Guided Museum Tours
Fri Sep 2, 9:00 AM - Fri Sep 2, 10:00 AM

Reopening to the public after an extensive 2-year restoration, the Prudence Crandall Museum: site of the Canterbury Female Boarding School, will be open to visitors during the 2022 season via timed conversational tours with a guide.

Open days are Fridays through Mondays, June 12 through October 31. Tour size is limited to 15 people per tour. Purchasing tickets in advance is encouraged, as tours may fill up quickly.

Tours are offered at:

9 am

10:30 am

1:30 pm

3 pm

The first floor of the museum will be open; please be aware that the rooms are currently empty and do not contain exhibits. Masks are welcome and optional. Please plan to arrive close to your tour time.

*School and group tours are scheduled on Tuesdays throughout the year. To schedule a school or group tour, contact crandall.museum@ct.gov or call 860-546-7800 ext. 101.

Contact email: crandall.museum@ct.gov. Phone: 860-546-7800. For the most up-to-date information, visit the Prudence Crandall Museum Facebook page.

About the Museum

The Prudence Crandall Museum is a National Historic Landmark located in Canterbury, CT.

In 1832, Crandall, the white principal of the Canterbury Female Boarding School, was approached by a young Black woman named Sarah Harris asking to attend the school. Encouraged by conversations with both Harris and Maria Davis, a Black woman who shared copies of the Abolitionist newspaper The Liberator with her, Crandall agreed to admit Harris. When residents protested the school’s integration and parents threatened to withdraw their students, Crandall closed her school and reopened in 1833 for non-white students. Students traveled from several states to attend the school. Connecticut responded by passing the “Black Law,” which prevented out-of-state Black and Brown people from attending school in Connecticut towns without local town approval. Crandall was arrested, spent one night in jail, and faced three court trials before the case was dismissed. In September 1834, a nighttime mob attack closed the school. These events made national and international news in the 1830s and galvanized the burgeoning Abolitionist movement. Many of the students such as Julia Williams, Mary Miles, and Mary Harris, went on to become educators, reformers, and leaders in their communities. Crandall v. Connecticut impacted two U.S. Supreme Court decisions and laid the framework for the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

The Prudence Crandall Museum is a member of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience. Owned by the State of Connecticut, the Museum is operated by the State Historic Preservation Office.