Making it on Main Street: An Exhibit at Historic Northampton
Open Wednesday - Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm
Open Wednesday - Sunday, 12 noon to 5 pm
Visitors are encouraged to wear a mask. Masks are recommended, but optional.
Face masks in both adult and children's sizes are available at the front entrance.
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.
June 2023 Upcoming Events at Historic Northampton
June 2023 Upcoming Events at Historic Northampton
See Facebook, Instagram & Twitter
for new ways to stay connected to Historic Northampton.
for new ways to stay connected to Historic Northampton.
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.
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Upcoming Events
Paradise East Open Mic Night
Arts Night Out | Friday, June 9, 2023 | 6 - 8 pm | Free
On the Grounds of Historic Northampton
Arts Night Out | Friday, June 9, 2023 | 6 - 8 pm | Free
On the Grounds of Historic Northampton
Christopher Sparks reads a poem at the
Paradise East Open Mic Night in 2022 |
Please join us for the Kick-Off of the 2023 Season of Paradise East Open Mic Night.
Take advantage of Arts Night Out and then come to the grounds of Historic Northampton to enjoy a relaxing evening of performances by your friends and Valley neighbors. Music, poetry, comedy, dance ... name your talent and please share it! Bring a chair, blanket and picnic to Historic Northampton's grounds. Each performance will be about 5 minutes long. Children and teens encouraged; all welcome. Performers take note: Microphones, full sound system, and sound engineer on-site.
Open Mic Night is held in partnership with
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Revolution and Rebellion: It Happened Here
A Walking Tour with Nick DeLuca, Interpretive Program Manager, Historic Northampton
A Walking Tour with Nick DeLuca, Interpretive Program Manager, Historic Northampton
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Saturday, June 17, 2023
9 - 10:30 am 
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In the 1770s and 1780s, the American Revolution and the events that followed fractured Northampton and its families. In this walk through downtown, we will learn about local revolutionaries — among them Joseph Hawley, Seth Pomeroy, and Joseph Maminash, Jr. (Mohegan/Podunk/Nonotuck) — and Tory loyalists, such as Israel Williams and Timothy Dwight.
Historic Northampton Interpretive Program Manager Nick Deluca will discuss how the revolution transformed downtown and helped create the conditions that led to Shays Rebellion, an uprising of western Massachusetts farmers who mobbed the Northampton court in 1786 to stop farm foreclosures. Their actions, and others, led to the creation of the United States Constitution.
Historic Northampton Interpretive Program Manager Nick Deluca will discuss how the revolution transformed downtown and helped create the conditions that led to Shays Rebellion, an uprising of western Massachusetts farmers who mobbed the Northampton court in 1786 to stop farm foreclosures. Their actions, and others, led to the creation of the United States Constitution.
Pre-registration is required. Limited to 18 participants.
Sliding scale admission: $10 to $25 per person.
Learn More
Sliding scale admission: $10 to $25 per person.
Learn More
Zikina: A Concert at Historic Northampton
Saturday, July 1, 2023 | 6:30 to 8 pm
A Free Concert on the Grounds of Historic Northampton
A Free Concert on the Grounds of Historic Northampton
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Back by popular demand and playing songs from their new album, Awaken!
Composed of musicians from across continents and cultures, Zikina creates new and beautiful music that will get you dancing, clapping, and connecting with the people around you. The group is led by Uganda native Gideon Ampeire, who will draw you in with a variety of traditional East African instruments, including enanga (zither), adungu (harp), and kalimba (thumb piano) - all of which he builds himself. Joining Ampeire is Northampton’s Mike Cardozo on guitar, Roston Kirk on bass and Kurt Eisele-Dyrli on drums. Together, the four weave a sonic landscape that flows seamlessly from intense grooves to joyous dance beats with dreamy textures. Gideon's vocals cut powerfully through the fabric or float lightly above. It all adds up to something completely unique, yet immediately accessible. Learn More |
Reading Frederick Douglass Together
A Public Reading of Frederick Douglass's Fourth of July Address
A Public Reading of Frederick Douglass's Fourth of July Address
Sunday, July 2, 2023 at 11:30 am
On the Grounds of Historic Northampton
UMass Amherst Assistant Professor Sarah Patterson reads a passage from Frederick Douglass's speech
at Reading Frederick Douglass Together 2022. |
Reading Frederick Douglass Together brings people together to read aloud Frederick Douglass’s speech, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
The event will take place on Sunday, July 2, 2023 at 11:30 am outdoors on the grounds of Historic Northampton. Copies of Douglass’ speech will be distributed to all in attendance. The public can take turns reading passages from it in succession. People may simply attend or attend and read. The event is free and open to the public. The speech was first delivered in 1852, in Corinthian Hall, Rochester, New York to the Ladies’ Anti-Slavery Society. The themes addressed in the speech still resonate with Americans more than 150 years after they were written. Now more than ever, the speech forces us to reckon with the legacy of slavery and the promises of democracy. Reading Frederick Douglass Together is funded by Mass Humanities and co-sponsored by State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa. Rain date: Monday, July 3, 2023 at 11:30 am |
200 chairs will be available. Feel free to bring your own chair.
During the reading, the grounds are closed to dog walking. Certified service dogs only, please.
During the reading, the grounds are closed to dog walking. Certified service dogs only, please.
Online resources to explore Northampton history at home
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