HATFIELD — Framed prints from Godey’s Ladies Fashion magazine hanging on the wall, what-not shelves with novels and books of poetry, a table with dishes, vases and other fine china and a sewing chest next to an upholstered chair, reflect what Sophia Smith’s 19th century parlor might have looked like.

Set in the middle of this tableau exhibit is an authentic dress, a garment that helps to convey the right demeanor for the Smith College founder, says Meguey Baker, curator of the Hatfield Historical Museum.

“Stylish, but not over the top” is how Baker puts it.

The “Sophia Smith at Home” exhibit, located on the second floor of the Hatfield Public Library, 39 Main St., explores the home life of the lifelong advocate for women’s education. It opens April 16 in advance of “Sophia Smith and the Founding of Smith College,” a talk by Historic Northampton’s co-director Laurie Sanders at the neighboring First Congregational Church, 41 Main St.

Timed to the 150th anniversary of the college’s opening, the result of Smith’s last will and testament that established “an institution for the higher education of young women, with the design to furnish for my own sex means and facilities for education equal to those which are afforded now in our colleges to young men,” the exhibit marks the first time the museum is displaying some of the personal effects and family furniture donated by the Smith College Alumnae Association in 2021 and 2023.

In fact, the exhibit has been under development for quite some time, Baker said, explaining that she began contemplating it four years ago as the first smaller goods arrived, supplementing the dress that was found in the attic of Smith’s home and the ear trumpet Smith used after losing her hearing by the age of 40.

“This is an opportunity to bring together items that have been in the Hatfield collection and showcase the new donations that have come in,” Baker said.

Baker said the hope is that the exhibit will give visitors the fullest picture of Smith, who was born in 1796 in a house across the street from the library, and then built her own home later in life along the same Main Street neighborhood.

“We so often hear of the public face of Sophia Smith, her connection to family and friends, her charity, her faith, and most notably her bequest, but the items we’re showing in this exhibit help show a different side of Sophia,” Baker said.

Baker points to Smith’s childhood Frozen Charlotte china doll, and the clothes she likely made for it, and other items that belonged to her and the Smith family. Next to the china on the table in the parlor will be a reproduction of a letter showing Smith’s earlier generosity.

“One treasure we are really looking forward to sharing is a letter she wrote in 1864, in which she donated $500 to the newly formed ‘Literary Society’ in Hatfield for the purchase of books,” Baker said. “In her desire for knowledge to be accessible to all, this seems like an intellectual precursor to Smith College.”

The books on the what-not shelves are also important. “She was extremely well read, even though her family didn’t support education for girls,” Baker said.

Carolyn McDaniel, a spokesperson at Smith College, appreciates that items are now in the care of the museum.

“As the college founded by her generosity celebrates our sesquicentennial year, we appreciate the thoughtfulness with which the town of Hatfield and the Hatfield Historical Museum interpret and curate the story of Sophia’s life,” McDaniel said.

Not all of what the Smith College Alumnae Association donated is on display, with a four poster bed, with a decorative canopy, a desk and grandfather clock and tables, remaining in storage. Sophia Smith’s childhood cradle, though, is planned for the 2026 exhibit that will coincide with the 250th anniversary of the United States and the Revolutionary War.

The Hatfield Historical Museum continues to have other exhibits, including a display case focused on Sophia Smith’s uncle, Oliver Smith, who founded the Smith Charities and was the benefactor for Smith Vocational and Agricultural School. It’s appropriate having this nearby, Baker said, as Sophia Smith likely used her uncle as a model for her generosity, initially contemplating funding a school for deaf people, until she was predeceased by John Clarke, who endowed the Clarke School.

Upcoming event details

The April 16 opening will run from 4 to 5:45 p.m. and the museum will then be open throughout the spring, summer and fall on Tuesday afternoons, as well as last Saturdays of the month, and by appointment.

Then, the talk “Sophia Smith and the Founding of Smith College,” which will encompass Sophia Smith’s life in Hatfield, her decision to fund a women’s college, and factors that influenced her decision to site the college in Northampton, rather than Hatfield, takes place.

People can register for the talk at Historic Northampton’s website at http://www.historicnorthampton.org/sophia-smith-and-the-founding-of-smith-college.html. There is a suggested donation of $5 to $20, with all money collected to be shared equally between the Hatfield Historical Society and Historic Northampton. Walk-ins will also be welcome.

The Hatfield Historical Museum is managed by the nonprofit Hatfield Historical Society for the town of Hatfield.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.