Welcome to Historic Northampton
CURRENT EXHIBITION
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton,
1654 to 1783
1654 to 1783
For at least 129 years, slavery was part of the fabric of everyday life in Northampton. At least 50 enslaved individuals lived here from the town’s English settlement in 1654 until 1783 when slavery was abolished in Massachusetts.
This exhibit features 34 life-sized silhouettes of men, women, and children who were enslaved. On each silhouette are details about individual lives based upon information gleaned from historic documents. Their histories reveal aspects of enslavement and examples of freedom, and resistance to oppression.
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Exhibit Information
Dates
Open through December 11, 2026
Hours
Wednesday - Sunday
11 am to 4 pm Where
Historic Northampton Main Gallery
46 Bridge Street Northampton, MA 01060 Admission
By Donation |
August Gallery Talks: Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654-1783
Select Thursdays and Saturdays in August | No pre-registration necessary
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During the month of August, museum educator Emma Bresnan will offer four gallery talks about our current exhibit, Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654 to 1783.
Each 45-minute talk will reveal more about the lives of enslaved individuals, their choices about family and freedom, the legal arrangements that kept slavery in place, and how enslaved labor fueled the Northampton and regional economy. Admission is by pay-what-you-wish donation. No pre-registration necessary. Dates: Thursday, August 13, 5:00 pm Thursday, August 20, 5:00 pm Saturday, August 22, 3:00 pm Saturday, August 29, 3:00 pm |
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SOLD OUT
Exploring Northampton Series
From Elwell Island to the Boundary Waters (of Hatfield)
Paradise City Dragon Boat with Laurie Sanders, Co-director of Historic Northampton and Naturalist
Exploring Northampton Series
From Elwell Island to the Boundary Waters (of Hatfield)
Paradise City Dragon Boat with Laurie Sanders, Co-director of Historic Northampton and Naturalist
Saturday, August 22, 2026 | 9 to 11 am
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Take in the beauty of the Connecticut River in a dragon boat and learn about the rich natural and cultural history in the stretch between Elwell Island and the boundary of Hatfield. The outing will begin with a paddling lesson by members of the Paradise City Dragon Boat team, followed by a paddle with commentary by co-director and naturalist Laurie Sanders about the environmental and human history of this part of the Connecticut River.
This is an active outing. Participants are expected to be fit enough to paddle and to handle themselves in the boat. For ages 18+. Sliding scale: $25–50. Limited to 20 participants. Registration required. Learn More & Register |
Registration now open.
The Hull/Hawley Plays: The Widow's Land & Hold These Truths
September 17 - October 4, 2026
Staged in the Shepherd Barn, Historic Northampton
The Hull/Hawley Plays - The Widow's Land and Hold These Truths - will be staged in the restored historic 1805 Shepherd Barn September 17th - October 4th.
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To mark the nation's 250th anniversary, Historic Northampton presents two new plays. These one-act dramas take us into the lives of two Northampton residents in the years just before the American Revolution.
The Widow’s Land by Betel Arnold In 1765, Bathsheba Hull, a Black woman living with her children in her home on an island in the Mill River, receives an eviction notice from Town officials. The Widow's Land follows her fight for her home, her position as a free woman in colonial Northampton, and her children’s future. Hold These Truths by Harley Erdman In May 1774, Massachusetts is on the cusp of rebellion and ready to call for the first Continental Congress to be held in Philadelphia. Joseph Hawley, a Northampton lawyer and prominent Patriot, is nominated to represent Massachusetts. Hold These Truths explores Hawley’s life, his political ideals, and his struggles with depression as he decides whether to accept the nomination. Learn More & Register |
Produced by Plays in Place
Content Advisory: The plays are recommended for adult audiences.
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Acknowledging Indigenous History
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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. |
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