Robert Everett, Calvin Fairbank, and Stephen Myers will be inducted into the National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum (NAHOF) in Peterboro, Madison County, NY on Saturday, October 22nd.
The weekend begins on Friday, October 21st at 7 pm with a Musical Tribute to Rev. Robert Everett with Welsh music and Everett poetry readings. On Saturday morning October 22nd at 10 am there will be a guided tour of the Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark. At 11 o’clock the Hall of Fame and Museum will open, followed at 12:30 pm by the Annual Meeting of Members of NAHOF.
The Abolition Symposia begins at 1:30 pm with a presentation on Everett, followed by the Fairbank presentation at 2:30 pm, and Stephen Myers presentation at 3:30 pm. At 5 pm the Peterboro United Methodist Church will serve a 19th Century Antislavery Box Dinner. At 7 pm the nominators of the inductees will publicly nominate each inductee with seconds accepted from the hall of fame banner sponsors. Upon voting approval from the audience, the hall of fame banners will be unveiled for each new inductee.
Sunday morning at 7:30 am at the Canaltown Museum in Canastota, registration for the Abolitionist Freedom Walk will open. At 8:30 am the landing of 104 delegates driven out of Utica October 21st, 1835 for attempting to establish the New York State Antislavery Society will be reenacted and an interpretive sign in honor of those abolitionists will be unveiled. The Freedom Walk will commence at 9 am with a 10:30 am re-enactment and sign unveiling in Clockville to present the activities of the abolitionists along the way to Peterboro. This inaugural short walk will return to Canastota with plans for a complete 2023 nine mile walk all the way to Peterboro. At 1 pm, back in Peterboro, a re-enactment and a sign describing the October 22nd, 1835 arrival of the NYS Antislavery Society delegates in Peterboro will be presented, and the public will be invited to the free reception directly following, to commemorate the 187th anniversary of the event. The Abolitionist Freedom Walk is supported by the Erie Canalway IMPACT! Grant Program.
At 2 pm Sunday, October 22nd Stephen Myers’ role in the Florence Farming and Lumber Community located in Oneida County will be explained, and at 3 pm the descendants of Calvin Fairbank will describe his home and museum in Connecticut.
The public is encouraged to participate in any or all of the activities. Sponsorships of a banner to support an inductee are due August 1st. Registration for the weekend events and the 19th C. Dinner are due September 1st. Registration forms and updated information are available by emailing nahofm1835@gmail.com, calling (315) 684-3262, or online.
The National Abolition Hall of Fame and Museum is located at 5255 Pleasant Valley Road, in Peterboro, Madison County, NY. The Gerrit Smith Estate National Historic Landmark is located at 5304 Oxbow Road, in Peterboro and its exterior exhibits are open dawn to dusk.
New York Almanack will present a series of articles outlining the lives of the three newest members of the Abolition Hall of Fame in the coming weeks. Be sure to sign up for our daily e-mail.
Illustrations, from above: Portait of Robert Everett, Calvin Fairbank, and Stephen Myers.
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