News Archive

Wooster School's Middle School held the first Witness Stones Installation Ceremony in the city of Danbury on Tuesday, May 31, 2022 at the Long Ridge United Methodist Church at 201 Long Ridge Rd, Danbury, CT 06810.

Wooster School's 7th and 8th grade Middle School team have been learning about the complicated history of enslavement in Connecticut via their research of a formerly enslaved man who lived in Danbury, Connecticut, as part of their participation in the Witness Stones Project. The Witness Stones project is a "K-12 educational initiative whose mission is to restore the history and honor the humanity of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities. The Project provides research assistance, teacher development, and curriculum support to help middle school students study the history of slavery in their own communities." Through their study of primary sources, students were tasked to take a critical look at issues such as the treatment of the people who were enslaved and their agency and resistance to the practice of enslavement.

On May 31st, the 7th and 8th graders held a public ceremony and installation of a Witness Stone at Long Ridge United Methodist Church (Danbury, CT) in memory of the life of Nimrod Benedict, a Danbury resident who was sold by Joseph Taylor in 1765 to Noble Benedict at the age of four. Nimrod served in the Revolutionary War and gained his freedom thereafter. Students shared more of Nimrod's story during the event which was attended by their teachers, school administrators, parents, members of the Long Ridge United Methodist congregation, and community leaders.