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Past Programs 2025Click here for upcoming programs
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Sophia Smith — Hatfield, Northampton, and the Founding of Smith College
A Presentation by Laurie Sanders, co-director of Historic Northampton
First Congregational Church, 41 Main Street, Hatfield, MA
Co-sponsored by the Hatfield Historical Society, the Hatfield Public Library, and Smith College
Co-sponsored by the Hatfield Historical Society, the Hatfield Public Library, and Smith College
Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 6 pm
Sophia Smith, 1858
Smith College Special Collections |
In April 1870, Sophia Smith, a lifelong resident of Hatfield, executed her will, ensuring that her future namesake college would be located in Northampton–not in Hatfield as she had initially envisioned. To mark the 150 year anniversary of this event, on Wednesday, April 16, the Hatfield Historical Society and Historic Northampton are collaborating:
Reserve your place. Walk-ins welcome. Sliding scale: $5-20. All contributions jointly benefit the Hatfield Historical Society and Historic Northampton. |
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton and in the Colonial North Lecture Series: Lecture 4
Living and Laboring in the Business of Slavery in Rhode Island
Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Moderated by Olivia Haynes, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Dr. Christy Clark-Pujara will speak via Zoom on April 10, 2025. Clark-Pujara is professor of history in the Department of African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and author of Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island (NYU Press, 2016).
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The Business of slavery—specifically the buying and selling of people, food, and goods—shaped the experience of slavery, the process of emancipation, and the realities of Black freedom in Rhode Island from the colonial period through the American Civil War. In the colonial period, Rhode Islanders dominated the American trade in African slaves and provided the slave-labor-dependent West Indies with basic necessities. In the post-colonial period, as slavery was legally dismantled, Rhode Islanders became the leading producers of slave clothing. Black people resisted their bondage, fought for their freedom, and strove to build a community in a racially hostile colony and state; their assertions of humanity shaped Rhode Island society, politics, and economy. The erasure of this history has allowed for a dangerous myth—that the North has no history of racism to overcome and that white northerners had no substantive investments in race-based slavery.
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In Partnership with the Northampton Reparations Study Commission
A Light Under the Dome: A Staged, Dramatic Reading
A play by Patrick Gabridge, Producing Artistic Director, Plays in Place
A play by Patrick Gabridge, Producing Artistic Director, Plays in Place
Wednesday, April 2, 2025 or Thursday, April 3, 2025 | 6:30 pm
Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, 220 Main Street, Northampton, MA
Historic Northampton, in collaboration with Plays In Place and in partnership with the Racial Justice Team of the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, proudly presents two staged, dramatic readings of A Light Under the Dome.
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On February 21, 1838, exiled Southerner Angelina Grimke became the first American woman to address a legislative body when she delivered a speech about abolition and the full citizenship of American women at the Massachusetts State House.
A Light Under the Dome brings us to this moment in history, showcasing Grimke and taking us inside the minds and hearts of four abolitionist and suffragist leaders--Maria Weston Chapman, Susan Paul, Julia Williams, and Lydia Maria Child, who in 1838 was living in Northampton. As Grimke readies herself for this moment, her four friends help support and guide her through this pressure-packed moment. A few years later, Grimke would give a similar speech here in Northampton. Each hour-long performance will be followed by a post-show discussion with the playwright and a historian. |
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton and in the Colonial North Lecture Series: Lecture 3
An Introduction to Transatlantic Slavery and Canadian Slavery
Dr. Charmaine A. Nelson, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 7 pm
On Zoom | Register for the Zoom link
Dr. Charmaine A. Nelson, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Wednesday, March 19, 2025 at 7 pm
On Zoom | Register for the Zoom link
THE PRINTER (William Brown),
"RANAWAY from the Printing-office," Quebec Gazette, 27 November 1777, no. 639, p. 3 |
If you're unfamiliar with slavery in Canada, you’re not alone. Most people have never had the opportunity to learn about the 200-year history of Canadian participation in Transatlantic Slavery under the British and the French. This lack of knowledge is principally because scholarship on Canadian Slavery falls far short of the research that has been produced about the U.S. South, the Caribbean, and northern South America.
This talk explores various dimensions of Canadian Slavery within the broader context of transatlantic histories with attention to how scholars conduct research on unfree people using archival and cultural sources. It also connects the dots between histories of slavery and ongoing anti-Black racism. |
In Partnership with the Northampton Reparations Study Commission
Road Trip!
A Visit to The New York Historical museum, with a Special Tour of the exhibition Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore, featuring clothing from the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection
Date: Saturday, March 15, 2025
7:30 AM Departure from Northampton’s Sheldon Field (26 Old Ferry Road, Northampton, MA)
5:30 PM Depart from New York City, arriving in Northampton by 9:00 PM
7:30 AM Departure from Northampton’s Sheldon Field (26 Old Ferry Road, Northampton, MA)
5:30 PM Depart from New York City, arriving in Northampton by 9:00 PM
Price: $100 per person. Pre-registration is required.
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Join Historic Northampton co-directors and Kiki Smith, Smith College professor of theatre, clothing historian, and author, on a special visit to the exhibition Kiki Smith conceived and curated: Real Clothes, Real Lives: 200 Years of What Women Wore at The New York Historical museum.
Featuring garments from the Smith College Historic Clothing Collection, the exhibit reveals the history, economics, and stories behind the everyday fashion worn by women over the last two centuries. Since its opening last September, reviewers have spotlighted Real Clothes, Real Lives as one of the most important new exhibits on display. It will close in June 2025. Our group will be treated to private, docent-led tours of the exhibit. There will be time to view other exhibitions at The New York Historical museum and explore New York City on your own. |
Blood on the Snow: A Staged Reading
A play by Patrick Gabridge, Producing Artistic Director, Plays in Place
A play by Patrick Gabridge, Producing Artistic Director, Plays in Place
Wednesday, March 5, 2025 or Thursday, March 6, 2025 | 6:30 pm
Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, 220 Main Street, Northampton, MA
Historic Northampton, in collaboration with Plays In Place and in partnership with the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence, proudly
presents two staged readings of Blood on the Snow. |
On March 5, 1770, British soldiers in Boston killed four unarmed civilians and wounded eight more in what is known today as the Boston Massacre. This play focuses on the events that took place the day after--March 6, 1770—when the leaders of Boston gathered in the Council Chamber of what is now the Old State House and made decisions that placed Massachusetts on the road to revolution. These live readings will be the first time this play has been performed outside of Boston.
The live performance will be directed by Brianna Sloane and feature local professional actors, many of whom performed in Pulling at the Roots at Historic Northampton in 2023 and 2024. The actors include: Matt Haas, Bill Stewart, Gabriel Levey, Andrew Roberts, Marcus Neverson, Lindel Hart, Scott Braidman, Luke Haskell, Rich Vaden, and Patrick Toole. Each hour-long performance will be followed by a discussion with the playwright and a historian. |
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton and in the Colonial North Lecture Series: Lecture 2
Of Bondage and Isolation: Meditations on the Lives of Black Women
Enslaved in the Pioneer Valley
Enslaved in the Pioneer Valley
Dr. Jennifer DeClue, Smith College
Moderated by Gina Nortonsmith, Archivist, Northeastern University and Historic Northampton Board Member
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Tuesday, February 18, 2025 | 7 pm
On Zoom The names of Black women enslaved by the powerful men remembered in history as “River Gods” can be found in their diaries, account books, wills, probate inventories, and church records. These records do the good work of offering confirmation that John Stoddard owned a woman called Elizabeth; that Jonathan Edwards owned Leah and Rose and Venus; that the Dwight family owned Sylvia Church; and that the Phelps family owned Peg and Rose and Phillis and Rose's daughter Phillis.
Smith College professor Jennifer DeClue will discuss how these archival records make incontrovertible the fact of slavery’s violent history in the valley, but leave many questions unanswered. Dr. DeClue will work to paint a clearer picture of what life might have been like for Black women enslaved here, in the long years before abolition would unfold in Massachusetts. |
Graphic Silhouette of Hannah, her baby, and Mingo (Design Division, 2025)
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Slavery and Freedom in Northampton and in the Colonial North: Lecture 1
Slavery & Freedom in Northampton
A Zoom Presentation with Dr. Ousmane Power-Greene, Dylan Gaffney & Dr. Elizabeth M. Sharpe
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Thursday, January 16, 2025 | 7 pm
On Zoom For the last five years researchers at Historic Northampton and Forbes Library have been uncovering stories of slavery and freedom in Northampton. These investigations have revealed that perhaps as many as fifty enslaved people lived in Northampton between 1654, when Northampton was settled by the English, until 1783, when slavery was abolished in Massachusetts.
As elsewhere in the North, slavery in Northampton was inextricably linked to local commerce, local and regional family networks, and the global economy. Among the narratives of Northampton’s enslaved people—who were Indigenous, African, and African American—are stories of a few individuals who were able to take control over their lives, gain freedom, start families, manage careers, and acquire property.
Presenters Dylan Gaffney, Elizabeth Sharpe, and Ousmane Power-Greene will discuss what we presently know about enslaved lives in Northampton and conclude with questions that remain unanswered and avenues for future research. |
Graphic Silhouette of Hannah, her baby, and Mingo (Design Division, 2025)
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About the Graphic Silhouette of Hannah, her baby, and Mingo
In 1692, Hannah was unmarried and enslaved in Northampton. She bore a child, and in court she named Mingo as the father. The court called their act a “heinous crime against the light of nature” and sentenced both Hannah and Mingo to 15 lashes. Their baby was born into slavery. The court decided that Samuel Parsons (Mingo’s enslaver) and Timothy Baker (Hannah’s enslaver) would be “joint + equal in charge of the child” until the child was nine years old. At age nine, either Parsons or Baker could buy out the other for the value of the child or they could arrange to jointly own him. In this case, the child’s wages if hired out, or the child’s value if sold, would be “divided betwixt them.”