Welcome to Hopkinton, Rhode Island! The town is the southernmost town along I-95 in Rhode Island. Hopkinton is named after Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence, when the town was partitioned from Westerly and incorporated in 1757. Prudence Crandall, schoolteacher and activist, was born in Hopkinton in 1803. Crandall taught the first integrated classroom in the US when she admitted a 20 year old African American female student into her Connecticut boarding school in 1832. Although things did not go well at the time, Mark Twain lobbied the Connecticut Legislature in 1886 and she was awarded a pension and a resolution honoring her was passed. We explore several other notable residents and aspects of Hopkinton in this episode. We hope you enjoy!
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