Collections : [Connecticut College -Linda Lear Center for Special Collections and Archives]

Prudence Crandall (1803-1890) was an educator and activist who fought for women's suffrage and the rights of African-Americans. Her attempt to run an integrated school for girls in Canterbury, Connecticut resulted in protests, arrest, and two criminal trials. Although she was acquitted of all charges in 1834, she closed the school and left the state. In 1995 she was named Connecticut's official state heroine. This collection contains manuscripts and research materials gathered by Helen Earle Gilbert Sellers in preparation for a biography of Prudence Crandall.