Rutland in Rutland County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)

Martin Henry Freeman

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 30, 2023

1. Martin Henry Freeman Marker

Inscription.
Rutland native Martin Henry Freeman was a ground-breaking African American educator and abolitionist. Born May 11, 1826, Freeman was tutored by East Parish Congregational Church's Rev. William Mitchell, and was among the first African Americans to attend college in Vermont, graduating from Middlebury College as salutatorian in 1849.

He was the first African American professor and president of an American college, and a leading advocate for African American education in the 1800s. The grandson of a slave who gained freedom fighting in the Revolutionary War, Freeman became à professor in 1850 and president of Allegheny Institute near Pittsburgh in 1856. During the Civil War, in 1864, he emigrated to Africa, where he was a professor and later president of Liberia College until his death in 1889.

This sculpture, designed by Mark Burnett and carved by Don Ramey, is one in a series honoring regional history and planned through a collaboration by The Carving Studio and Sculpture Center, Vermont Quarries, MKF Properties and Green Mountain Power. It was funded by the Wakefield family, Jennifer and Fred Bagley, and Donald Billings and Sara Pratt, and donated to the City of Rutland.

Erected 2021 by the Wakefield family, Jennifer and Fred Bagley, and Donald Billings

Paid Advertisement

Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.

Click or scan to see
this page online

and Sara Pratt, City of Rutland and Others.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Education. A significant historical date for this entry is May 11, 1826.

Location. 43° 36.35′ N, 72° 58.687′ W. Marker is in Rutland, Vermont, in Rutland County. Marker and sculpture are in Center Street Marketplace Park, accessed through alleyways from Center Street, Washington Street, and Merchants Row (no cars allowed). Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Rutland VT 05701, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Stone Legacy (within shouting distance of this marker); "Bill W." (within shouting distance of this marker); Paramount Theater (about 300 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Gift-of-Life Marathon (about 300 feet away); Kipling in Vermont (about 300 feet away); Andrea Mead Lawrence (about 400 feet away); The 54th Regiment (about 400 feet away); Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Rutland.

Also see . . .
1. Black History Month: Early Racial Diversity at Middlebury, Part One: Martin Henry Freeman. (Submitted on August 3, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
2. Martin Henry Freeman Sculpture Dedication Marks 195th Birthday (2021). (Submitted on August 3, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)
3. Downtown Rutland Sculptures. (Submitted on August 3, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.)

Martin Henry Freeman Marker and Sculpture image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 30, 2023

2. Martin Henry Freeman Marker and Sculpture

Martin Henry Freeman Sculpture image. Click for full size.

Photographed By William Fischer, Jr., July 30, 2023

3. Martin Henry Freeman Sculpture

Credits. This page was last revised on August 3, 2023. It was originally submitted on August 3, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania. This page has been viewed 59 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on August 3, 2023, by William Fischer, Jr. of Scranton, Pennsylvania.