Event Archive: Past Programs 2021
Thursday, January 14, 2021 | 7 pm | Zoom lecture
Part 4: Five Hundred Years of Wildlife Changes in Northampton
A Zoom Presentation by co-director and naturalist Laurie Sanders
During the last 500 years, there have been dramatic changes in the abundance and variety of Northampton’s wildlife species. Some, like wolves, mountain lions, and passenger pigeons, are completely gone. Others, like black bears, beavers, and wild turkeys, have seen their populations rebound after decades or centuries of absence. And many other species—coyotes, cardinals, and gypsy moths, to name a few—have arrived and become year-round residents.
 
In this presentation, Laurie Sanders will highlight historical changes and trends that have led to the mix of animal species that we now encounter in Northampton, from its urbanized center to its wilder spaces.
Fee: Sliding Scale $0 - $20
Register
In partnership with
Kestrel Land Trust, Hilltown Land Trust, and Mass Audubon's Arcadia Wildlife Sanctuary
Event Archive: Past Programs 2020
Event Archive 2019
Wednesday, December 9, 2020 | 7 pm | Zoom lecture
Northampton's Poor Farm & the Barrett Street Marsh Conservation Area
A Zoom Presentation by co-director and naturalist Laurie Sanders
Just a ten-minute walk from downtown Northampton, the Barrett Street Marsh is one of Northampton's oldest conservation areas and one of its most accessible. Located adjacent to Barrett Street, the bike path, Super Stop & Shop and other King Street businesses, this 15-acre marsh is the last remnant of what was once a much larger wetland that extended across King Street and all the way to North Street. During the last 200 years it has been ditched, drained, filled, farmed and manipulated dozens of times. And yet, in spite of that long history of alteration, this rejuvenated wetland is a haven for wildlife and has played an important role in the City’s history.
Fee
Sliding Scale $5 - $15
Register
In partnership with Congregation B'Nai Israel's Abundance Farm & the Northampton Survival Center
Tuesday, November 17, 2020 | 7 pm | Zoom lecture
Burt's Pit, Peat Fever, Abolitionists and Avarice
A Zoom Presentation by co-director and naturalist Laurie Sanders
Every piece of land has a story to tell, and that's definitely the case when it comes to a 15-acre wetland in Florence that includes Northampton's only extant bog, Burt’s Pit. Not only is the site's geology and ecology interesting, but its human history connects topics ranging from 19th-century agricultural trends and attitudes about slavery and abolition to the impact of out-of-control development and wetland regulation in the 20th century. There aren't many places in America where 15 acres can connect so many different strands of history, but this is one of them.
Fee
Sliding Scale $5 - $15
Register
Wednesday, October 28, 2020 | 7 pm | Zoom lecture
Understanding Northampton's Landscape: A Sense of Place
A Zoom Presentation by co-director and naturalist Laurie Sanders
Why is Round Hill roundish?  When was part of Florence an island?  Where and why were many of the bricks that built Smith College made in Northampton?  Why is downtown Northampton "down" in elevation?

In this hour-long Zoom presentation, Laurie Sanders will answer these questions and more as she takes us on a tour of the City’s landscape history, providing a closer look at the geology and patterns that underlie and define Northampton's neighborhoods, natural areas and open spaces.
Fee
Sliding Scale $5 - $15
Register
Sunday, March 1, 2020 | 4:30 pm
Forever Seeing New Beauties: The Forgotten Impressionist Mary Rogers Williams
A Public Talk by Eve M. Kahn, author and former Antiques columnist for The New York Times
Picture
A Profile, c. 1895, oil on canvas, 21 x 16 in.
Shown at the New York Water Color Club and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1895. Private collection (photo: Ted Hendrickson)
Eve M. Kahn, independent scholar and the former Antiques columnist for The New York Times, will lecture on her new book, Forever Seeing New Beauties: The Forgotten Impressionist Mary Rogers Williams, 1857-1907 (Wesleyan University Press).

Mary Rogers Williams had a 20-year-long teaching career in the art department of Smith College.  A baker's daughter from Hartford, Connecticut, she biked and hiked from the Arctic Circle to Naples, exhibited from Paris to Indianapolis, chafed against art world rules that favored men and wrote thousands of pages about her travels and work, but sadly ended up almost totally obscure.  Kahn will explain her own detective work and the Northampton angles of Mary's lively letters and unpublished artworks, which capture pensive gowned women, Norwegian slopes reflected in icy waters, saw-tooth rooflines on French chateaus, incense hazes in Italian chapels, and Connecticut River Valley pastures at sunset.

Copies of Kahn's book Forever Seeing New Beauties will be available for sale (hardcover, $35).
Sponsored by Seth Mias Catering
Saturday, January 11, 2020 | 7 pm
Making Books on Main Street:
Publishers, Printers, Bookbinders and Booksellers in Northampton
A Presentation by Barbara B. Blumenthal
Picture
The Hampshire Bookshop operated in Northampton from 1916 to 1971 on Main Street near Crafts Avenue.
Image Courtesy of Smith College Special Collections
Historic Northampton trustee Barbara B. Blumenthal will tell the story of publishers, printers and binders in Northampton from the 18th century to the present.  She will concentrate on 18th-19th century bookseller Simeon Butler and his successors; The Hampshire Bookshop (in Northampton 1916-1971); and the ongoing legacy of book arts in the Connecticut River Valley.
Sponsored by Goggins Real Estate
Location
The Northampton Community Arts Trust Building 
33 Hawley Street, Northampton, Massachusetts

Admission
$5 members and donors | $10 all others
Tuesday, February 11, 2020 | 4 to 5:30 pm
Exploring Northampton Series:
Mystery Amble & Sunset Exploration
Join Laurie Sanders, naturalist and co-director of Historic Northampton, on a walk to explore of one of her
favorite natural areas.
Join Laurie Sanders, naturalist and co-director of Historic Northampton, on a walk to explore of one of her favorite natural areas.  This mystery area has a direct and important tie-in to Northampton’s history.  Be prepared for uneven terrain, slippery conditions, off-trail exploring and (of course!) cold weather.

Sound like the kind of thing you’re interested in?  Then please sign up. Limited to 15.
Sponsored by Northeast Solar
Thursday, February 13, 2020 | 5 to 6 pm
Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the "Making it on Main Street" Exhibit
with Elizabeth M. Sharpe, Exhibit Curator and Co-director of Historic Northampton
Picture
Bodice of a dress made by Mabelle Forrister Stearns
for her 1892 wedding to Edward John Gare.
What was left on the "cutting room floor?"  Join Elizabeth Sharpe, exhibit curator and co-director, for an inside look  at the development of Making it on Main Street. Learn about fascinating stories that did not make it into the exhibit, and discover hidden details of stories that did. Hear the back story about the challenge of selecting among hundreds of amazing artifacts and see some of those not included in the exhibit.  Have fun with the hands-on activities developed especially for the exhibit. Seating is available during the tour.
Sponsored by Northampton Rental Center
Friday, February 21, 2020 | 11 am to 12 noon
Behind-the-Scenes Tour of the "Making it on Main Street" Exhibit
with Elizabeth M. Sharpe, Exhibit Curator and Co-director of Historic Northampton
Picture
Bodice of a dress made by Mabelle Forrister Stearns
for her 1892 wedding to Edward John Gare.
What was left on the "cutting room floor?"  Join Elizabeth Sharpe, curator and co-director, for an inside look at the development of Making it on Main Street.  Learn about fascinating stories that did not make it into the exhibit, and discover hidden details of stories that did. Hear the back story about the challenge of selecting among hundreds of amazing artifacts and see some of those not included in the exhibit.  Have fun with the hands-on activities developed especially for the exhibit. Seating is available during the tour.
Sponsored by Northampton Rental Center
Saturday, February 22, 2020 | 7 pm
Homegrown Harmony: Early American Music on Main Street
A Presentation by Tim Eriksen, Musician, Ethnomusicologist and Music Instructor
Picture
The Bridge Street Northampton print shop of Daniel and Andrew Wright was one of only three in New England to have moveable music type, a technology that made Northampton
a center for music publishing.
Northampton was home to some of the country’s earliest choral singing and to one of the most prolific music publishers in early New England. In fact, by the 1790s, the town had become a destination for local and regional composers and tunebook compilers. During the mid-nineteenth century, local senior citizens revived this sacred music of their youth in public performances known as “Old Folks' Concerts." Today, thanks to musician, ethnomusicologist and instructor Tim Eriksen, some of these remarkable songs by local composers are still sung in the “shape-note” tradition.

During his presentation, Eriksen will discuss early American music in Northampton and the enduring appeal of this local traditional music. And yes, singing will be included.
Sponsored by Messrs. Czelusniak et Dugal, Inc.
Organ Builders: Restoration, Rebuilding & Maintenance