On February 1st, 2025, we will be unveiling the Honorary Street Sign for Prince Mortimer at the corner of Rapallo Avenue and Main Street in Middletown!
As a boy, Prince was captured on the coast of Guinea, enslaved in Middletown, Connecticut, and purchased by Phillip Mortimer. When Phillip Mortimer died in 1794, his Will stated that Prince was to be freed, but it was contested and overthrown by his son-in-law, George Starr. In 1811, Prince was accused of attempting to poison George, convicted of attempted murder, and sentenced to New-Gate Prison for life. He died at Wethersfield Prison at the age of 110.
Our work to get an Honorary Street Sign for Prince Mortimer has been over a year in the making. It began with an inquiry I made to the Connecticut State Historic Preservation Office back in May of 2023. Todd Levine and Marena Wisniewski were gracious enough to put me in contact with Middletown City Historian, Deborah Shapiro.
Deborah informed me that Middletown did not have an Honorary Street Name program… so we would need to create an ordinance. Dr. Jesse Nasta at Wesleyan University helped us locate templates of similar ordinances from other towns and Deborah worked to have an ordinance drafted for Middletown. After nearly a year, the ordinance was approved on February 5th, 2024.
The next step was for us to apply to have Prince Mortimer Avenue as the very first Honorary Street Name approved in Middletown using this newly created ordinance. Deborah supplied me with the newly created Honorary Street Name application on April 1st, 2024. Excited about the prospects, I completed and returned it the same day. The application first needed to go through the Public Works Committee for approval, which it did successfully on July 10th, 2024. The final step was a vote in front of the Middletown Common Council on September 3rd, at which it was approved.
This has been a LONG time coming! This is open to the public, so please considering joining us to celebrate this historic Honorary Street Sign dedication ceremony for a formerly enslaved man named Prince Mortimer… the city’s FIRST EVER Honorary Street Sign!
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