Our main goals through this work are to unearth stories that have long been neglected or suppressed, share them through our tours and programs, and to support healing from past harm and trauma inflicted upon marginalized communities by Historic New England and the museum field at large.
In year one, we brought in four academic scholars whose specialties covered women’s, LGBTQ+, Black, and Indigenous histories. Working as a cohort, they scoured New England’s archives, libraries, and repositories to find sources of information and stories connected to our sites that have been hidden due to racism, sexism, homophobia, and other systems of oppression. It was wildly successful. Our scholars identified twenty-eight enslaved people at our sites whom we previously did not know existed. They identified five hundred and eighty-three stories to be researched further and found over one thousand primary sources to support this research.
From this immense amount of data, we created a road map in which each academic year, we focus on one to two topics and bring in experts on those topics and from the related communities to work with us. Building from the resources found in year one, they conduct research to deepen our knowledge on the topic and work with staff to incorporate those stories into the tours and programs. Previous topics include Black history and Indigenous history. This year’s topics are immigration and the experience of marginalized people during the American Revolution (in preparation for the 250th anniversary in 2026), Future topics will focus on LGBTQ+, and disability histories.
Through Recovering New England’s Voices, Historic New England seeks to earn the public’s trust as a cultural representative in the region. We believe that a complete understanding of the past is the first step in building a more equitable society.
Historic New England is proud to announce a transformative partnership with Stopping Stones, a national public art and education initiative memorializing enslaved Americans through place-based micro monuments and community engagement programs. Historic New England will leverage its expertise in history and historic preservation to expand Stopping Stones nationally, broadening its mission to uncover and share diverse histories beyond the New England region.
Stopping Stones are a powerful tool for fostering understanding and dialogue. Inspired by Stolpersteine—over one hundred thousand plaques across Europe commemorating victims of the Nazi regime—Stopping Stones are being installed throughout the United States to confront the enduring legacy of slavery and its continued impact on the country today. Each “stone” is a hand-embossed brass plaque engraved with the names and occupations of individuals who were enslaved, placed at or near locations where they were once held. Each stopping stone serves as a “permanent call to awareness,” encouraging reflection on the lives and identities of people who often have no known ancestors or resting place, and whose existence has been previously erased from the historical record.
Historic New England’s Everyone’s History series is the result of work that began in our centennial year of 2010. We launched an initiative called 100 Years, 100 Communities, with the goal of partnering with 100 different communities in all parts of the region to tell diverse stories of life in New England from the twentieth century and beyond. We believe in capturing history as it happens to share with future generations.
In 2012 Historic New England declared success, and 100 Years, 100 Communities became Everyone’s History. These partnerships resulted in award-winning documentary films, exhibitions, books, and public programs. We also offer Remembering Home, a workshop for older adults designed to help capture and record more twentieth-stories.
The Study Center is Historic New England’s internal research branch dedicated to deepening and furthering our knowledge and understanding of New England’s stories. Almost exclusively focused on researching marginalized histories, it houses Recovering New England’s Voices, Stopping Stones, our research fellowship program, and our internship program.
For questions, contact Study Center Manager Dr. Alissa Butler at [email protected]
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