Gerrit Smith Estate

Gerrit Smith Estate is a historic residence in Peterboro containing several preserved 19th-century buildings, including a land office, barn, and smokehouse situated across about 8 acres of grounds. These structures allow visitors to explore how daily life and work were organized during that historical period.

This was the home of Gerrit Smith, one of New York State's wealthiest landowners, who used it from 1797 to 1874 as a strategic location within networks that helped people reach safety. This role made the location central to a larger system of assistance.

This property served as a gathering place for those opposing slavery and sheltered many people fleeing northward toward freedom. It represented active resistance to an inhumane institution during a turbulent era.

The grounds are best explored on foot, with main paths relatively easy to walk and offering several stopping points along the way. Plan for at least two hours to see the site thoroughly and bring water, especially on warmer days.

Smith distributed over 120,000 acres of land to free Black men, a radical act against landlessness and economic disadvantage. This generosity was extraordinarily rare among wealthy Americans of that era.