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Birthplace of Sophia Smith, Hatfield, Mass. Founder of Smith College

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
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This 1790s homestead was the birthplace and home of Sophia Smith for nearly 70 years. The daughter of a well-to-do farmer, Sophia never married. At age 40 she became deaf and somewhat of a recluse in this house. She inherited all of her family's wealth and when she died in 1870 left the bulk of her large fortune (about $390,000) to found Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. The property was purchased in 1915 by the Alumnae Association of Smith College and restored and furnished with much of the original furniture by the class of 1896.

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