By Guy Page
Police are investigating the weekend spraypainting of swastikas and anti-semitic remarks at the Old Stone House Museum and Historic Village, a not-for-profit dedicated to the memory of anti-slavery leader Alexander Twilight and to the values of Black Lives Matter.
Authorities say they were notified of a vandalism that took place at the Old Stone House Observation Tower on Hinman Settler Road in the Northeast Kingdom town of Brownington at around 9:45 a.m. Swastikas and antisemitic remarks were painted on the tower with orange spray paint.
This offense – termed “ Vandalism/Hate Motivated Crimes” by state police – is believed to have occurred between 7 PM Saturday night and 9:45 AM Sunday.
Over Labor Day, the observation tower – up the hill from the imposing, original four-story “Athenian Hall” built by Twilight now known as the Old Stone House – was the scene of a public music and dining event that featured a ‘star-gazing’ astronomy viewing led by Vermont Rep. Bobby Farlice-Rubio, a bi-racial Democrat from Barnet who once taught astronomy at the Fairbanks Museum.
In 2020, the museum trustees issued a statement affirming its solidarity with Black Lives Matters: “As an institution committed to celebrating the life and legacy of Alexander Lucius Twilight, the Staff and Board of the Old Stone House Museum stands in solidarity with the recent Black Lives Matter protests. We believe systemic racism, built on the backs of each succeeding generation of African Americans, has no place in our society. To this end, we plan programs and exhibits on our campus and online that underline not just how much black lives matter now but how much they have always mattered. At the core of our institution surges a tide to reverse societal racism.”
Born September 23, 1795, Twilight led a life devoted to education and faith. As the first African American to gain a college degree in the United States (from Middlebury College in 1823), “his often-noted strong will and dynamic leadership made Historic Brownington Village what it is today,” the museum website says.
In 1829, he was hired to be headmaster of the Orleans County Grammar School and was minister of the Brownington Congregational Church. Under his leadership, the Orleans County Grammar School thrived as a co-educational institution attracting boys and girls from throughout New England and Southern Canada who came from as far away as Boston and Montreal. Between 1833 and 1836 Twilight designed and led the construction of the four-story granite dormitory he called Athenian Hall—now our Old Stone House Museum.
Twilight became the first African American to serve in the state legislature in 1836 after his election to the Vermont House of Representatives.
Twilight began his life indentured at a neighboring farm at the age of eight. He chose a path of education, while still performing farm labor, by reading and studying mathematics at Randolph Orange County Grammar School before continuing to Middlebury for a college degree.
Anyone with information that may assist police is asked to call 802-334-8881.