Current Exhibit Slavery and Freedom in Northampton,
1654 to 1783
For at least 129 years, slavery was part of everyday life in Northampton. More than 50 enslaved individuals lived here from the town’s English settlement in 1654 until 1783 when slavery was abolished in Massachusetts.
This exhibit features life-sized silhouettes of men, women, and children who were enslaved. On each silhouette are details about individual lives based on information gleaned from historic documents. Their histories reveal aspects of enslavement, examples of freedom, and resistance to oppression. Learn more about the history of slavery in Northampton.
EVENTS
See upcoming exhibits, gallery talks, and all our events.
Explore
Follow a Timeline of Northampton’s past.
Learn about people, places, and historical topics.
Research
See our reference shelf, our research materials, or check out our collections catalog.
Featured Project Native Strategies Before, During, and After the Revolution
This new research project is designed to help us better understand the historic continuity of Native presence in western New England. The team includes Research Director Dr. Margaret M. Bruchac (Nulhegan Abenaki), pictured at right, and Creative Director/Playwright Jasmine Rochelle Goodspeed (Hassanamisco). Beginning in fall 2026, we will offer lectures, walking tours, and staged readings of two new plays that will draw on the project research. It is funded by Mass Humanities, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the SCP Foundation.
We Offer About 100 Programs Each YearCommunity-Centered Museum
Our mission is to collect and preserve Northampton’s past and to explore the town’s history, its human-made landscape, and the natural world underlying and surrounding it.
Located on two park-like acres near downtown, we maintain four historic buildings: Parsons House (1719); Shepherd House (1798); Shepherd Barn (1805); and Damon House (1813). We hold 40,000 objects, including a nationally significant historic clothing collection and a local history archive.
We offer 100 programs each year, held on-site, in neighborhoods, cemeteries, and conservation areas, as well as over Zoom. The newly restored Shepherd Barn is a performance venue where we hold plays, concerts, and dances.