History of the
(NAHOF)
Our home was built in 1820 as the Peterboro Presbyterian Church. In October of 1835 the first meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society was held in the church, Gerrit Smith played a key role in the meeting taking place in Peterboro. The building served the community well as a church and later as the Evans Academy, the Peterboro Union School, and the Peterboro Elementary School. Shortly after the Elementary School closed the building became known as the Smithfield Community Center and space could be rented to hold private events.
In 1992 the Smithfield Community Center was in need of many repairs and some considered tearing the old building down. At that time a group of concerned citizens formed the Smithfield Community Association with the purpose of preserving and promoting the heritage of the Town of Smithfield. The SCA began raising money and completed many repairs and improvements to the Community Center. The Town of Smithfield moved its business offices to the rear portion of the building and the old church started a new life.
The Smithfield Community Center was placed on the New York State and National Register of Historic Places in 1994, on the Heritage NY Statewide Underground Railroad Trail in 2004, www.heritageny.gov and on the Madison County Freedom Trail in 2006, www.madisontourism.com
On October 22, 1835, the New York Anti-Slavery Society held its inaugural meeting in the building. Honoring this legacy, the Smithfield Community Association invited thirty-three persons throughout the country to convene on October 19, 2004 to form a Cabinet of Freedom to launch a National Abolition Hall of Fame.
Some asked why an Abolition Hall of Fame & Museum? The answer is; When a person’s lifetime accomplishments exceed those of most others who have participated in a given endeavor, they deserve to be recognized in a “Hall of Fame” dedicated to that endeavor. We had already established such institutions for sports like Baseball, Basketball, Football and many more. However until 2005 the Women’s Hall of Fame in Seneca Falls, New York was the only place that recognized a person’s accomplishments that relate to improving the status of one’s fellow humans.
On March 5, 2005, the first inductees for the Hall of Fame were chosen from lists provided by thirteen abolition scholars. October 22, 2005, on the 170th anniversary of that first meeting of the New York State Anti-Slavery Society, the Upstate Institute at Colgate University hosted the induction of the first five inductees into the National Abolition Hall of Fame & Museum.
In October of 2008 the first exhibits were placed in the museum next to the Hall of Fame for abolitionists. The Hall of Fame and Museum is located on the second floor of the Smithfield Community Center (SCC), 5255 Pleasant Valley Rd., Peterboro, New York.