Blog · July 19, 2026
Dr Norm Dann will present a program on his new book July 19, 2026 2:00pm Smithfield Community Center 5255 Pleasant Valley Rd Peterboro, NY 13134 Co-sponsored by GSE & NAHOF Contact [email protected]
Blog · July 05, 2026
A speech by Frederick Douglass on July 5, 1852 read by Owen Corpin Norman K Dann, Phd: Gerrit Smith & Frederick Douglass Featuring performances by the Lingo Family singers : 19th Century Reform Songs Peterboro Methodist Church 5240 Pleasant Valley Road Peterboro NY 13134 Co-sponsored by GSE & NAHOF Contact [email protected]
Blog · June 21, 2026
The public is encouraged to attend this free program at 11:00 a.m., Sunday, June 21, 2026, at the Peterboro United Methodist Church, 5280 Pleasant Valley Road, Peterboro NY 13134. Refreshments will be served at 10:30 before the program. On the last day of Juneteenth week in Peterboro NY, Donna Dorrance Burdick will present a PowerPoint program of images and history about the free churches in Madison County to explain the antislavery impact that the Free Church movement caused in 19th C. America...
Blog · June 20, 2026
On Saturday, June 20 and Sunday, June 21, from 1 to 4 p.m., the Peterboro Area Museum will introduce a new exhibit "4 For Freedom" which will detail the experiences of four individuals escaping slavery: Harriet Powell, Harriet Russell, John Tyler, and John the Dominie West. Three of these people would make Madison County their permanent home. This display will include photographs, broadsides, and descriptive information. Peterboro Area Museum Website
Blog · June 20, 2026
Celebrate freedom, folk music, and local history at the 2nd Annual Peterboro Freedom Folk Festival 🎶 Join us for an afternoon of live music, community, and reflection on Peterboro’s history at the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark. Gates open at 2 pm at the Estate located at 5304 Oxbow Road, Peterboro NY 13134. This event is held rain or shine! Musical Acts: 3 pm - Foxrow 4 pm - Mira Grimm 5 pm - The Westcott Jug Suckers 6:15 pm - Rod MacDonald Smithfield Fire Department will...
Blog · June 19, 2026
Join historian and author Manisha Sinha for an in-depth look at abolition and emancipation through new research, untold stories, and the voices of those who resisted slavery. Manisha Sinha will present “A New History of Slavery and Emancipation" as a way to commemorate Juneteenth, Friday, June 19th, at 7pm at the Catherine Cummings Theater, 22 Lincklaen Street, Cazenovia, NY. The talk is free and open to the public. Sales of her books and a book signing will follow. Due to this highly...
Blog · June 16, 2026
Experience Songs of Slavery and Emancipation performed by Dr. Kathy Bullock, Mat Callahan, Yvonne Moore and the Berea Singers, bringing history into the present. FREE and open to the public. Pre-registration suggested. Please complete this form to reserve your place and confirm your support. Please consider bringing a non-perishable food item donation for the Hope Chapel Food Program. Sponsored by National Abolition Hall of Fame & Museum NAHOF is excited to bring this performance group to...
Blog · March 02, 2026
Hello and welcome to our final Black History Matters 2026 video! As we close this season of Black History Matters, this video will take a moment to reflect on why we have spent this time together exploring abolition history. The truth is, abolition is not only something that happened. It is something we are still grappling with. What does it mean to abolish a system that reproduces inequality? What does it mean to confront racism not just as personal prejudice, but as structural reality? What...
Blog · February 28, 2026
This presentation will highlight the important role of Peterboro, NY, in narratives of the Abolition Movement in the US and particularly New York State’s role, with a focus on upstate NY. Today’s presentation will be given by Dr. Milton C. Sernett. Dr. Sernett is Professor Emeritus of African American Studies and History at Syracuse University. He is a founding member of the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum and a member of the Cabinet of Freedom. Watch Now
Blog · February 24, 2026
Most of us are taught in our history classes that slavery ended with the passage of the 13th Amendment on January 31, 1865. At this juncture in history, a whole Civil War had been fought over the issue of slavery, and the prohibition of slavery had been cemented into law through the 13th Amendment. As the Union/the North, comprised of non-slaveholding free states, won the war, it would seem logical that they would ensure the institution of slavery would be forever prohibited from U.S. soil. But...