[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 171 (Thursday, October 1, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E911]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




HONORING WILLIAM LANSON FOR HIS UNIQUE AND INVALUABLE CONTRIBUTIONS TO 
                         THE CITY OF NEW HAVEN

                                  _____
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 1, 2020

  Ms. DeLAURO. Madam Speaker, I am honored to rise today to join the 
Amistad Committee, the City of New Haven, and all of those gathered 
today in paying tribute to a pioneering African American who quite 
literally changed the landscape of the City of New Haven, William 
Lanson, and who ultimately faced defamation and destitution from a 
white Majority that used its levers of state power to put him into 
ruin. But, today, we return him to his rightful and honorable place in 
the history of our town as a bronze statue is dedicated in his honor.
  According to a Hartford Courant piece in 2001, quote, ``William 
Lanson was an extraordinary figure in early 19th-century New Haven. 
Almost certainly an escaped slave, Lanson overcame incredible odds to 
become a highly successful businessman, one of the earliest black 
entrepreneurs in Connecticut.'' William Lanson was a man ahead of his 
time in many ways, none more so than in the innovative engineering 
concepts that he brought to his successful projects in the City of New 
Haven. Though little is known about his earliest years, we do know that 
Lanson and his family moved to New Haven around 1803 and within just 
seven years he became the city's principal wharf builder.
  In 1810, he was the only contractor able to complete the complicated 
1,350-foot extension to the city's Long Wharf, enabling larger boats to 
dock in the city's port and allowing the city to compete with nearby 
ports including New York. The extension was only possible because he 
employed specially designed scows, carefully designed by Lanson 
himself, capable of carrying twenty-five tons of stone at a time. The 
stone was quarried by him and his laborers, from nearby East Rock, 
floated on the scows to the harbor where they were installed to 
stabilize the pilings for the wharf's extension. Following his success 
at Long Wharf, Lanson was contracted to build the retaining wall for 
the newly planned Farmington Canal where it flowed into the harbor 
basin. These two projects changed the very character of New Haven 
Harbor and the City itself, further allowing both to thrive and 
prosper--a feat which would have not been accomplished without William 
Lanson's invaluable contributions.
  It was more than the architecture of the city to which he 
contributed. It was its business landscape, its civic culture, and its 
moral fiber, as an African American leader who fought their 
disenfranchisement. He was a successful businessman, operating a hotel, 
grocery, and livery service, as well as a founding member of the Temple 
Street Church, which later became the Dixwell Avenue Congregational 
United Church of Christ. He was a fierce abolitionist and advocate for 
voting rights.
  According to research by Yale, in 1811, the Reverend Timothy Dwight, 
President of Yale College, praised William Lanson, as quote, 
``honourable proof of the character which they sustain, both for 
capacity, and integrity, in the view of respectable men.'' But, as the 
Yale research said, quote, ``By the end of the 1820s such praise had 
all but vanished . . . . and Lanson found himself beset financially and 
attacked and ridiculed.'' According to Amy L. Trout, curator at the New 
Haven Colony Historical Society, quote, ``he was constantly harassed by 
the police. The minute he was released from the police station and got 
home, he would be arrested for something else.''
  Late in life, Lanson wrote that he was jailed five times in six years 
for a total of 450 days, for selling liquor at his hotel, the Liberian, 
a very common practice. The pressure continued until he died forgotten, 
defamed, and destitute. So, we right that wrong. And, we must. Lanson 
was an unbelievably important and impressive man, an African American 
who reshaped, reformed, and re-invigorated. Doing so as an African 
American in the 19th century. He was a force.
  William Lanson left an indelible mark on the City of New Haven and I 
am glad to be able to witness our community coming together to 
recognize, celebrate, and preserve his story. My deepest thanks to the 
dedicated members of the Amistad Committee and the City of New Haven 
who have ensured that William Lanson's contributions to our community 
will always be remembered.

                          ____________________