The specific incident took place in Canaan, New Hampshire, in August 1835. A mob of white citizens, driven by racial animus, forcibly removed a Black school from the town and sent it to a swamp outside of the community.

The school was founded by a Black man named Samuel H. Ruggles, who had established the school to provide education to Black children. The local white population, hostile to the idea of Black education, organized this violent action to put an end to the school. They took the building, which was a school for Black children, and pulled it away with oxen. This event is part of the broader context of the fight for Black education, which was met with considerable opposition in many parts of the country, especially in the North where there was still a deep-seated racial prejudice.

This incident highlights both the educational struggles faced by African Americans during the 19th century and the lengths to which racist individuals and communities would go to maintain segregation and prevent African Americans from having access to the same rights and opportunities as white citizens.