Norwich America250 committee outlines Liberty Pole, Huntington and Black/Indigenous commemorations

The Norwich America250 committee presented an update to the Norwich City Council on its plans for the 250th commemoration, describing a slate of projects the group expects to stage or support in 2026 and beyond, and asking the city for help with approvals and promotion.

The committee — which the presenters said formed in 2022 as an affiliate of the America250 Connecticut Commission and is operating under the Norwich Historical Society as fiduciary — listed three headline initiatives: a commemorative Liberty Pole on the Norwich Town Green, a Samuel Huntington–focused program timed to his July birthday, and a set of memorials and public-history projects to recognize Black and Indigenous Revolutionary War veterans from the Norwich area.

“And the Historical Society very nicely and very, very wonderfully has been the fiduciary, of this committee,” said Bill Champagne, past president of the Norwich Historical Society and a committee board member.

Committee members described additional activity that is already underway: creation of a dedicated website and calendar to coordinate partner organizations’ events, a social-media campaign to promote local programming, four self-guided walking tours prepared by the Historical Society, and outreach with Norwich Free Academy, Integrated Day Charter School and Norwich Public Schools to involve students.

The presenters described ongoing research and local partnerships to surface little-known stories. They said genealogist John Mills has researched Primus, an enslaved man who lived in Norwich and appears in local histories; the committee said it is exploring a mural at a building identified in the presentation as “UCFS” and a plaque or other marker to name Black and Indigenous residents who served in the Revolution and whose graves are currently unmarked or lost.

On timing and budget, the committee said many projects are in planning or early fundraising stages. Committee members told the Council they submitted an initial budget as part of a SACIM fund application and that current cost estimates remain preliminary while they gather more concrete figures and coordinate with partner fundraisers. The presenters said they expect the headline commemorations in 2026 but may continue programming into 2027.

Council members asked about permissions and permanent changes to the green. Presenters said the Liberty Pole is intended at minimum to stand for the duration of the America250 campaign and that any placement would require the city’s standard review channels, including the Historic District Commission and certificates of appropriateness, plus coordination with public works.

Committee members emphasized outreach goals beyond the town’s colonial-era population: they said they are working with local schools to include diverse student perspectives and are considering recurring newspaper items or use of the mayor’s public information channel to help publicize events.

The committee requested city assistance with approvals, promotion and coordination; no formal council action or vote was recorded during the informational presentation.