HISTORIC NORTHAMPTON
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  • Indigenous Native History
    • Native Histories in Nonotuck
    • Nonotuck Histories Essay by Margaret M. Bruchac
    • Recovering Nonotuck Histories Photo Essay
    • Profiles of Native People
    • Extended Biographies of Native People
    • Nonotuck to Northampton Maps
    • Native LIves Bibliography
  • History of Slavery
    • About the Slavery Research Project
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Historic Northampton

Museum and Education Center
Making it on Main Street: An Exhibit at Historic Northampton
Open Wednesday - Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm

Visitors are encouraged to wear a mask.
Face masks in both adult and children's sizes are available at the front entrance.

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Read Historic Northampton's latest email announcements.
March 2023 Program Announcement
See Facebook, Instagram & Twitter
for new ways to stay connected to Historic Northampton.

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Acknowledging Indigenous History

Here, we acknowledge that we stand on Indigenous land, inhabited by Native American people for roughly 11,000 years, since the glaciers receded. This place that we now call Northampton was known to Native people as Nonotuck or Norwottuck. Nonotuck homelands stretched across both sides of the Kwinitekw (now called the Connecticut River), including the present-day towns of Amherst, Hadley, Hatfield, South Hadley, Northampton, and Easthampton.
Nonotuck people were closely connected, through trade, diplomacy, and kinship, to other Native communities in the region: the Quaboag in present-day Brookfield; the Agawam in present-day Springfield; the Woronoco in present-day Westfield; the Pocumtuck in present-day Deerfield; and the Sokoki in present-day Northfield. During the early 1600s, these Native groups engaged in reciprocal trade relations with English colonial settlers and with other Native nations. By the late 1600s, however, the pressures of colonial warfare forced many Native families to relocate, taking shelter in other Native territories. We offer condolences for the Nonotuck people who were forced to leave their homeland, while also offering gratitude for the Native communities that took them in.

Despite the loss of land due to colonial settlement, a number of Native nations have persisted across the territory that we now call “New England.” These include: the Nipmuc to the East; the Wampanoag and Narragansett to the Southeast; the Mohegan, Pequot, and Schaghticoke to the South; the Stockbridge-Munsee Mohican to the West; and the Abenaki to the North, among others. Recognizing that the entirety of the North American continent constitutes Indigenous homelands, we affirm, honor, and respect the sovereignty of these and hundreds of other Indigenous Native American and First Nations peoples who survive today.

Learn More

Upcoming Events
Exploring Northampton: A Sunset Walk in the Meadows
A Walking Tour led by Co-director & Naturalist Laurie Sanders

Saturday, March 18, 2023 | 5:30 - 7:30 pm
Join co-director and naturalist Laurie Sanders for a walk down Hockanum Road to the site of the former Hockanum Ferry on the Connecticut River. The return leg will coincide with the sunset, which is one of the most beautiful times to be in the Meadows.  We will view the Holyoke Range and appreciate the broad floodplain that shaped so much of Northampton's history.

To and from the river, we'll hope for flocks of migrating Canada geese and ducks ... and possibly an aerial performance by a woodcock (or two).

Pre-registration is required.
Limited to 25.
Sliding scale admission: $10-25.

Learn More
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The Northampton Meadows
Photograph by Laurie Sanders

Registration is full.  Please email info@historicnorthampton.org to be placed on the wait list.
A History of Women’s Basketball and Northampton’s Early Role in the Sport
A Zoom Presentation by Dr. Rita Liberti
Wednesday, March 29, 2023 at 7 pm

When the nation’s top two women’s intercollegiate basketball teams compete for the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship on April 2, 2023, it will mark 130 years since the first women’s college game was played. On March 22, 1893, Smith College Physical Education Director, Senda Berenson introduced her students to the new game of “basket-ball.” Immediately, student athletes and fans on the Northampton campus were drawn to the game that became a centerpiece of campus life. 
 
Sport historian Rita Liberti will describe the early history of women’s basketball, from its beginning in Northampton to its spread across the nation. During the first few decades of the twentieth century, girls and women’s basketball teams were sponsored by schools, churches, playground associations, and factories. She will explore how the history of women’s basketball sheds light on larger social and cultural issues in the United States, including gender, sexuality, ethnicity, and class.

Register for the Zoom link.
Sliding scale admission: $5-25.
Students: free
of charge.

Learn More
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Northampton High School Girls Basketball Team, 1939.

Identified on reverse by an unconventional numbering system: Arlene Staples, Anne Reed, Patsy Bachand, Sylvia Mangall, Alice Ryan, Lochardes Remas, Mildred Stowe, Mary Ames, May O'Brien, Winnie M. Stewart, Gloria Bisaillon, coach.  Photography by Hoffman Studio, Northampton, MA.
1987.64.7: Gift of William C. Ames and Frederick Ames.
Online resources to explore Northampton history at home
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HISTORIC NORTHAMPTON
46 Bridge Street Northampton, Massachusetts 01060
info@historicnorthampton.org | 413-584-6011

Museum Hours

Wednesday - Sunday
12 noon - 5 pm

Closed on holidays

© COPYRIGHT 2015-2023. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
  • About
    • About Historic Northampton
    • What's On View >
      • Main Street Exhibit
      • The Sarah Strong Chest
    • Hours and Directions
    • Board-Staff
    • Employment Opportunities
    • Legal/Financial
  • Programs
    • Upcoming Programs
    • Past Programs 2022
    • Help I am not receiving email messages
  • Explore
    • Collections & Research
    • History at Home >
      • Videos
      • Interactive Witch Trial
      • Paper Dolls
      • Hidden Histories
      • Scavenger Hunts
      • Coloring Pages
      • Brain Teasers
      • Peg Doll Hunts
      • Jonathan Edwards Prayer Requests
    • Properties >
      • Parsons House
      • Damon House
      • Shepherd House
      • Shepherd Barn 2020
      • The Bridge Street School Sprouts
    • Educational Websites
    • Historic Highlights
    • COVID-19 Stories >
      • Vaccination Photos
      • Submit Your COVID Story
      • Children React
      • Family and Neighborhood Fun
      • It's a New World
      • Hope and Togetherness
      • Images
      • How Illness Feels
      • Brings Forth Memory
      • Blessings and the New Busy
      • Fear and Worry
  • Indigenous Native History
    • Native Histories in Nonotuck
    • Nonotuck Histories Essay by Margaret M. Bruchac
    • Recovering Nonotuck Histories Photo Essay
    • Profiles of Native People
    • Extended Biographies of Native People
    • Nonotuck to Northampton Maps
    • Native LIves Bibliography
  • History of Slavery
    • About the Slavery Research Project
    • Black Enslaved People
    • Free Black People
    • Native Enslaved People
    • Enslavers of People
    • Relationship Map
    • Timeline of Slavery in Northampton
  • DONATE
    • Make a Donation
    • WAYS TO GIVE
    • Join the Email List
    • MEMBERSHIP
    • IRA Giving
    • Stock Giving
    • Donate to the Collection
    • Volunteer