Welcome to Historic Northampton
Historic Northampton is temporarily closed in May & June 2025 to install a new exhibition.
Stay tuned for the new exhibit, Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654 to 1783.
Stay tuned for the new exhibit, Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654 to 1783.
For Upcoming Events and Programs, see the Events Calendar.
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Upcoming Events |
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See Events Calendar
Northampton Stories: From the Operas of Sawyer & Erdman
At the Shepherd Barn at Historic Northampton, 66 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA
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Friday, June 6, 2025
7 pm |
Saturday, June 7, 2025
2 pm |
Saturday, June 7, 2025
7 pm |
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Eric Sawyer and Harley Erdman's operas The Garden of Martyrs (2013) and The Scarlet Professor (2017) dramatize searing events from Northampton's history: the 1806 execution of two Irish immigrants for a murder they likely didn't commit, and the 1960 arrest of a gay Smith College professor for possessing "indecent" materials.
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Join us for three special concerts featuring musical highlights from both of these works, heard for the first time since the operas' premieres, and sung by a group of extraordinary vocalists--Katherine Saik DeLugan, William Hite, Ann Moss, Keith Phares, and Alan Schneider.
The music is vivid, lush, and soaring--and the issues are more relevant now than ever. Learn More |
Pre-registration is required. | Each performance is limited to 45.
Sliding Scale Admission:
$25: Stretch Ticket | $20: Regular Ticket
$15: Students & Limited Income | $10: MCC Card to Culture
$25: Stretch Ticket | $20: Regular Ticket
$15: Students & Limited Income | $10: MCC Card to Culture
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Spring
Walking Tours |
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Immigration to Northampton:
A Walking Tour on Downtown Northampton Learn More |
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Exploring Northampton: A Visit to the Fire Zone
Learn More |
William Fenno Pratt’s Downtown Northampton
Learn More |
Acknowledging Indigenous history
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
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
See Facebook and Instagram
for new ways to stay connected to Historic Northampton.
for new ways to stay connected to Historic Northampton.