Courtesy of the Town of Hebron

Watercolor by C. L. Pendleton 1893

This is one of the few brick houses with its broad side to the street built in Hebron. It was built around 1806 with the wooden trim executed by Joseph Trumbull Burnham. John S. Peters’ father, a brother of Rev. Samuel Peters, supported the British cause during the Revolutionary War and left his family in Hebron during the War. The impoverished family found it hard to make ends meet, but John S. Peters was able to study medicine by apprenticing with doctors. After traveling through New England to find a location for his practice, he finally settled on his hometown of Hebron. Here he treated Hebron’s sick residents including Native and African Americans. Many times, his account book lists treating patients and then canceling their debts because they were too poor to pay. In 1816, a one-story addition was added to the house which became his doctor’s office. One of Dr. Peters’ medical students Ezekiel Skinner became a founder of the African country of Liberia.

John S. Peters eventually entered politics and in 1832 was elected Lieutenant Governor. As Governor of Connecticut in 1833, John S. Peters promoted industry, education, and the newly invented railroads. In 1833, a young woman named Prudence Crandall opened a school in Canterbury Connecticut for African American students coming from all over New England. Unfortunately, she was forced to close the school the next year due to wide-spread prejudice. Today, Prudence Crandall is Connecticut’s State Heroine. Gov. Peters probably approved of Miss Crandall’s efforts, as is evident in the following story. It is recorded that to cut government costs, the Governor rode on public horse drawn transportation. One day while he was riding from Hartford to Hebron, the coach passed an elderly African American woman and the governor signaled the driver to stop, so he could offer the woman a ride. The driver, as well as the other passengers, were bewildered by this request. The woman was the descendant of Cesar Peters who had once been enslaved to Gov. Peters’ uncle Rev. Samuel Peters. Governor Peters employed Cesar Peters and his sons to farm his land located across from Hebron Elementary School and felt it appropriate to offer Liddie Peters a ride.

Think about it

Why do you suppose Dr. Peters forgave the debts of some of his patience?

With a Loyalist father who supported the British during the Revolutionary War, what does the fact that John S. Peters became Governor of Connecticut say about American politics?

Where to go next

Walk south along Church Street / Route 85 toward St. Peters’ Church

Meet Your Neighbors QR Tours funded by the Hebron Greater Together Community Fund in conjunction with the Hebron Historical Society.

Please note that most of the structures you will see are privately owned. Please respect these properties by viewing them from the sidewalk.