New London, Connecticut

New London
Black Heritage Trail

Walk through more than 300 years of Black history across New London’s waterfront, streets, homes, churches, and gathering places.

Choose your route →Explore the stories →

20installed markers · 23 stories online

Look again

You have passed these places before. Now meet the people who changed them.

New London is an archive you can walk through.

See the trail in contextThe Day · 2021

Choose the area you want to explore.

Two neighborhood walks keep each route within its own walkable district. The ancient burial ground is included in both. The driving route reaches all 23 confirmed locations.

Downtown district

Walk downtown

Fourteen confirmed locations linking the waterfront, Bank Street, Green Street, Union Street, Fulton Park, and the ancient burial ground.

Allow about 3 hours with story stopsOpen downtown walk

Hempstead district

Walk Hempstead

Seven markers centered on Hempstead Street and the surrounding neighborhood, including the ancient burial ground.

Allow about 2 hours with story stopsOpen Hempstead walk

Confirmed trail locations

Drive the full trail

Twenty three confirmed locations, including published stories and upcoming trail sites.

Allow about 4 hours with story stopsOpen driving route

From anywhere

Explore all 23 stories

Read the full histories, examine marker photographs, and preview two upcoming trail sites.

No travel requiredBrowse every story

Before you go

A trail through a living city

What to expect

Markers stand in active public spaces and near homes, businesses, churches, and historic properties. Please view private property from the public sidewalk.

Getting around

Use the live map for current directions. Downtown terrain includes sidewalks, crossings, slopes, and changing street conditions.

Bring the story with you

Tap any marker on the map to read its history, see the physical plaque, and open directions on your phone.

The official trail

New London’s Black Heritage Trail

Created through local research, civic action, and community stewardship.

The city beneath the city

A whaling port. A crossroads. A record of lives too often left at the edge of the frame.

New London’s Black Heritage Trail celebrates three centuries of Black strength, resilience, and accomplishment. Its stories connect the city to enslavement, emancipation, maritime labor, the Great Migration, institution building, and the struggle for civil rights.

Some names are nationally known. Others were nearly forgotten. Together, they show how Black residents met social, political, economic, and spiritual needs through courage, community, and institutions of their own making.

The official stories

Meet the people.
Find the places.

Explore every distinct story currently presented on the official Black Heritage Trail page. Search by name, place, address, or theme.

Search the trail

Story summaries are based on the official Explore New London Black Heritage Trail.

Plan your visit

Walk the story.
Drive the full trail.

Choose a walk focused on Downtown or the Hempstead District. Both include the ancient burial ground. The driving route connects all 23 confirmed locations.

Show Beyond the Marker experiencesNearby parks, museums, tours, and interactive spaces

Installed markerPublished storyComing soonFree experiencePaid admissionFree for New London residents

The connecting line shows the recommended stop order, not turn by turn navigation. Use live directions for current streets, closures, accessibility, and turn guidance. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Explore the narrative

Three threads. One living history.

Waterfront

At the harbor, New London met the world.

The waterfront connects local Black history to whaling, trade, the Amistad story, Indigenous displacement, and the movement of people across the Atlantic. The harbor stands as both a place of possibility and a witness to exploitation.

Featured lens: Amistad Pier and the maritime city

“I had no idea all of this was here.”

The response the project wants to transform into curiosity, pride, and stewardship.