COVID-19 Update:
Historic Northampton is temporarily closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Position Announcement: Historic Northampton seeks a part-time Collections Assistant
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Upcoming Programs
Thursday, April 22, 2021 |  7 pm  |  On Zoom
Rediscovering Northampton: Local History Viewed Through an Ecological Lens
Rediscovering Northampton: A Natural History Q & A Free-for-All
Question and Answer session about local places with co-director and naturalist Laurie Sanders
Elwell Island on the Connecticut River
This island formed only after the first bridge was
built across the Connecticut River in 1808.
Ever wonder why the Mineral Hills are called the Mineral Hills? Or, what part of Northampton was known as Lonetown? Or …. how the morning chorus of bird song differs from what it was a century ago?

If you have questions about the interrelationship between Northampton’s human history and the natural world, join us for an hour of questions with naturalist and co-director Laurie Sanders.
Admission Fee: Sliding Scale $0 - $20
Sponsored by Greenfield Savings Bank
Tuesday, April 27, 2021 | 7 pm | On Zoom
Connecticut River Valley Flood of 1936
A Zoom Presentation by Joshua Shanley, author and firefighter-paramedic
View of Bridge Street, Northampton near the intersection with Market Street during the flood of 1936.  In the distance is Main Street.
 Joshua Shanley will speak on his new book, Connecticut River Valley Flood of 1936 (History Press). 
Early in the spring of 1936, nearly two feet of rain over a two-week period created havoc on a massive scale, killing more than one hundred people and leaving tens of thousands homeless, unemployed and without power for weeks. The flood helped launch FDR’s Flood Control Act of 1936. Dams, reservoirs and dikes were constructed to control future flooding. In Northampton, a system of flood walls, levies, pumps and stop logs was built to protect downtown Northampton from another major flood.

​Admission Fee: Sliding Scale $0 - $20

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Sponsored by Whalen Insurance
The League of Women Voters of the Northampton Area presents
"She Shapes History": American Women & the Right to Vote
An Outdoor Exhibit in Florence Center opening April 3, 2021
Grand Opening: Saturday, April 10, 2021 at 10 AM
All are welcome to attend a short outdoor opening gathering outside Florence Civic Center. 
Commemorate the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution through which women won the right to vote with storefront window exhibits in Florence Center.  The visiting exhibit “She Shapes History” opens Saturday, April 3, 2021 in seven storefronts along Main and Maple streets in Florence.

The exhibit is presented by The League of Women Voters of the Northampton Area in collaboration with the Florence Civic and Business Association, JFK Middle School, the David Ruggles Center and other businesses and organizations.

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History At Home

Historic Northampton has
fun & educational activities
online for the whole family.
Click here for more!
 Picture
Restoring the Shepherd Barn
Funded by the Northampton Community Preservation Act and Private Donors
The Local Experience of COVID-19
Reflections, artwork, music & photographs submitted by area residents ages 5 to 93
Online resources to explore Northampton history at home

Online Collections

Search the online collections catalog for historic photographs and artifacts

lOCAL History Websites

View Northampton history websites
with primary source documents

mAPS & ATLASES

Find the street or house where you
live on a 19th century atlas
Historic Northampton mourns the deaths of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and we condemn the long history of violence and discrimination that led to their murders.  
 
As a history museum, our organization is committed to telling the whole story of Northampton's past and to confronting how racism, prejudice and privilege have shaped that story.  We take seriously our responsibility to uncover the lives of people who were denied basic human rights, marginalized during their lifetimes, and erased from the historical record.  Lessons from these lives show us how racism has been woven into the fabric of our history and culture, where it lies today. Historic Northampton is committed to speaking the truth about discrimination and power and working for positive change, in memory of George Floyd and the countless black Americans whose tragic deaths preceded his.