The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum

honors antislavery abolitionists, their work to end slavery, and the legacy of that struggle,

and strives to complete the second and ongoing abolition – the moral conviction to end racism.

 

The Smithfield Community Association assembled a committee on October 19, 2004, to develop an Abolition Hall of Fame in honor of the inaugural meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society held October 22, 1835 in the building that is now the Smithfield Community Center in Peterboro, New York.

 

In partnership with the Upstate Institute at Colgate University, a Cabinet of Freedom was formed and the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) was launched.

 

March 19, 2007 the New York State Education Department approved a provisional charter for the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum organized for educational purposes and as a 501 (c) (3).

The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum announced its first abolition honorees March 5, 2005:

Frederick Douglass

William Lloyd Garrison

Lucretia Mott

Gerrit Smith

Harriet Tubman

October 22, 2005, the first five honorees were inducted at ceremonies hosted by the Upstate Institute at Colgate University.

October 21, 2006, the first five inductees were commemorated at ceremonies hosted by Morrisville State College.

January 31, 2007, on the anniversary of the Thirteenth Amendment, which abolished slavery, NAHOF announced its second set of abolition honorees:

John Brown

Lydia Maria Child

Wendell Phillips

Sojourner Truth

October 20, 2007, the second induction ceremonies were hosted by the Upstate Institute at Colgate University.

October 25, 2008, the second commemoration ceremonies were held at Morrisville State College.

October 24, 2009, the third induction ceremonies will be hosted by the Upstate Institute at Colgate University for

Lewis Tappan

Theodore Dwight Weld

October 22-24, 2010, the third commemoration and the

 175^th Anniversary of the inaugural meeting of the New York State Antislavery Society was held in Peterboro.

October 22, 2011 the fourth induction ceremonies will be hosted by the Upstate Institute at Colgate University for

 

Abby Kelley Foster

Jermain Wesley Loguen

George Gavin Ritchie

 

October 22, 2011 Traveling Exhibit: American Abolition Colonial Period to the Civil War will officially open

October 20, 2010 the fourth commemoration will be held.

January 31, 2012 is the deadline for the public nominations.

January 31, 2013 the fifth set of inductees will be announced.

 

The Hall of Fame and the Abolition museum will be installed in the Smithfield Community Center, which is a site on the Heritage NY Statewide Underground Railroad Trail.