by Leslie Gwen Howard (Author), Elani Coetzer (Cover Design by)
For more than fifty years, tax and church records quietly recorded the presence of enslaved men, women, and children in Westford, Massachusetts-yet their stories were nearly forgotten. In Once Known: A History of Slavery in Westford, Massachusetts, historian Leslie G. Howard brings their lives back into view, uncovering what can be known about at least twenty individuals who were enslaved in this small New England town and tracing what became of them after enslavement. Both deeply local and illuminating, this book restores names and dignity to those long omitted from Westford's story and invites readers to reconsider what it means to truly know a community's past.
