The public is invited to the dedication of site #164 on the Connecticut Freedom Trail commemorating the life and service of Pvt. Leverett Holden, Avon resident and Civil War veteran of the 29th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, Colored.

The dedication will take place on Monday, June 2, 2025, beginning at 6:30 pm at the East Avon Cemetery, 15 Simsbury Road, and continue with a program at 7:00 pm inside the historic sanctuary of The Avon Congregational Church, 6 West Main Street, Avon, CT. (The East Avon Cemetery is directly behind the Avon Congregational Church.) The event is free and open to the public.

Pvt. Leverett Holden, a resident of Avon and veteran of the U.S. Civil War, served in the 29th Connecticut Infantry Regiment, Colored, from 1863 through 1865. His enlistment documents show he was born in Vernon, CT about 1825. The U.S. Census of 1850 shows he was working and living in the Wadsworth Inn, today a house at 1234 Prospect Street, in Hartford. According to an Avon resident's late 19th-century diary, Holden lived in Avon in the mid-1850s. He served with the 29th Connecticut during several engagements in 1864 in Virginia, such as at Petersburg, Chaffins Farm, Darbytown Road, and Kell House.

Upon returning to Connecticut with the regiment in late 1865, he resumed his life in Avon. He never married or had children. He died in 1877 at the age of about 56. A memorial stone commemorates his service, provided by the State of Connecticut, in the East Avon Cemetery behind the Avon Congregational Church. According to State records, the Town of Avon placed the stone there on May 29, 1890.

During the State of Connecticut's 150th commemoration of the Civil War (between 2011 and 2015), questions were raised as to whether this stone marked his grave or was just a memorial to Pvt. Holden. In December 2023, with the help of the Avon Historical Society, the East Avon Cemetery Association applied for and received a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office of the Department of Economic and Community Development to have a geophysical survey for human burials done to provide the answer. Ground penetrating radaring was conducted in September 2024 around the memorial stone, which showed no indication of a grave at that site. Therefore, the memorial stone is now confirmed to be in honor of Pvt. Holden's service in the U.S. Civil War.

A ceremony to formally acknowledge the site on the Connecticut Freedom Trail will begin at his memorial stone (weather permitting) on Monday, June 2, at 6:30 pm. The audience is then invited to the church for presentations at 7:00 pm. Guest presenters will be Tammy Denease, Outreach Coordinator for the CT Freedom Trail; John Mills, historian of the 29th CT; and Andre Keitt, CT Storyteller, who will explain the meaning of Juneteenth.

A reception will follow in Fellowship Hall to meet the guest presenters. Everyone attending will receive a detailed booklet about the 14 years of research on Pvt. Holden and the 29th Connecticut.

This event is sponsored by the Avon Historical Society, Avon Congregational Church, Avon Free Public Library and Avon Senior Center.