Next to the Great River
Along the Freedom Trail

By Vincent F.A. Golphin

The owners say John Randall visits a number of guests at Randall's Ordinary Inn & Restaurant in North Stonington, Connecticut. I waited, tossed and turned in a bed designed to look like an 18th century artifact. It was a waste of a most comfortable sleeping surface for one restless, half-sleepless night. He never came.

Those guests and staff who have seen the man who once lived in what is now a country inn say the specter has long hair and a sad face. That might be because he didn't like the way he died. They say he always wears a uniform and carries a blunderbuss, one of those rifles where the muzzle opens like a fat tulip. Or perhaps they are confused about which John Randall one should expect. Over the course of two centuries, four men of that name inhabited and built the property.

"This building is a treasure," said the manager, Gary M. Baker, who notes that the house is on the National Historic Registry. Still, it is odd to imagine how the structure, which seems pretty small, could have expanded over time. The rooms appear to be of similar design, yet they are the result of more than two centuries' construction. Randall's Ordinary allows visitors the comfort of a trip back to 1685. The plank floors, wooden walls and odd mix of wooden furniture enhances the trip and the costumed dining staff supports the illusion.

"The green room, the other dining room, is part of the original structure from 1685," said Baker, who complements the archaic atmosphere by asking that he be called innkeeper. "In 1720, there was a fire that damaged the original structure built by John Randall II. John Randall III then built out about three or four feet and added the dining room. Then in 1790, John Randall IV added the hearth room, which is where all the food continues to be prepared today for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The kitchen was added in about 1820. That's used mainly for side dishes and desserts, and so forth, but we still try to use the hearth as much as possible for all meals."

The Randalls were longtime community leaders, captains, colonels, bankers, politicians and judges. In the early 19th century, William and Darius Randall, descendants of John IV, were among the first to free their slaves. They were strident abolitionists, which spurred the legend that they provided a stop on the Underground Railroad. That is why the Connecticut Historical Commission added the home to the Freedom Trail. It is said slaves were stowed away beneath the hearth area. The spaces are there, but Baker said the legend is yet to be proved.

"I know the Connecticut Historical Commission has commissioned us as a part of the Underground Railroad, but I have not personally found anything in writing corroborating that," he said. "I'm believing that, hopefully, all of the stories passed from year to year, and generation to generation were accurate, and the Randalls were among the first to free their slaves, and they started helping others as they were escaping to freedom. So it is a great story."

Connecticut abolished slavery in 1848, relatively late when compared with more Mid-Atlantic States such as New York and New Jersey. Legend holds that Col. William Randall freed his black servants around 1841. The peculiar institution was pretty sparse throughout the state. Most slave owners maintained only two or four slaves. Historians such as Edgar J. McManus, author of Black Bondage in the North, say many were trained as house servants, except in the more agricultural Fairfield County.

I slept in Room 12 above the kitchen. That is where John Randall, the original owner, is said to haunt guests most often. Usually, it is said, he flashes the lights and creates a row on the narrow stairs that lead to the door. I only heard the voices and sounds of the staff clearing away the dishes and food from supper and fixing breakfast.

The Randall farm, now owned by the Mashantucket Pequots, descendants of the Southeastern Connecticut native peoples, was expanded with the addition of a 19th century barn. The building, complete with silo, contains the offices and most of the inn's rooms. The structure was moved down from Richmondville, New York.

Back along Route 2 in North Stonington, Randall's farm has three different styles of rooms -- standard room, mini suites, including a silo suite, and then actual log cabins. "During the week, Sunday through Thursday, a standard room will run $125 plus tax," Baker said. "Friday and Saturday it will go up to $165. A mini suit will run $150, Sunday through Thursday, and $195 Friday and Saturday."

It's not a place for kids, although Baker stresses that they are welcome. It's just that the atmosphere screams mature occupants. For example, the menu specialties are Nantucket scallops, roast duck and roast turkey. Hamburgers, hot dogs and other fast delicacies don't exist in that world. Even the rooms are made for quiet, sumptuous pursuits. The silo suite in the barn includes a hot tub beneath a domed skylight. That's hardly the type of space one might rent on a trip with children. The Silo suit is $250 per night Sunday through Thursday, and $350 per night Friday and Saturday.

Of course, cabins are an option for a family getaway. Each of the four cabins is $650 per night. "It's like renting a house," Baker said. "Three bedrooms, two baths, full kitchen, and a living room area with a big stone fireplace." He said the places are used by overnight guests and for corporate meetings.

Baker acknowledges Randall's difference. "It's quality," he said. "I think with the history that we have, and the quality we provide, with the comfort, the level of service, it is something that is so unique from anything else in the area." See for yourself. The website is www.randallsordinary.com, For brochures, phone 860-599-4540.

The Pequots and Mohegans have a strong presence in southern Connecticut. Both tribes operate casinos. Likewise, they use part of the revenue from those enterprises to highlight their cultures. Randall's Ordinary is five minutes from the Pequots' state-of-the-art, award-winning Mashantucket Pequot Museum& Research Center, the most developed of the two cultural centers.

Built in the shadow of the breath-taking Foxwoods Resort Casino, the museum can be hard to locate for a first-time visitor. You have to carefully watch the signs to avoid the casino parking lots. At the same time, visitors can park in the casino lots, stroll through the mammoth gambling palace and take one of four daily shuttles to the museum. Pickup locations are outside the Grand Pequot Tower and the Great Cedar hotels. The return shuttle collects passengers at the museum entrance.

A New Earth

The Mohegan Sun Casino is along the Thames River in the town of Uncasville. The 240-acre site, owned by the Mohegan Tribal Nation, is about a mile from Interstate 395 and state Route 2A, by far the most blatantly cultural architectural display in the area. Like Foxwoods, about ten minutes away, the building is designed to lure gamblers and provide for their entertainment. The complex, which is billed as "the Casino of the Earth," is designed on the Mohegan's four basic elements theme. Those phases -- earth, wind, fire and water -- recall the culture's deep ties to the environment, particularly life in the forest. Despite the ongoing construction in its $800 million expansion project, the 180,000-square-foot casino is already the fourth largest in the nation.

The gaming area holds more than 3,000 slot machines. More than 190 tables offer card games that range from the more common blackjack to the more exotic Caribbean stud poker and baccarat. There is even a high-stakes bingo parlor and a Race Book lounge with 222 self-wagering carrels and 300 TVs to watch live races from New York's Belmont, Aqueduct and Saratoga tracks, as well as greyhound races and Jai-Alai.

The Wolf Den in the center of the current facility seats more than 350 people. The open space allows gamblers to watch the no charge-no minimum shows that include entertainers from a wide variety of backgrounds. Sometimes there are major headliners such as Ashford & Simpson, Aretha, The Miracles, Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis Jr. and The four Tops. The night I was there, the singer was from China.

For more information on the Mohegan Sun call 860-204-8000 or 888-226-7711.

A Thing of Beauty

I was told to set aside two hours to check out the Mashantucket Pequot Museum & Research Center. I budgeted three and could have spent another four. Exhibits that include artifacts, films and diaramas trace the history of the Pequot tribe back to the Glacier Age. Within the first year, after the August 10, 1998 opening, more than 300,000 people have strolled through the 308,000-foot facility. The Gallery of the Mashuntucket Pequots Today, often the last stop on the tour, shows the tribe's strong African-American ties. Many of the members are what U.S. society would call black.

The museum exhibits show the linking of cultures as the Mashuntucket Pequots tried to survive the European expansion in Connecticut. The worst came in 1637, when English settlers and Mohegan and Narragansett allies tried to destroy them. On May 26, 1637, the Europeans attacked a Pequot village near the Mystic River. It was the region where Olde Mystic is located today. Within an hour, more than 600 Pequot were dead. The village was ashes.

The signing of the September 1638 Treaty of Hartford saved the lives of the surviving tribe members. However, they were either traded to the Mohegans and Narragansett, or sold as slaves to English families, who confiscated their land and property.

For more information visit www.mashantucket.com, or call the museum at 800-411-9671 or 860-396-6800. Call 860-312-3000 to learn more about the casino. Currently, Foxwoods is the largest resort casino in the world with more than 315,000 square feet of gaming space in a complex totaling 4.7 million square feet.

The Rest of the Story

While rooms are pricey in Connecticut, families can find places in the Mystic area for as low as $70 to $80 per night. For most of the trip I concentrated on family-friendly places, but Randall's was a great base of operations to explore Northeastern Connecticut, from New London to the Rhode Island line.

Within 20 minutes are beaches, golf courses, the Mystic Marinelife Aquarium, Olde Mystic Village, Mystic Seaport and parts of The Freedom Trail that tell the stories of black mariners and longtime black settlements. A good example is the Jail Hill Section of Norwich, a more than 340-year-old town on state Route 2 and near Interstate 95.

In the 1830s, the town built a jail around Fountain and Cedar streets, just beyond the business section. Norwich's black neighborhood until the early 20th century became home to large numbers of Williamses, Harrises, Spelmans and Smiths who worked in the antislavery movement.

The town is just beginning to ferret out the details of life in Jail Hill. Most of the tourist attractions are tied to the Mohegan Indian culture and an early British settlement. Local residents are also very proud of the Norwich Navigators minor league baseball team. Yet, the area is worth a visit because the Jail Hill residents' stories are bound to well-known aspects of the abolitionist struggle.

Several daughters from those black families attended Prudence Crandall's short-lived private school for African-American girls located in Canterbury, Connecticut. The small academy opened in April 1833. It closed on September 9, 1834, after local residents stormed and threatened to torch the building, which was also Crandall's home.

The effort to educate blacks against Connecticut's and national laws made the Quaker woman an icon. She is still considered a state heroine and her home near the intersection of Routes 14 and 169 in Canterbury is a museum worth the visit. The Norwich Free Academy is part of that story, too.

U.S. Census figures show that the black population of the state grew at a steady 0.6 percent between 1790 and 1840. Between 1840 and the Civil War, data shows how fear within the white population forced hundreds of blacks to emigrate or be sold into the Deep South.

In 1833, in response to Crandall's bid at black education, the state enacted laws that barred African Americans from outside the state from attending school. As expressed by state officials, the idea was to discourage larger populations of blacks from seeking shelter or opportunity in the state.

Two of the Smith daughters studied at the Norwich Free Academy just before the war and became teachers in Washington, D.C. The unique educational institution is the second largest high school in the state, which despite its privately governed status serves the public. Since it opened in 1856, no student has paid tuition. The school only charges a fee for incidentals.

A River Runs Near It

Shopping fanatics will want to take the back way -- Route 2 to Route 117, to Route 1 or Interstate 95 -- which leads to Mystic Seaport. That will lead to Olde Mystic, a replica of a 19th century village that contains more than 60 specialty shops. Most are like storefronts with restaurants interspersed. Entertain children by the duck pond on the property or go next door to enjoy the more than 6,000 sea creatures in the Mystic Aquarium. For more information on Olde Mystic call 860-536-4941. Call 860-572-5955 to learn more about the aquarium. By the way, Days Inn, Comfort Inn and many other family-friendly economy hotels are located in the area.

Olde Mystic is at the mouth of the Mystic River. It is at least fifteen minutes from Mystic, Connecticut, and Mystic Seaport, a 17-acre village on the river is a short way from downtown. Whether off Interstate 95, or along Route 1, the center for the study of the United States' maritime history established in 1929 is easily found. It draws more than a million visitors through its website (www.mysticseaport.org) or in person. Adult general admission is $16. Youths, ages 6 to 12, pay $8. Children, ages 5 and under are free.

The living history museum is the site where the new Amistad schooner was built and launched. Visitors can learn about that $3.1 million effort that involved hundreds of volunteer laborers. The seaport also displays more than 500 ship models and archives more than a million ship photographs. There are more than 100 costumed musicians, craftspeople and storytellers about the grounds who share the experience of living in a 19th century seaside town. Whether interested in education or entertainment, plan a day at the village. The gates are open 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., April through October; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., November through March. Group rates are available.

For more details, call 1-888-SEAPORT.