Freeman, Caesar

Caesar Freeman

Swanzey, NH

On July 2, 1753, the township of Lower Ashuelot was re-granted as the town of Swanzey, New Hampshire.  Included in the list of proprietors in the name Caesar Freeman.  For generations, Caesar Freeman has been remembered as the earliest Black resident of Swanzey and formerly enslaved. Mount Caesar, located in the town center, was named for Freeman beginning in the 19th century. According to Swanzey historian Richard Scaramelli in 2018, “The first time it appeared as Mount Caesar on any map I know of was the 1858 county map.” Prior to that, it was known as Meetinghouse Hill to the end of the 18th century.  Documentation related to his life are otherwise lacking.

Many of the original proprietors of Lower Ashuelot had met in Concord, MA, in the 1730s to plan for the future of their ethno-European settlement in southwest New Hampshire. By the 1750s, the town was named after Swansea, MA. It is possible that Caesar Freeman may have come from Bristol County, Massachusestts.

In addition to the mountain, the town of Swanzey also boasts Mt. Caesar Seminary (est. 1842), Mt. Caesar Library (est. 1886), and Mt. Caesar Elementary School (built 1953).

SOURCE MATERIALS

Read, Benjamin. The history of Swanzey, New Hampshire, from 1734 to 1890, p.56.

Foley, Meghan. “Swanzey event to highlight Mount Caesar, Whitcomb Hall.” Keene Sentinel, Sept. 26, 2018.