved person was brought to Connecticut, the population of people of color steadily increased in New London County. Although every town in New London County had a significant number of people of African descent or of mixed races living and working in them, their stories are rarely told.

This tour explores the stories of a fugitive slave, Revolutionary patriot, Black governors, whalers, the Amistad, and more. See areas related to Hempsted family history, the early Mamacoke settlement, native fishing grounds, and the sites of colonial ferries, Fort Trumbull, and other important landmarks.