Women’s History in Life & Death:
A Walking Tour of Bridge Street Cemetery

Gravestones of Sarah Gray and Sylva Church in the Bridge Street Cemetery, Northampton, MA. Photo by Bob Drinkwater.

Join Historic Northampton’s Elizabeth Sacktor for a walking tour of the Bridge Street Cemetery. We’ll explore how gravestones, and their locations in the cemetery, help us understand how Northampton women have been remembered, or nearly forgotten.

The tour will visit the graves of ten women buried between 1776 and 1923, from early 18th century midwives to the first Indigenous woman to attend Smith College.

Each woman has a story to tell, and by examining the grave itself and the material remnants of their lives, we will uncover these stories together.

The tour involves walking and standing for about an hour on uneven ground, so comfortable walking shoes are recommended.