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In Partnership with the Sexual Minorities Archive of Holyoke
Stories of Our LGBTQ Ancestors:
​Dr. Amber Starbuck and Mabel Stevens and the Big House

Date:
​Location:
​
Details:
Friday, May 3, 2019 at 7 pm
Flex Space, 33 Hawley Street, Northampton
​in the Arts Trust Building in Northampton
Limited Seating.  To reserve your place, please register.
REGISTER
Suggested donation at the door: $10 adults; $5 students & elders. No one will be turned away for lack of funds.  All money to benefit the Sexual Minorities Archives Educational Foundation. ​​

As part of its continuing original research series on pre-Stonewall era LGBTQ individuals who lived in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, the Sexual Minorities Archives of Holyoke will present a new history talk about Dr. Amber Starbuck and Mabel Stevens of Middlefield. The two women were an out lesbian couple who ran a wellness resort called the Big House in Middlefield from the 1920s to the 1960s.
 
The story of Starbuck and Stevens is a compelling narrative of pre-Stonewall queer lives and queer community, of lesbians openly living in rural Massachusetts, and working women who were trailblazers as prominent community leaders in Springfield as well as Middlefield, MA. This talk is especially for those interested in LGBTQI+ history, women's and feminist history, early lesbian history in the Pioneer Valley, history of women's participation in community organizations (both women were involved in the Springfield YWCA), women's labor history in western Massachusetts, rural physicians and healthcare, gender non-conformity, and more.

The talk draws on a range of primary sources discovered and organized by the SMA -- including local news clippings, print ads and posters, Big House artifacts, Census and Ancestry.com records, and, most notably, photographs from a personal album compiled by Starbuck and Stevens, and images from the Big House photographed recently by the SMA. These sources provide the visuals for the talk.

Picture
Photograph of Dr. Amber Starbuck on horseback
Sexual Minorities Archives
Picture
A group shot kept by Dr. Starbuck in a personal photo album
shows gay and lesbian couples holding hands outside
the Big House, Middlefield, MA, circa 1930.

Stories of Our LGBTQ Ancestors: Dr. Amber Starbuck and Mabel Stevens teaches the community about local movers and shakers who were instrumental in forming businesses and organizations well before the start of the modern LGBTQ Movement but whose histories have been hidden – until now. 

The history talk is a 90-minute PowerPoint presentation full of found images and historical facts about the two women, their work and love relationship, followed by a Question and Answer session.

For those who want to learn more about Starbuck and Stevens, the SMA will offer at the talk a PDF of an accompanying 80-page, annotated SMA original research paper that includes photos not shown in the presentation, for an additional donation of $10.

The SMA’s team of researchers, led by Curator of the SMA, Ben Power, who is the Executive Director of the Sexual Minorities Educational Foundation, spent five years conducting in-depth research and compiled it into this new history talk.  Everyone is welcome to attend. 
HISTORIC
​NORTHAMPTON
46 Bridge Street
Northampton
​Massachusetts 01060
[email protected]
​413-584-6011
Museum Hours

Historic Northampton is temporarily closed in May and June 2025. Stay tuned for the next exhibit:
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654 to 1783.


For upcoming events and programs, see the  Events Calendar.
​

Hours and Directions
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  • About
    • About Historic Northampton
    • Hours and Directions
    • Volunteer
    • Board-Staff
    • Legal/Financial
  • Programs
    • Upcoming Programs
    • Past Events at Historic Northampton >
      • Past Programs 2025
      • Past Programs 2024
      • Mill River Flood 150 Commemoration >
        • Mill River Flood 150 Commemoration Events
        • Mill River Flood Introduction
        • Mill River Flood Lives Lost
        • Mill River Flood Commemoration Markers >
          • \\\\Williamsburg Mill River Flood Markers
          • Skinnerville Mill River Flood Markers
          • Haydenville Mill River Flood Markers
          • Leeds Mill River Markers
          • Florence Mill River Markers
          • Northampton Mill River Markers
        • Mill River Flood Who Was Responsible
        • Mill River Flood Guided Walks to the Dam Ruins
        • Mill River Flood Memorial Tree Project
      • Past Programs 2023
      • Past Programs 2022
      • Past Programs 2021
      • Past Programs 2020
      • Past Programs 2019
    • MCC Card to Culture at Historic Northampton
    • Help I am not receiving email announcements
  • 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 >
      • Relationship Map Family Groups
      • Relationship Map Enslavement
      • Relationship Map Indenture
      • Relationship Map Legal
      • Relationship Map Commerce
      • Relationship Map Foster or Guardian
      • Relationship Map Social Connections
    • Timeline of Slavery in Northampton
  • DONATE
    • Donate to the Spring Appeal
    • Donate to the exhibit Slavery and Freedom in Northampton
    • WAYS TO GIVE >
      • Monthly Donation
      • IRA Giving
      • Stock Giving
    • Join the Email List
    • Donate to the Collection