Slavery and Freedom

in Northampton, 1654 to 1783

A New Exhibit at Historic Northampton

Composite image: Bill of sale for the purchase of "Boston, of about 19 years of age" by Joseph Parsons, Jr. (1647-1729) of Northampton, 1715, from the archives of Forbes Library,

with a graphic silhouette of Boston (Design Division Inc., 2025).

Exhibit Dates

July 3, 2025 - December 11, 2026

Open Wednesday - Sunday

11 am - 5 pm

For at least 129 years, slavery was part of the fabric of everyday life in Northampton. About 50 enslaved individuals lived in Northampton from the town's founding in 1654 to 1783, when slavery became illegal in Massachusetts.

This exhibit features graphic silhouettes of enslaved and free men, women, and children. On each graphic silhouette will be details about individual lives based upon information gleaned from historic documents. Their histories reveal aspects of enslavement, examples of freedom, and resistance to oppression.

Exhibit design by Michael Hanke of Design Division, Inc.

with Historic Northampton and a team of scholars and archivists

based upon research by the Northampton Slavery Research Project

Artwork for the background murals was created by artist Nancy Haver.

The exhibit includes a printmaking series, Glimmers of Past People, by artist Merisa Skinner reflecting on the local legacy of the transatlantic slave trade. 

Illuminating Truth:

A Special Presentation on Parsons House

Thursday, July 3rd & Saturday July 5th, 2025

8:30 pm to 10 pm

Silhouettes and documents from the exhibit will be projected onto the

1719 Parsons family house at 58 Bridge Street, Northampton, MA in

an outdoor slideshow by Whitney Designworks of Northampton.

HISTORIC NORTHAMPTON

46 Bridge Street Northampton, MA 01060

info@historicnorthampton.org | 413-584-6011

www.historicnorthampton.org