Virtual Lecture: Slavery and Anti-Slavery in the Hudson Valley

The Mid-Hudson Valley was home to a large population of enslaved people who played a major role in local history, from the first arrivals of enslaved people with colonists through the Revolutionary War and beyond. The region also played an important role in the fight to end slavery in the United States. It held two major routes of the Underground Railroad and played a critical role in the abolition movement locally and nationally.

This talk by Laura Chenven will review key stories of local slavery and the people who helped to bring it to an end. She will also discuss her work with the Mid-Hudson Antislavery History Project and how the work of commemorating this period of history is ongoing.

This lecture, as are all our lectures for 2026, has been generously sponsored by Preston Pitman, and Tim Wallach & Fleur Fairman.