Upcoming Events

National Abolition Hall of Fame & Museum​

Open Saturday and Sunday
Until October 25
12:00-4:00pm

Located at
Smithfield Community Center
​5255 Pleasant Valley Rd
​Peterboro, NY 13134

August 23 ~ Fugitives, Friends
​and the Fight for Freedom 
​Multimedia presentation by ​Jeffrey M. Davis
​
The gripping true story of how Syracuse, NY became the front line of resistance to the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 — and what it means for us now.

Peterboro's own Gerrit Smith was a driving force in that resistance — a vital ally of Jermain Loguen and Rev. Samuel Joseph May in the fight against the Fugitive Slave Law and the network that defied it.
Join Jeffrey M. Davis—Boston writer and third great-grandson of Rev. May—for a gripping multimedia journey through stories of courage and defiance. From harrowing escapes on the Erie Canal to the dramatic "Jerry Rescue" in Syracuse, NY, you'll meet the women and men who refused to bow to injustice.

2:00 pm
Smithfield Community Center
​5255 Pleasant Valley Rd, Peterboro, NY 13134
[email protected]

October 9 ~
​Oneida County Freedom Trail
​Walking Tour/Talk Through Downtown Utica

Rain or Shine ~ 5:00pm-6:30pm ​Mechanics Hall, Utica, NY

Meet at: Utica Coffee, 92 Genesee St, Utica, NY 13502, gather at outdoor seating area
5:00-5:30 Lingo Family Singers perform as the historic abolitionist Hutchinson Singers
5:30-6:30 Guided Walking Tour: walk begins at Mechanics Hall sign, and ends at Utica Rescue sign
Free and open to the community--no registration needed
Event will happen rain or shine.


Tour Led by: 
Jan DeAmicis, PhD, professor emeritus, Utica University
Mary Hayes Gordon, Co-director, Utica University Center for Historical Research
Oneida County Freedom Trail Commission

Co-sponsored by National Abolition Hall of Fame & Museum
and Oneida County Freedom Trail
​[email protected]

October 10-11 ~ I Love NY Path Through History Weekend #2 ​

Visit NYS Museum and Heritage Sites

October 10 ~ Fifth Annual Abolition Walk

Walk the Abolition Road and trace a portion of the footsteps of 104 abolitionists who escaped an angry pro-slavery mob in Utica in October, 1835, embarked on an Erie Canal barge to Canastota, and climbed the hills to Peterboro where they formed the New York State Antislavery Society.

Register Now!

For details and registration visit
abolitionroad.org

Co-sponsored by
National Abolition Hall of Fame & Museum

October 24 ~ Hall of Fame Induction 2026

The 2026 honorees are:
WILLIAM WELLS BROWN
WILLIAM JAY
JOHN JAY II 
SAMUEL RINGGOLD WARD 

• 10 am-Tour of Gerrit Smith Estate
• 11 am-4:00pm NAHOF Museum open
• 1:30-4:30-Symposia for Inductees
• 5pm-Dinner
• 7pm-Induction Ceremony

MORE INFO

National Abolition Hall of Fame & Museum
located in the
Smithfield Community Center
​5255 Pleasant Valley Rd
​Peterboro, NY 13134