PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM PRESENTS: A Reading Frederick Douglass Together Book Club
PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON MUSEUM PRESENTS
A Reading Frederick Douglass Together Book Club
October 10th and November 7th, 2026, 12:15pm
Hadley Public Library, Community Room 50 Middle St, Hadley, MA 01035
PORTER-PHELPS-HUNTINGTON FOUNDATION, INC.
130 RIVER DRIVE HADLEY MA 01035
HADLEY—The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum presents A Reading Frederick Douglass Together Book Club, with sessions facilitated by Dr. Ousmane K. Power-Greene on October 10th and Dr. Nick Bromell on November 7th at 12:15pm. Book club materials will be available for pick up at the event and online, and sessions will be held in the Community Room at the Hadley Public Library at 50 Middle St, Hadley, MA 01035. Register for the free book club at www.pphmuseum.org/events.
Mass Humanities, a non-profit based in Northampton, funds free public events, readings and discussions in Massachusetts focusing on Frederick Douglass’s famed speech “What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?” Since its founding in 1974, the organization intends to create opportunities for the people of Massachusetts to transform their lives and build a more equitable commonwealth through the humanities. The life and works of Frederick Douglass continue to shape our understanding of America. A gifted orator and prescient writer, Douglass forces us to reckon with the legacy of slavery and the promises of democracy.
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 check the museum website: www.pphmuseum.org
The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Foundation acknowledges that it occupies the unceded lands of the Nonotuck people. 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 wealthy and 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. Open May 18th through October 15th, Saturday through Wednesday. For more information check out our website at: www.pphmuseum.org or call the museum at (413) 584-4699.
