Join us for a presentation by Historian Lucy Allen on Thursday, July 11 at 6:30 p.m. at the Barre Town Hall, 2 Exchange St.

The year was 1783. A long-running legal dispute that featured an enslaved man from Barre, Massachusetts—Quock Walker—and his would-be enslaver, Nathaniel Jennison—was finally settled by Massachusetts Supreme Court Justice William Cushing. In the end, slavery was abolished in Massachusetts, the first state to fully eliminate slavery.

What started in 1781 as a seemingly routine “personal freedom” lawsuit by Quock Walker against his alleged enslaver changed over the course of years into an important legal argument heard before the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts. It was no longer a question of whether Quock was “owned” by Nathaniel Jennison, but whether any person in Massachusetts could be owned by another human being. In evaluating all the evidence, in 1783, Chief Justice William Cushing found that “the idea of slavery is inconsistent with our own conduct and Constitution.” Quock Walker was now a free man and because of these legal actions, all other enslaved persons in Massachusetts were also freed. This program that will focus on the exciting times of 240 years ago and will discuss how the enslaved people of Barre lived before their emancipation, and the changes in their lives that came about in 1783 when they were freed. The lives of Quock Walker, his family members, and other important characters in this story will be described.

Light refreshments will be available before the program, beginning at 6 p.m.  with the presentation starting at 6:30 p.m. Come early to grab a seat and a sweet treat.