Past Programs 2026
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Click here for upcoming programs
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Free Concert: Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts
Thursday, July 23, 2026 | 5:30-7:30 | Grounds of Historic Northampton
46 Bridge Street, Northampton
Enjoy a summer concert this Thursday by the Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts as they play from their Summer 2026 Tune Book.
Come tap your toes, dance on the lawn, and take in joyful music in the company of friends on a beautiful summer evening.
Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Bring a picnic.
All welcome. Service dogs only.
Free. Donations welcome.
Thursday, July 23, 2026 | 5:30-7:30 | Grounds of Historic Northampton
46 Bridge Street, Northampton
Enjoy a summer concert this Thursday by the Fiddle Orchestra of Western Massachusetts as they play from their Summer 2026 Tune Book.
Come tap your toes, dance on the lawn, and take in joyful music in the company of friends on a beautiful summer evening.
Bring a lawn chair or blanket. Bring a picnic.
All welcome. Service dogs only.
Free. Donations welcome.
Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me
A Conversation With Author Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor
Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 6:30 pm
At The Northampton Center for the Arts @ 33 Hawley, Flex Space
A Conversation With Author Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor
Wednesday, July 15, 2026 at 6:30 pm
At The Northampton Center for the Arts @ 33 Hawley, Flex Space
Cover of Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me by Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, published by 37 Ink, an imprint of Simon and Schuster
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Elizabeth Stordeur Pryor, daughter of iconic comedian Richard Pryor and a professor at Smith College, will speak about her new book, Something We Said: Richard Pryor, a Notorious Word, and Me.
Recently chosen as one of the New York Times’ “Nonfiction Everyone Will Be Reading This Summer”, Pryor’s book is partly a memoir about growing up the Black Jewish daughter of Richard Pryor, but also an exploration of the historical and contemporary use of the N-word. Pryor is considered one of the leading scholars about the history of the N-word, one of the most perplexing words in the American lexicon and a word her father helped put on the pop culture map. The conversation will be moderated by I’Maya Gibbs, a PhD candidate in the W.E.B. Dubois Department of Afro-American Studies at UMass Amherst. A Q&A and book signing will follow. |
Preregistration is required | Sliding Scale Admission: $10-35
In Partnership with State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa, Mass Humanities, and Community Partners
Reading Frederick Douglass Together 2026
A Public Reading of Frederick Douglass's 1852 Fourth of July Address
Reading Frederick Douglass Together 2026
A Public Reading of Frederick Douglass's 1852 Fourth of July Address
Sunday, July 5, 2026 at 11 am
Raindate: Sunday, July 12, 2026 at 11 am
On the Grounds of Historic Northampton
46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA
With a welcome by Representative Lindsay Sabadosa and opening remarks from Dr. Sarah Stefana Smith of Mount Holyoke College
Reading Frederick Douglass Together
Reading Frederick Douglass Together brings people together to read aloud Frederick Douglass’s speech, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
Come to Listen or Come to Read
Come to listen or come to read a passage. Copies of Douglass’s speech will be distributed to all in attendance. The public can take turns reading passages from it in succession.
Free and Open to the Public
200 chairs will be available. Feel free to bring your own chair. During the reading, the grounds are closed to dog walking. Service dogs only, please.
State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa
The Northampton event is organized in collaboration with State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa.
Learn More
Raindate: Sunday, July 12, 2026 at 11 am
On the Grounds of Historic Northampton
46 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA
With a welcome by Representative Lindsay Sabadosa and opening remarks from Dr. Sarah Stefana Smith of Mount Holyoke College
Reading Frederick Douglass Together
Reading Frederick Douglass Together brings people together to read aloud Frederick Douglass’s speech, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?
Come to Listen or Come to Read
Come to listen or come to read a passage. Copies of Douglass’s speech will be distributed to all in attendance. The public can take turns reading passages from it in succession.
Free and Open to the Public
200 chairs will be available. Feel free to bring your own chair. During the reading, the grounds are closed to dog walking. Service dogs only, please.
State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa
The Northampton event is organized in collaboration with State Representative Lindsay Sabadosa.
Learn More
Reading Frederick Douglass Together is a statewide initiative coordinated by Mass Humanities.
Now in its 17th year, the program will take place in communities across Massachusetts.
Now in its 17th year, the program will take place in communities across Massachusetts.
Deep River Ramblers
Friday, July 3, 2026 from 6 to 8 pm
Free. All welcome. Made possible with funding provided through Resilient Valley.
On the Grounds of Historic Northampton
46-66 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Friday, July 3, 2026 from 6 to 8 pm
Free. All welcome. Made possible with funding provided through Resilient Valley.
On the Grounds of Historic Northampton
46-66 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060
The Deep River Ramblers — Jim Henry, Paul Kochanski, and Chris Brashear — will perform on the grounds of Historic Northampton on July 3rd at 6 pm.
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Kick off your holiday weekend with a concert celebrating contemporary Americana and roots and in the company of some of the Valley's most talented musicians.
Jim Henry, Paul Kochanski, and Chris Brashear originally came together seven years ago to perform a one-time Doc Watson Tribute show. The collaboration felt so good and natural, they created the Deep River Ramblers and have been playing together ever since. With a mix of fiddle, guitars, mandolin, dobro, and bass, their repertoire includes songs drawn from contemporary Americana and roots music, including well-known and inspirational voices like Doc Watson, Nanci Griffith, Levon Helm, Muddy Waters and John Prine, as well as their own well-crafted originals. Get ready to dance, sing along, and spend an evening with friends. Learn More Made possible with funding provided through Resilient Valley. |
Northampton's Slave Economy: A Walking Tour of Northampton
with Elizabeth Sacktor, Museum Educator & Program Coordinator
Maynard's Hoe Factory, Northampton, Mass.
Courtesy of Forbes Library. |
For as long as Northampton has existed, slavery has been a part of its history.
In this walking tour of upper Main Street, Elm Street, and Green Street, museum educator Elizabeth Sacktor will lead the group to local sites that reveal Northampton’s direct involvement and complicity in the slave economy. Among other locations, we will visit the land where Joab Binney and Amos Hull Sr. were enslaved and stop at the houses where abolitionist Lydia Maria Child and slave trader Thomas Napier were next-door neighbors. Finally, we’ll loop over to the site of a Northampton factory that made tools for southern plantations. Together these stories help tell Northampton’s legacy of slavery, which extended from the 17th-century to long after slavery became illegal in Massachusetts in 1783. |
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Tuesday, June 9, 2026
10 am |
Sunday, June 14, 2026
11 am |
Tuesday, June 16, 2026
5:30 pm |
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Tuesday, June 23, 2026
10 am |
Tuesday, June 30, 2026
5:30 pm |
Lace Curtain Irish: A One-Woman, One-Act Play
Written by Carolyn Gage
Performed by Katie Migdal
Saturday, June 13, 2026 at 7 pm
Sunday, June 14, 2026 7 pm
Sunday, June 14, 2026 7 pm
The 1805 Shepherd Barn at Historic Northampton
66 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060
66 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060
"Bridget Sullivan" in Lace Curtain Irish
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In 1927, thirty-five years after the infamous Fall River axe murders, an Irish woman, working in her kitchen in Anaconda, Montana, opens a newspaper to read about the death of the alleged murderer, Lizzie Borden. The woman is Bridget Sullivan, the Bordens’ former maid. As Bridget recalls those years, her memories turns the accepted narrative on its head.
Lace Curtain Irish is a solo, one-act play telling Bridget's version of what may have happened in Fall River, Massachusetts in the months leading up to August 4, 1892. Two shows only with a talk-back session after the play with playwright Carolyn Gage and performer Katie Migdal. Registration required.
General Admission. No assigned seating. Sliding scale admission $20-$50. Mass Cultural Council Card to Culture: $0. Learn More |
All sales are final. Admission and fees are non-refundable for change-of-mind
purchases or time conflicts. See the refund policy for health-related refunds only.
purchases or time conflicts. See the refund policy for health-related refunds only.
"Faces of Downtown"
A Slide Show Tribute to Northampton in the 1980s and 1990s
Friday, June 12, 2026
8:30 to 9:30 pm
8:30 to 9:30 pm
Free. Seating available.
Outdoors at 58 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060.
Outdoors at 58 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060.
Photograph of Tommy McCue projected onto Parsons House at Historic Northampton as part of an outdoor slide show of 60 photographs by Paul Shoul.
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Sixty portrait photographs by Paul Shoul will run on a continuous loop as an outdoor slideshow projected on Parsons House at 58 Bridge Street in Northampton.
Sorting through thousands of his photographs, Northampton resident and internationally known photographer Paul Shoul has chosen sixty portraits in memory of the local artists, activists, musicians, politicians, and entrepreneurs who played a role in Northampton’s revitalization in the 1980s and 1990s. Shoul will narrate this special slideshow and be on-hand for conversation.
The images will be projected onto the front of Historic Northampton's Parsons House and run on a continuous loop. Paul Shoul is a Northampton-based photojournalist. |
Immigration to Northampton: A Walking Tour
with Elizabeth Sacktor, Museum Educator, Historic Northampton
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Historic Northampton’s Elizabeth Sacktor will lead a walking tour of downtown Northampton as seen through the theme of immigration in the 19th and 20th centuries. The tour will be a non-chronological exploration of how Northampton’s many immigrant populations worked and built community amid changing sentiments and discrimination.
Together, we will ask questions about what it means to be American, what it means to be from Northampton, and how our home is shaped by the communities with whom we share it. Learn More |
Photograph of Marcus Cohn, Carrie Cohn, Sarah Cohn, and Rose Cohn, children of Simon Cohn and Augusta Seiler Cohn. In 1866, Simon Cohn emigrated from Poland where he made a living as a tailor. He established a clothing store on Main Street, Northampton in the 1860s. The business passed to Marcus in 1912. Sarah and Rose ran a millinery shop on the second floor of the store. Photograph by A.J. Schillare of Northampton.
Pre-registration is required. | Limited to 15. | Sliding Scale Admission: $10-25.
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Native Strategies:
Indigenous Families in Western Massachusetts During the American Revolution |
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Indigenous Prophet of Democracy:
William Apess, King Philip, and the American Revolution
An Illustrated Lecture by Dr. Drew Lopenzina, Old Dominion University
William Apess, King Philip, and the American Revolution
An Illustrated Lecture by Dr. Drew Lopenzina, Old Dominion University
Wednesday, May 27, 2026 at 6:30 pm
Registration required. Sliding scale admission $10-$35. MCC Card to Culture welcome.
Drawing of William Apess (1798 - 1839) from
Son of the Forest: The Experience of William Apes, A Native of the Forest by William Apes, (New York: Published by the Author, 2nd Edition), 1831. |
In the aftermath of the American Revolution, white leaders of the new republic foresaw the demise of Indigenous nations, as prophesied in the vision of "manifest destiny." Pequot minister William Apess, however, spoke to a different kind of historical prophecy, one that challenged the narrative of extinction of Indigenous people. In his writing, Apess called on the Indigenous memories of both King Philip's War and the American Revolution to construct a radical new narrative that promised a sustained Native presence.
William Apess was one of the nation’s most important Native intellectuals. Born into poverty in Colrain, Massachusetts, in 1798, Apess moved to Connecticut where he was bound out as an indentured servant. At age 14, he joined the American Army and served in the War of 1812. He later became an itinerant Methodist minister and was a popular and controversial speaker in the Connecticut Valley and beyond. In 1829, he wrote the first published Native autobiography, A Son of the Forest. Throughout his life, Apess lectured on the traumas of the past and engaged in activism to improve the quality of life for Native people. He died in 1839 in New York City. Learn More |
Women’s History in Life & Death:
A Walking Tour of Bridge Street Cemetery
A Walking Tour of Bridge Street Cemetery
with Elizabeth Sacktor, Museum Educator, Historic Northampton
Gravestones of Sarah Gray and Sylva Church in the Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, MA. Photo by Bob Drinkwater.
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Join Historic Northampton’s Elizabeth Sacktor for a walking tour of the Bridge Street Cemetery. We’ll explore how gravestones, and their locations in the cemetery, help us understand how Northampton women have been remembered, or nearly forgotten.
The tour will visit the graves of ten women buried between 1776 and 1923, from early 18th century midwives to the first Indigenous woman to attend Smith College. Each woman has a story to tell, and by examining the grave itself and the material remnants of their lives, we will uncover these stories together. The tour involves walking and standing for about an hour on uneven ground, so comfortable walking shoes are recommended. |
Pre-registration is required. | Limited to 15. | Sliding Scale Admission: $10-25.
"Faces of Downtown"
A Slide Show Tribute to Northampton in the 1980s and 1990s
Friday, May 8, 2026
8:00 to 9:30 pm
8:00 to 9:30 pm
Free. Seating available.
Outdoors at 58 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060.
Outdoors at 58 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA 01060.
Photograph of Tommy McCue projected onto Parsons House at Historic Northampton as part of an outdoor slide show of 60 photographs by Paul Shoul.
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Sixty portrait photographs by Paul Shoul will run on a continuous loop as an outdoor slideshow projected on Parsons House at 58 Bridge Street in Northampton.
Sorting through thousands of his photographs, Northampton resident and internationally known photographer Paul Shoul has chosen sixty portraits in memory of the local artists, activists, musicians, politicians, and entrepreneurs who played a role in Northampton’s revitalization in the 1980s and 1990s. Shoul will narrate this special slideshow and be on-hand for conversation.
The images will be projected onto the front of Historic Northampton's Parsons House and run on a continuous loop. Paul Shoul is a Northampton-based photojournalist. |
The Oxbow & Mount Holyoke
A Two-Part Lecture Series presented by Forbes Library and Historic Northampton
A Two-Part Lecture Series presented by Forbes Library and Historic Northampton
Above the Oxbow: History and Memory on Mount Holyoke
Saturday, May 2, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum
Forbes Library - Northampton's Public Library
20 West Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Forbes Library - Northampton's Public Library
20 West Street, Northampton, MA 01060
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Join us for a special talk by Danielle Raad who will speak about Mount Holyoke and its history.
Drawing from her new book Above the Oxbow: Stories Entangled with a Mountain (West Virginia University Press, April 2026), Raad will explore the longstanding relationships people have had with the Mount Holyoke Range, the Summit House, and its views. She will also offer a contemporary analysis of how history, landscape, and memory intersect in this special place and how the Mount Holyoke Range is woven into our lives today. Free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. |
Above the Oxbow:
Stories Entangled with a Mountain by Danielle Raad |
Rhythm & Rails:
Northampton and the Railroad – A Social History in Tales and Tunes
Northampton and the Railroad – A Social History in Tales and Tunes
Wednesday, April 29, 2026 at 7:00 pm
Northampton Center for the Arts
33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060
33 Hawley Street, Northampton, MA 01060
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Rhythm & Rails, a multimedia performance, draws to the stage some of the Valley’s most talented musicians and actors to animate the complex history of railroads in America.
The arrival of the railroad in the United States in the mid-nineteenth century profoundly affected the nation’s history. Here in Northampton and across the country, railroads changed the pace of life, the perception of space and time, the movement of people and goods, and the country's economic, technological, and social history. The impact of railroads on the lives of people across America was recorded in letters, photographs, literature, and in thousands of songs—from American roots, folk and rag time to blues, jazz, pop, and rock. At the center of Rhythm & Rails is Northampton’s railroad history, but the performance takes us to other parts of New England and the country using a blend of railroad-themed music, narration, theatrical cameos, and archival images. Learn More |
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Free. All Seating is General Admission.
Stewardship tickets of $10, $25, and $35 will help defray costs.
All proceeds benefit The Red Skies Music Ensemble.
Stewardship tickets of $10, $25, and $35 will help defray costs.
All proceeds benefit The Red Skies Music Ensemble.
The Oxbow & Mount Holyoke
A Two-Part Lecture Series presented by Forbes Library and Historic Northampton
A Two-Part Lecture Series presented by Forbes Library and Historic Northampton
The Connecticut River Oxbow:
The Story of a Changing Landscape and Community
The Story of a Changing Landscape and Community
Saturday, April 25, 2026 at 4:00 pm
Calvin Coolidge Presidential Library and Museum
Forbes Library - Northampton's Public Library
20 West Street, Northampton, MA 01060
Forbes Library - Northampton's Public Library
20 West Street, Northampton, MA 01060
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After presenting to a standing-room-only crowd, Northampton resident Jonathan Moldover returns to Forbes Library for a follow-up presentation that will focus on the history of the Oxbow – from its underlying geology to the reasons why Hudson River School artist, Thomas Cole, chose this view in 1836 as emblematic of American ideology.
In his illustrated presentation, Moldover will share eyewitness accounts of the 1840 flood that cut off the oxbow and provide vivid descriptions of the changes that followed: the rise and fall of the lumber and pulp industries on the “island”; the immigrants who came to work in the mills and built homes along Island Road and Ferry Avenue; the construction of Interstate 91; followed by the creation of the Oxbow Marina, now the largest marina on the Connecticut River. Free and open to the public. Donations are welcome. |
The Oxbow Since Thomas Cole: The Story of a Landscape, a Painting, and a Community by Jonathan Moldover
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Historic Northampton in collaboration with Forbes Library presents
From the Plantation to Northampton: Slavery & The Watson Household
A Zoom Presentation by Elizabeth Sacktor and Anaëlle Cama
Thursday, April 23, 2026 at 6:30 pm
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On Zoom
Register for the Zoom link |
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Perhaps no 19th-century Northampton family had more direct ties to slavery than the Watson family. During the early 1800s, Henry and Sophia Watson owned a cotton plantation in Greensboro, Alabama, where they enslaved at least 228 people. In 1861, at the start of the Civil War, they moved to Northampton, a town known for its prominent abolitionists, with their six young children and Henry’s sister. They bought an estate on the property that became Childs Park.
In this Zoom talk, Historic Northampton’s Elizabeth Sacktor and UMass PhD student Anaëlle Cama will present their new research on life at the Watson plantation before the family moved to Northampton. They will focus on the lives of several enslaved women – Ellen, Eveline, Ann, Phillis, and others – who likely sewed the Watson family clothing now in Historic Northampton’s collection. They will also explore how the Watsons and their children profited from wealth derived from slavery and sharecropping and became benefactors to local institutions.
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Portrait Photograph of the Watson Family dated September 7, 1870.
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Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654-1783
Gallery Talks
Gallery Talks
Sunday, April 19, 2026 at 3 pm
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Join a gallery talk to explore the exhibit with Historic Northampton's museum educator Elizabeth Sacktor,
Learn more details of the lives of local enslaved individuals and the narratives of enslaved people becoming free. We will share information about the legal arrangements that kept slavery in place, how enslaved labor fueled the Northampton and regional economy, and the research at Historic Northampton, Forbes Library, and elsewhere in the Valley that underlies the exhibit. As we explore the exhibit, we will discuss personal connections to this local history and discover what questions we still have about slavery in Northampton. |
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Free. Donations are welcome.
No registration is required.
No registration is required.
Northampton City Lights presents
Northampton night fest 2026
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Join us for a celebration of the night.
Saturday, April 18, 2026
8:00 to 9:30 pm
Shepherd Barn, 66 Bridge Street (rear)
Historic Northampton, Northampton, Mass. To mark International Dark Sky Week, Northampton City Lights presents its fourth annual Night Fest. This year’s celebration of the night includes Mayor Gina-Louise Sciarra reading the city’s International Dark Sky Week Proclamation followed by an exploration of the world of local moths by Smith College’s Dr. Mariana Abarca.
There will also be opportunities to check out an array of citizen science projects and to view the night sky through telescopes, weather permitting. Northampton City Lights’ mission is to protect human health and wildlife, bring back the stars and the Milky Way, and improve safety and quality of life for all by fighting light pollution in Northampton, MA. Free , family-friendly and open to the public. Rain or shine |
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Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654-1783
Gallery Talks
Gallery Talks
Sunday, March 22, 2026 at 3 pm
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Join a gallery talk to explore the exhibit with Historic Northampton's museum educator Elizabeth Sacktor,
Learn more details of the lives of local enslaved individuals and the narratives of enslaved people becoming free. We will share information about the legal arrangements that kept slavery in place, how enslaved labor fueled the Northampton and regional economy, and the research at Historic Northampton, Forbes Library, and elsewhere in the Valley that underlies the exhibit. As we explore the exhibit, we will discuss personal connections to this local history and discover what questions we still have about slavery in Northampton. |
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Free. Donations are welcome. No registration is required.
The Abortion Market: Buying and Selling Access in the Era Before Roe
A Zoom Presentation by author Katherine J. Parkin
Wednesday, March 18, 2026 at 6:30 pm
Register for the Zoom link.
Sliding scale admission: $10-20.
Sliding scale admission: $10-20.
The Abortion Market: Buying and Selling Access in the Era Before Roe by Katherine J. Parkin
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Before the 1973 landmark Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the U.S., one million women each year collectively paid more than $750 million for abortions. In this talk based on her new book of the same name, Katherine Parkin reveals that the abortion market between 1962 and 1972 was an economic force which involved loans, advertising, and travel, as well as the costs of the procedure itself. These funds were organized by women themselves through women’s organizations, social networks, and even within college campuses.
Dr. Katherine J. Parkin is Professor of History at Monmouth University. Her first two books – Food is Love: Food Advertising & Gender Roles in Modern America (2006) and Women at the Wheel: A Century of Buying, Driving, & Fixing Cars (2018) – both received the Emily Toth Award for the Best Single Work in Women’s Studies in the year published. Her newest book, The Abortion Market: Buying & Selling Access in the Era Before Roe, considers the role of population control, advertising and marketing, college campuses, and travel for the one million women seeking abortions. Learn More |
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654-1783
Gallery Talks
Gallery Talks
Sunday, March 8 2026 at 3 pm
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Join a gallery talk to explore the exhibit with Historic Northampton's museum educator Elizabeth Sacktor,
Learn more details of the lives of local enslaved individuals and the narratives of enslaved people becoming free. We will share information about the legal arrangements that kept slavery in place, how enslaved labor fueled the Northampton and regional economy, and the research at Historic Northampton, Forbes Library, and elsewhere in the Valley that underlies the exhibit. As we explore the exhibit, we will discuss personal connections to this local history and discover what questions we still have about slavery in Northampton. |
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Free. Donations are welcome. No registration is required.
Charles C. Burleigh: Human Rights Hero
A Zoom Presentation by Jennifer Rycenga
Thursday, February 19, 2026 at 6:30 pm
Portrait of Charles C. Burleigh, Sr. (1810-1878) by Charles C. Burleigh, Jr. (1848-1882). Collection of Forbes Library.
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Charles C. Burleigh (1810-1878) was a nationally recognized abolitionist and activist in his time but has been largely forgotten in ours. Burleigh lived in Florence where he co-founded the Free Congregational Society of Florence.
In this zoom presentation, historian and Burleigh scholar Jennifer Rycenga will bring Burleigh’s struggles and accomplishments to light. In addition to being a towering figure in the abolition movement, Burleigh was one of the most eloquent critics of the death penalty. He combined a clear moral vision of human equality with tireless writing, editing, and activism. Jennifer Rycenga is Professor Emerita in the Humanities Department at San José State University and the author of Schooling the Nation: The Success of the Canterbury Female Academy (University of Illinois Press, 2025) about 19th-century educator and activist Prudence Crandall. Learn More |
Shroudmakers, Undertakers, and Hairworkers:
Women’s Professional Death Labor in 19th-Century New England
Women’s Professional Death Labor in 19th-Century New England
A Zoom Presentation by Elizabeth Sacktor
Thursday, February 12, 2026 at 6:30 pm
Register for the Zoom link.
Sliding scale admission: $5-20.
Sliding scale admission: $5-20.
Union Block, corner of Main and Pleasant streets where the downtown branch of Florence Bank is today. The second story sign - "Mrs. J. Woodruff / Hair Work." - advertises the studio of Mrs. Jerusha A. Woodruff.
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Throughout history and in many cultures, the work of caring for the dead and dying has been the work of women. In this lecture, Historic Northampton’s Elizabeth Sacktor will explore 19th-century New England women’s personal and professional networks of death labor. She will discuss women shroudmakers, undertakers, and makers of hair jewelry who lived in Northampton and elsewhere in the valley.
In the early 19th-century men began to encroach on this historically female dominated field, attempting to "professionalize" labor women had been doing for centuries for little to no pay. Sacktor will discuss how New England women navigated this change and declared their own labor as valuable, marketable, and deserving of pay. Learn More |
Slavery and Freedom in Northampton, 1654-1783
Gallery Talks
Gallery Talks
Sunday, February 1, 2026 at 3 pm
Sunday, February 22, 2026 at 3 pm
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Join a gallery talk to explore the exhibit with Historic Northampton's museum educator Elizabeth Sacktor.
Learn more details of the lives of local enslaved individuals and the narratives of enslaved people becoming free. We will share information about the legal arrangements that kept slavery in place, how enslaved labor fueled the Northampton and regional economy, and the research at Historic Northampton, Forbes Library, and elsewhere in the Valley that underlies the exhibit. As we explore the exhibit, we will discuss personal connections to this local history and discover what questions we still have about slavery in Northampton. |
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Free. Donations are welcome. No registration is required.