In 1937, Victor H. Green published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a travel guide to businesses where Black customers would be welcome. Historian Tom Schuch discusses New London sites from the book that can help us understand life in mid-20th century America.
Joshua Hempsted began his diary in 1711 to keep track of his many business activities, court sessions, ship traffic, travels, and other events significant to New London and Connecticut. He kept a diary until just before his death in 1758. Join members of the Hempsted staff as they move through time and tell stories about John Winthrop Jr, the Rogerenes, the lighthouses, and the Battle of Groton Heights, where Stephen Hempsted was seriously wounded. The tour will include stories of the growth of shipbuilding, the Navy, and the Victorian times when the Harbor View neighborhood of summer cottages included one built by Wm. H. Hempsted, the businesses of Groton Bank, and the Avery-Copp House.
Cruise along the Thames River and hear about sites along the Thames that sparked authors' imaginations to write their stories. Explore books that tell the tales of the people and events that inspired them like Night of the Moonjelllies, Love and Brutality: The Mysterious Saga of Gallows Road, For Adam's Sake: A Family Saga in Colonial New England; Diary of Joshua Hempsted, Morton F. Plant and the Connecticut Shoreline, Venture Smith: The First Slave Narrative, Jordan Freedman Was My Friend, and Ice Diaries - the incredible true story of Capt. William R. Anderson and his crew's harrowing top-secret mission aboard the USS Nautilus, and more. As these authors attest by their writing, the Thames truly is one river with a thousand stories.
Spend an afternoon with Hempsted staff on the Thames River Heritage Water Taxi to learn about New London's history. 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.