Category Archives: The Society and BPLCT Joint Programs

Posts about joint programs from the Wintonbury Historical Society and the Bloomfield Public Library [BPLCT],

Events, The Society and BPLCT Joint Programs

Connecticut Color and the Civil War

June 5th, 2024 6:00 pm at 330 Park Avenue

CT 29th Infantry

The Militia Act of 1862 made it legal for African American men to enlist in state militias ultimately leading to the creation of Connecticut’s 29th and 30th Colored Infantry Regiments. During his presentation John Mills will delve into the lives and experiences of some of the men who enlisted in Connecticut’s Colored Regiments what drove them to enlist and a perspective of our state at the time. Mills will also discuss his research into past enslaved individuals in Connecticut highlighting their experiences and his work to acknowledge them.

A joint program with the Bloomfield Public Library. Registration is required.
To Register: visit Bloomfield Public Library’s website, bplct.org (then click on Event Calendar).

Beaufort, South Carolina. 29th Regiment from Connecticut
[Image 03372 from Library of Congress]

Events, The Society and BPLCT Joint Programs

WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH EVENT

Event Announcement

18 March 2024 at 7pm

Bloomfield Public Library, in collaboration with The Wintonbury Historical Society, is having Mary Korpi author of The Lady Lighthouse Keeper, published in February 2022, speak to us about her book about Stella Prince.

Mary Korpi moved to the North Fork in June of 2017 after retiring from a long-term career working with people with special needs. On a mission to get involved and meet local people, she began volunteering as a docent at Horton Point Lighthouse in Southold that August. She was intrigued to learn that one woman, Stella Prince, served as a keeper. Seeking to learn more about Stella’s life, Mrs. Korpi read everything she could find about women lighthouse keepers. She discovered that history overlooked Stella as she was not included in any published works about women lighthouse keepers. Mrs. Korpi delved into origin sources such as local newspaper clippings and obituaries through the Southold Historical Museum, local librarians, and the Suffolk County Historical Museum library. The factual information she gathered became the basis for the book, Justice for Stella was finally realized when in February 2023, the Coast Guard historian agreed to add Stella to the official list of women lighthouse keepers based on the documentation Mrs. Korpi gathered regarding her employment from the National Archives. Stella will finally take her proper place in history a mere 120 years after her service.

Click to View on YouTube

Events, The Society and BPLCT Joint Programs

BPLCT & WHS Program, Lemuel Haynes

Virtual Talk by John Saillant

Black Puritan, Black Republican: The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes, A
Thursday, February 1, 2024 at 7 pm

In this virtual talk, John Saillant, professor from Western Michigan University and author of Black Puritan, Black Republican: The Life and Thought of Lemuel Haynes will discuss Lemuel Haynes.

Born in Connecticut, Lemuel Haynes was first an indentured servant, then a soldier in the Continental Army, and, in 1785, an ordained congregational minister. Haynes’s writings constitute the fullest record of a black man’s religion, social thought, and opposition to slavery in the late-18th and early-19th century. 

This program is cosponsored by The Wintonbury Historical Society and Bloomfield Public Library.

You must provide your email address at registration to receive the Zoom link. Your registration confirmation notice includes the Zoom link for the program. This program may be recorded. 

Click to View on YouTube
To View the Poster Click Here