Features Overview

28TH ANNUAL VENTURE SMITH DAY

Saturday,September7th –1:00pmto4:00pm First Church Cemetery

499 Town Street (RT. 151) East Haddam, CT

Son of an African king, Venture Smith was the first black man to document his capture from Africa and life as an American slave and successful black freeman in Connecticut. Venture spent most of his freedom years in East Haddam and Haddam Neck. His grave is one of the original sites on the Connecticut Freedom Trail. Outdoor event. Bring a lawn chair, umbrella for shade, and water bottle. Refreshments will be served following the event A new Venture Smith exhibit is on display at the East Haddam Historical Society and Museum
264 Town Street, East Haddam. The Museum will be open from Noon -5:00 pm on Venture Smith Day.

Susi Henry Ryan, 9th generation descendant of Venture Smith will talk about the “Vessels of Slavery: Forget Me Not.”

Héctor “Freedom” Gerardo, co-founder of the SEAmarron Farmstead LLC, 1 Freedom for All, and The Venture Farming Institute will talk about “Venture Smith and The Venture Farming Institute.”

John Wood Sweet, Ph.D., Professor of History at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill will speak about the “Ties That Bind: Slavery, Freedom, and Family in Venture Smith’s Life.”

Dr. Karl P. Stofko, East Haddam’s Municipal Historian and Venture Smith family genealogist since the 1970s, will talk about “Venture’s Journey to Malagasco as a Slave.”