Canterbury Female Boarding School, Educational institution in Canterbury, Connecticut, United States.
The Canterbury Female Boarding School is a historic building in Canterbury, Connecticut, now open to the public as the Prudence Crandall Museum. The structure follows a Federal style, with symmetrical windows, a centered front door, and wooden siding that gives it the look of a modest New England home.
Prudence Crandall opened the school in 1831 and soon decided to admit only African American girls, making it the first school of its kind in the country. Local opposition grew quickly, and after repeated harassment and a state law passed to shut it down, the school closed in 1834.
The school is remembered today as a place where young Black women claimed the right to learn at a time when that right was openly denied to them. The museum keeps this memory alive through objects and documents that belonged to the students and their teacher.
The museum is located in the center of Canterbury and is easiest to reach by car, as public transport options in the area are limited. A visit of around an hour is enough to see the rooms and exhibits at a comfortable pace.
Many of the students came from free Black communities across the northeastern states and made the journey to Canterbury entirely on their own, without institutional support. Several of them went on to become teachers themselves, carrying what they learned here into other towns and schools.
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