2024 Opening Press Release for 75th Season
Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation, Inc.
130 River Drive Hadley MA 01035
For further information
For Immediate Release
Susan J. Lisk 413-584-4699
PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM OPENS FOR ITS
75th SEASON
HADLEY – The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum, a historic house dating to 1752 in Hadley Massachusetts, re-opens to the public on Saturday, May 18th, 2024 for its 75th season. First opened for tours in 1949 by Dr. James Lincoln Huntington the Museum has transformed its presentation from the story of the six generations of his family to a new tour that includes the contributions of the laborers including enslaved, indentured and day workers Guided tours will be available Saturday through Wednesday from 1:00 to 4:00 P.M. The Museum is closed on Thursdays and Fridays. Admission is $5 for adults and $1 for children. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is a part of the new “Forty Acres and Its Skirts” National Historic District.
The land the Porter-Phelps Huntington Museum now occupies was cultivated by the Nonotock and other Indigenous people for millennia. It was claimed as common acreage by householders in the stockaded town of Hadley when the town was laid out in 1659. In 1752, Moses and Elizabeth Pitkin Porter erected a farmstead known as “Forty Acres” on the banks of the Connecticut River. Today, the Museum uncovers life in rural New England over three centuries. The new guided tour introduces visitors to the people who lived and worked at the homestead, both free and enslaved. Through their words, spaces, and possessions, the museum portrays their activities and diverse histories. In the eighteenth century, “Forty Acres” was an important social and commercial link in local, regional, and national cultural and economic networks. During the nineteenth century, the property became a rural retreat for descendants of the original owners. In the twentieth century, family members preserved the site as an historic house museum. The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Family Papers, one of the largest collections of family papers in the country, are now housed at Special Collections & University Archives at University of Massachusetts Amherst.
Programs this summer include the 43rd season of WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS featuring some of New England's finest global folk music performers and ensembles. Concerts are held outdoors in the sunken garden at 6:30, and picnics are welcome starting at 5. The season kicks off on June 12th with Tim Eriksen, leader in the “shape-note” tradition, experimentalist and ethnomusicologist. The series continues weekly with the 12th annual Horace Clarence Boyer Memorial Gospel Concert featuring The Amherst Area Gospel Choir who continue Boyer’s tradition of bringing gospel to all with a compilation of songs deriving from slave spirituals, African diaspora, and Boyer’s original music; Talamana Trio create cosmic rhythm in a world fusion performing original songs, incorporating elements of Indian and Middle Eastern music with jazz and folk; Zikina featuring Uganda native Gideon Ampeire play an exciting fusion of Ugandan folk music with contemporary influences of traditional East African vocals and instruments; The StompBoxTrio, featuring Evelyn Harris, explore the multicultural depths of 20th-century American blues, rock, and soul; Jose Gonzales and Criollo Clasico perform contemporary rhythms of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic; and Thea Hopkins, acclaimed singer songwriter and member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Martha's Vineyard, performs modern “Red Roots Americana”.
On July 3rd The Museum presents Stories of Slavery and Independence, a Stopping Stones remembrance ceremony for Caesar Phelps and Margaret (Peg) Bowen, who were enslaved on the site during the 18th century. The program features freedom songs and a reading of Frederick Douglass's speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” This is a free program offered in partnership with Ancestral Bridges & funded with a grant from MassHumanities.
The Museum will also be hosting its annual series of Community Days for our neighboring towns in May and June with free tours and refreshments.
The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is the designated Way-Point Center for the National Connecticut River Scenic Byway. The Museum hosts a panel exhibit on the natural history of the Valley, the Museum’s history, and sites travelers will find along the by-way. A trail system begins at the Museum, traverses the farm fields along the river, and continues up the old buggy path to the top of Mount Warner where the farm’s cattle grazed in the 18th century.
The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is located at 130 River Drive, Hadley, MA on Route 47 just two miles north of the junction of Routes 9 and 47 North in Hadley. For information concerning tours or special events, phone (413) 584-4699 or visit www.pphmuseum.org .
The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is funded in part by grants from the National Endowment for Humanities: MassHumanities; and the Amherst and Hadley Cultural Councils, local agencies funded by Massachusetts Cultural Council; Robinson and Cole; The Adams Foundation; Easthampton Savings Bank; Gage-Wiley and Company, and with generous support from many local businesses. The Foundation welcomes contributions from friends and visitors.
LISTING:
Porter-Phelps-Huntington House Museum, Hadley
The Porter-Phelps-Huntington House was built in 1752 by Moses and Elizabeth Porter and was central to the 600-acre farmstead known as “Forty Acres.” Today, the property is surrounded by over 350 acres of protected farmland, forest, and river frontage. The Museum portrays the activities of a productive 18th-century household including numerous artisans, servants, and enslaved people who made "Forty Acres" an important social and commercial link in local, regional and national cultural and economic networks. Since 1799 there have been no structural changes to the house. In the 19th century the house evolved into a rural retreat for family and in the mid 20th century became an early example of historic preservation. The museum is listed on the National Historic Register and contains a collection of the belongings of seven generations of one extended Hadley family and artifacts associated with many of the people who worked at the farmstead. Open May 18 through October 15, Saturday through Wednesday. The Museum hosts the outdoor concert series: Wednesday Folk Traditions. For more information: www.pphmuseum.org ▪ 130 River Drive (Route 47) ▪ (413) 584-4699
PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM
WEDNESDAY FOLK TRADITIONS 2024
June 12th Tim Eriksen, leader in the “shape-note” tradition, experimentalist and ethnomusicologist, performs traditional ballads from the Appalachians to the Pioneer Valley and original pieces that have been described as “magical realism in song.”
“…a storyteller at heart, with a distinctive, unvarnished voice.” -Washington Post
June 19th Our 12th annual Horace Clarence Boyer Memorial Gospel Concert features The Amherst Area Gospel Choir who continue Boyer’s tradition of bringing gospel to all with a compilation of songs deriving from slave spirituals, African diaspora, Tommy Dorsey’s Big Band hits, Boyer’s original music, and contemporary pieces to celebrate Juneteenth.
June 26th The Talamana Trio create cosmic rhythm and order in a world fusion ensemble performing original songs, incorporating elements of Indian and Middle Eastern music with jazz and folk music, based on the lyrics of visionary poets. Musicians include Laila Salins on shruti, Jim Matus on laouta and Robert Markey on sitar.
July 23rd Stories of Slavery and Independence: Stopping Stones remembrances of Caesar Phelps and Margaret (Peg) Bowen, freedom songs, and a reading of Frederick Douglass's speech "What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?" A free program offered in partnership with Ancestral Bridges & funded with a grant from MassHumanities.
July 10th Zikina - featuring Uganda native Gideon Ampeire, play an exciting fusion of Ugandan folk music with contemporary influences of traditional East African vocals and instruments including enanga, adungu, and kalimba. Mike Cardozo, Roston Kirk and Kade Parkin ensconce Gideon’s vocals within a sonic landscape that flows seamlessly from intense grooves to joyous dance beats to dreamy textures with Gideon’s vocals cutting powerfully through the fabric or floating lightly above
July 17th StompBoxTrio features Evelyn Harris, the powerhouse vocalist, former member of Sweet Honey In The Rock, and Grammy nominated composer performing with John Cabán on dobro and stompbox and Paul Kochanski on upright & electric bass and foot-percussion. The group explores the multicultural depths of 20th-century American blues, rock, and soul with some 21st-century mojo.
July 24th Jose Gonzales and Criollo Clasico- contemporary rhythms of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic led by one of today’s foremost exponents of Caribbean music, acclaimed for his original compositions featuring the cuatro. “Full of rhythms, flowing melodies and masterly guitar playing.” – Union News
July 31 Thea Hopkins, acclaimed singer songwriter and member of the Aquinnah Wampanoag Tribe of Martha's Vineyard, performs modern “Red Roots Americana,” the scope and reach of Indigenous music in the 21st century along with a sprinkling of traditional, timeless tribal artistry. Grand Prize Winner of the 22nd Great American Song Contest for her song, "The Ghost of Emmett Till"- “a stand out writer” The Washington Post
Wednesday Folk Traditions is funded, in part, by grants from The Adams Foundation; the Amherst and Hadley Cultural Councils, local agencies funded by Massachusetts Cultural Council; Robinson and Cole; Easthampton Savings Bank; Gage-Wiley and Company, and with generous support from many local businesses.
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