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Hannah Gray Home

Hannah Gray was an African American seamstress born in New Jersey in 1805. In 1850 she moved to Connecticut and was living here on Dixwell Avenue. There is some conflicting information regarding her original home at either 158 Dixwell Ave or 172 Dixwell Ave. She earned money as a domestic worker, and donated money to her church and to the abolitionist movement. Gray died in 1861, sadly never seeing the end of slavery in the United States.

She wrote in her will that she wanted her home to be used for low-income elderly women of color, and honoring her wishes, the Hannah Gray Home was born. The home operated at its original location for many years, but began to struggle financially and eventually burned down in a fire. A group of African American women from various churches on Dixwell came together to help reopen the home. In 1911, the home was moved to 235 Dixwell Ave, which is its current location. The home operated until 1996 when it was forced to close for financial reasons. After this happened, Anthony Davis launched a campaign to save the home and was able to get a loan from the Greater New Haven Community Loan Fund to prevent the home from being sold. On January 7, 2010 the home reopened.

A Peoples' History of Dixwell
  1. Dixwell Tour Intro
  2. Hillhouse High School
  3. Directions to Monterey Jazz Club
  4. Monterey Jazz Club
  5. Directions to Hannah Gray Home
  6. Hannah Gray Home
  7. Directions to John Daniels Place
  8. John Daniels Place
  9. Directions to Goffe Street School
  10. Goffe Street School
  11. Directions to Negro YMCA
  12. Negro YMCA
  13. Directions to Masonic Temple
  14. Masonic Temple
  15. Directions to Q House
  16. Q House
  17. Directions to Bristol Street
  18. Bristol Street
  19. Directions to Grove Street Cemetery
  20. Grove Street Cemetery
  21. Directions to Attempt to Make an HBCU in New Haven
  22. Attempt to Create HBCU in New Haven
  23. Directions to Yale Law School
  24. Jane Matilda Bolin and Pauli Murray
  25. Directions to Grace Hopper College
  26. College Renamed
  27. Directions Back to Hillhouse High School
  28. End of Dixwell Tour