From research to recognition: Student project honors pioneering Black landowner

CORNWALL — “In Cornwall you have made the decision that everyone here matters and everyone’s story is important,” said U.S. Rep. Jahana Hayes, D-Waterbury, to the seventh grade class at Cornwall Consolidated School April 23.

Hayes was in attendance to celebrate history on Wednesday as the CCS students presented their group research project on the life of Naomi Cain Freeman, the first Black female landowner in Cornwall.

To memorialize Freeman, the seventh graders petitioned the town selectmen to rename Great Hollow Road where the Freemans once lived. New street signs for Naomi Freeman Historic Road were created with some help from the town highway department.

“No one in this community, or the state for that matter, will ever forget that this happened here,” said Hayes.

Per Cornwall Historical Society records, Freeman’s story began in 1794 when she was born in Vermont. John Sedgwick and his wife Abigail, of Cornwall, adopted her in 1801: an act that protected her from slavery, which was still legal in Connecticut at the time.

Sedgwick included Naomi in his will and she received a dowry after his death in 1820.

Naomi later married Obadiah “Obed” Freeman, a man who had been enslaved in Cornwall. She purchased an acre in Cornwall, becoming the town’s first African American woman to own land, and the two settled on Great Hollow Road in 1828.

Nearly 200 years later, the street itself bears her name.

“We are really proud of the work we’ve done and that Naomi Freeman will continue to be an impactful presence in our town,” said CCS student Vivianne DiRocco.

DiRocco and her classmates Skylar Brown, Izabella Coppola, Halley Villa, Willa Lesch, Willow Berry, and Claire Barbosa discovered Freeman’s story earlier this year while conducting research into important women in Cornwall’s history. The full project will be presented at Troutbeck Symposium May 1.

“One of the archaeologists who excavated the Freemans’ home told us about a gap in Connecticut’s history concerning the everyday life for free African Americans. We hope that we filled that gap a little bit,” said Lesch.

There are no known photographs or portraits of Freeman. The students utilized artificial intelligence to create images of what she might have looked like during her life in Cornwall.

The students created artwork to show what Naomi Freeman, her husband Obed and daughter Sarah might have looked like living in Cornwall.Photo by Riley Klein

“What an incredible example of what happens when young people are given the tools, the encouragement and the space to lead,” said CCS Principal Leanne Maguire. “Thank you for showing us what is possible when curiosity meets courage.”

John Mills, president of the Alex Breanne Corporation in West Hartford, was consulted by the students to help unearth census data and track down living descendants of Freeman. His company researches formerly enslaved people and brings their stories to light.

Mills said he was surprised to see the extensive research that was conducted by the students by the time he was contacted. His company sometimes helps render images for individuals lost to history, but the students had even taken that on themselves.

“I’m incredibly impressed with what you’ve done here,” said Mills to the students. “Now you’re a part of the celebration and civic engagement.”