Gerrit Smith is one of the most important Americans you've never heard of.
"There are yet two places where slaveholders cannot come,
Heaven and Peterboro."
- Henry Highland Garnet, 1848
"Come to Peterboro!"
In 1835, abolitionists trying to convene in Utica faced an angry mob. Gerrit Smith stood up and invited them to come to Peterboro, where they held the very first meeting of the NY State Anti-Slavery Society.
Women's Rights
Smith's daughter, Elizabeth Smith Miller was the first modern woman to wear pants. She cofounded the National Woman Suffrage Association along with her cousin, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Susan B Anthony.
Holstein History
Pioneering breeder, Gerrit Smith Miller, established the famous Kriemhild Herd, the first registered Holstein-Friesian herd in America.
Note: GPS and postal addresses might say "Cazenovia" or "Morrisville," even though they are in the village of Peterboro.
