Women's History Month Tribute: Connecticut's State Heroine, Prudence Crandall

March is Women’s History Month. March 8th marks the 100th anniversary of International Women’s Day, a day on which to celebrate the political, social, and economic achievements of women. This article celebrates the trailblazing efforts of Prudence Crandall who, though born in Rhode Island, spent much of her young adult life in Canterbury, Connecticut, where her pioneering efforts in both race relations and education have left an enduring legacy.

Two weeks ago, this column profiled the remarkable achievements of Emma Willard, a native of Berlin, whose enlightened ideas about education for girls changed the world forever. To this day, the Emma Willard School of Troy, N.Y., the oldest girls’ secondary school in America, continues its mission to educate girls.

This week’s column also profiles a pioneering educator of girls from Connecticut: Prudence Crandall, a dedicated Quaker originally from Rhode Island who “practiced what she preached.” A contemporary of Emma Willard, Crandall was even more radical in that she created the first integrated classroom in the United States in 1833 in Canterbury.

Crandall agreed to admit Sarah Harris, the African-American daughter of a freed slave who lived near Canterbury. After parents of the white girls in her school withdrew their daughters, Crandall went a step further: she created an all-girls school for African-Americans. In fact, she placed an ad in the most famous Abolitionist newspaper of the time — The Liberator – 178 years ago this week announcing the opening, in April 1833, of a school for “little misses of color.”

The public reaction against the opening of the school was swift and nasty. Locals vandalized the school by breaking windows, poisoning the school’s water supply with animal feces, and ultimately setting it ablaze. Meanwhile, the 20 students and Crandall were regularly subjected to public humiliation, threats, and ridicule. The state of Connecticut passed a law in 1834 banning such schools, and Prudence Crandall was arrested and put in jail; however, with the help of Abolitionist funding, the law was eventually overturned by the Connecticut Supreme Court. The court reversal led to another round of violence against the school. Finally, fearing for their safety, Crandall had to close the school in 1834.

One month before closing her school, Prudence Crandall wed the Rev. Calvin Phileo. The couple relocated to Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Ithaca, New York and Illinois over the next few decades, where Rev. Phileo eventually died. Prudence then moved to Elk Falls, Kan., with her brother, where she spent the rest of her long, courageous life. Born in Rhode Island in 1803, Prudence Crandall lived to be 87 years old. She is buried in Kansas (see photo).

Fortunately, Prudence Crandall lived long enough to see the state of Connecticut acknowledge its wrongful approach to her integrated school. In 1884, the Connecticut legislature voted to give Prudence Crandall a pension of $400 per year as compensation for the wrongs done to her in her adopted state.

Interestingly, the most ardent proponent of this legislation was author Mark Twain of Hartford. With Twain’s strong support, the legislature passed the law in the same year that the author published his controversial novel about race: "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn." The state has further honored her courageous stand against racism by naming her house an official historical site. It is located in Canterbury at the intersection of Routes 169 and 14.

Additionally, Enfield has one of its elementary schools bearing her name. It is located on Brainard Road; furthermore, several colleges and universities have named halls or dormitories in her name such as Howard University in Washington D.C., and St. Katherine’s College in Minnesota.

Prudence Crandall is also a member of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame. Finally, in 1995, the state of Connecticut, 105 years after her death, named Prudence Crandall our official state heroine, an appropriate honor for the Quaker woman who showed such extraordinary courage and foresight in both education and in race relations.

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