1. Moments In Connecticut Black History
Welcome again to Moments in Connecticut Black History!

2. Isaac C. Glasko Blacksmith
Did you know that there is a village in Connecticut named for a Black man? In the town of Griswold in eastern Connecticut you can see a sign for the village of Glasgo, named after a free man named Isaac C. Glasko. He was a very successful businessman. He purchased land in 1806 and established a blacksmith shop in what is now the center of Glasgo. He harnessed waterpower to a triphammer and produced farming and carpentry tools. When the whaling industry was at its height, Glasko specialized in whaling implements, for which he held several patents. His harpoons, lances, spades, and mining knives were well known in ports of New England. Glasko's daughter, Eliza, attended the Prudence Crandall School in Canterbury in the period. His house still stands, although it has been considerably altered. The graves of Isaac Glasko and his wife are in a nearby but not easily accessible cemetery.

3. The Underground Railroad Through Connecticut
Francis Gillette House,
545 Bloomfield Ave.
Bloomfield, CT
Perhaps you have heard of the Underground Railroad, a network of people and places which helped enslaved individuals and families escaped from the South and slavery. Right here in Bloomfield there was a stop on the Underground Railroad! You have probably driven by it hundreds of times! It’s at 545 Bloomfield Avenue, the former home of Francis Gillette, a lawyer and Senator. Next time you are on Bloomfield Avenue, try to imagine what it might have been like over a hundred years ago—a dirt road, a horse-drawn carriage, and a family on its way to freedom!
Francis Gillette