Mechanics Hall Portraits Project
Established in 1842, the Worcester County Mechanics Association (WCMA) was an educational and charitable organization which fostered skills in the mechanical arts required in the new industrial age. The Worcester Mechanics were at the forefront of America’s Industrial Revolution and believed in the importance of education and self-improvement. WCMA was also concerned with cultivating interest in arts and culture and social ideals. Mechanics Institutes in general were descendants of the medieval guilds. WCMA was one of many such organizations active at the height of British and American Industrial ages.
Three social issues were of major concern to the Worcester Mechanics: Abolition, Women’s Rights, and Temperance. As early as the 1840s, Frederick Douglass and other abolitionists were invited on many occasions to speak to the Association membership and the wider community. Women’s rights advocates and temperance advocates also used Mechanics Hall as their platform for social reform.
The Great Hall portrait gallery is a commanding installation honoring the innovators of Worcester in the 19th century. The subjects in the portrait gallery today represent a combination of interests that honor the values of the Association founders: education, excellence, human welfare, and a wider vision of human endeavor. The gallery includes Mechanics, Social Reformers, Civil War Heroes, and Political Leaders. Many of the individuals portrayed crossover these categories. Four prominent women of the same time period were added to the gallery in 1999 and each of them exemplifies the same values.
The Association now has an opportunity to include impactful Black Americans of the 19th century in the Great Hall portrait gallery. It is a permanent declaration that Black history is American history. It acknowledges that the absence of Black portraits diminishes the importance of Black leaders of that transformational era in our country, a time when the Mechanics of Worcester were highly influential. Including women's portraits, one Black and one mixed race heritage, further illuminates the depth, range, and strength of social reformer activity within our city. Abolition, women's rights, and temperance were not issues being discussed everywhere — the Mechanics Hall stage was one of the nation's major social reform platforms.
Today’s portraits project allows Mechanics Hall to represent Black American history, to illuminate the Black community’s role in Worcester history, and, ultimately, to portray the American story more vibrantly and with deeper dimension. The project will honor and respect influential forerunners who share heritage with the diverse cultures that populate Worcester today. Blending the stories of the new portrait subjects with the stories of others from the same extraordinary time will result in telling a more complete story of 19th century Worcester and by extension, all of the United States.
The Portraits Project also marks a transformational era for Mechanics Hall that includes building deeper partnerships with other cultural organizations and deliberate solicitation and curation of events of artistic excellence and cultural relevance that reflect the rich diversity of the Worcester community. More people of Worcester will be able to recognize themselves in the images honored in the gallery.
Further, the inspirational gallery lends itself to educational programming for youth and adults that will expand our understanding of Worcester in the 19th century and the key individuals, ahead of their time, that the WCMA gave voice to as they affected Worcester history and the history of our state and the nation. Adding the three portraits adds deeper dimension and meaning to Mechanics Hall as an American historic landmark and a beloved community gathering place.
Portraits Subjects
William & Martha Brown
William Brown (1824-1892)
Business Owner, Inventor, Abolitionist
William Brown was a successful 19th century Worcester upholsterer and carpetmaker. A free man, Brown came to Worcester from Boston, establishing his trade here in 1841. He and his wife, Martha operated the business located in the Central Exchange Building, in the heart of downtown. William Brown was first recognized by the Worcester County Mechanics Association in 1849 for
the skill he exhibited at that year's Mechanics Fair. In 1867, he became the first Black member of the WCMA. His son, Charles, also became a member and and was an expert draper and interior decorator.
According to family tradition, William Brown was involved with the work of the Underground Railroad. Upon the death of his wife, Martha, William received letters of condolence from such influential men as Frederick Douglass, Stephen Salisbury III, Charles Washburn, and Edward Everett Hale, indicating the respect of his friends and colleagues. William was a successful inventor as well. He held patents on his own inventions, including “Browns Patent Fruit Picker” (1867) and “A New Improved Sofa Bed” (1868). The fruit picker was mentioned in an 1867 issue of Scientific American.
Martha Brown (1821-1889)
Churchwoman, Entrepreneur, Social Activist, Abolitionist
Martha Tulip Lewis Brown was married to William Brown and was his partner in life, in business, and in abolitionist work. Martha, a free woman, was of mixed heritage. She worked alongside William and later their son, Charles, in the family carpet and upholstery business. She was the first woman of color to become a member of the Ladies Benevolent Society of the First Unitarian Church of Worcester. She and other women raised money for the welfare of freed slaves and fugitive slaves. She was very likely involved in Underground Railroad work with her husband William and his colleagues, which included Frederick Douglass. Annually at the New Year, the women hosted a fundraising formal social – likely at Mechanics Hall – to assist their efforts in supporting Black Americans.
It is not unusual that several generations of a family have been Mechanics Hall members. We are happy to note that Dr. John Goldsberry, now a lifetime Honorary Trustee of Mechanics Hall, served on our Board for many years. Dr. Goldsberry is William Brown’s great-grandson.
Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
Abolitionist, Orator, Author, Statesman, Women's Rights Advocate
One of the most prominent civil rights figures in history, Frederick Douglass escaped from slavery and spent his life advocating for social justice. It is often asserted that Frederick Douglass was the most influential American of the 19th century.
In 1841, while attending anti-slavery meetings Douglass met William Lloyd Garrison one of the most outspoken abolitionists in the country. Garrison encouraged Douglass to share his story, catapulting his career. Douglass began giving lectures at abolitionist conventions, quickly earning a reputation as an eloquent and compelling speaker. He was invited to address the Worcester County Mechanics Association on at least five occasions before Mechanics Hall was built. He was among the first to take the Mechanics Hall stage in March 1857.
In 1845, Douglass, with the encouragement of Garrison and Wendell Phillips, another prominent abolitionist, published his autobiography Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. The work was an instant success. Critics charged that it was so well-written that it could never have even composed by a black man. The narrative made Douglass a widely-known public figure, even beyond abolitionist circles.
During the 1850s Douglass worked tirelessly for emancipation. By the Civil War, Frederick Douglass was the most prominent Black man in the United States. During the War Douglass continually petitioned President Lincoln to make emancipation a focus of the war and to sanction the formation of colored regiments. Two of his sons served in the 54th Massachusetts regiment.
Sojourner Truth
Sojourner Truth (1797-1883)
Evangelist, Itinerant Preacher, Abolitionist, Women's Rights Advocate
Sojourner Truth, born Isabella Baumfree, was one of the two most impactful Black women of the 19th century (the other was Harriet Tubman). Already in middle-age, Sojourner Truth began her 30-year speaking career in Worcester at the first National Women’s Rights Convention in 1850.
She was an abolitionist and passionate advocate of women’s rights. She also advocated for temperance, an important social issue among laborer families. She was born into slavery in Ulster County New York and gained her freedom in 1826 by walking off the farm where she was enslaved. In 1828, she sued a white man for illegally selling her son and became the first black woman to win a court case of that nature.
She was a member of the Northampton Association of Education and Industry—an abolitionist and utopian community in Massachusetts where she lived for several years. She met and knew Frederick Douglass there. Another member was William Lloyd Garrison (also in the portrait gallery).
Throughout her life, she tirelessly advocated for the rights of African Americans, women, and for numerous reform causes.
To learn more about Frederick Douglass and Sojourner Truth, please visit our Literacy Library.
Worcester County Mechanics Association • Mechanics Hall
321 Main Street, Worcester, MA 01608
Info: 508-752-5608 • Tickets: 508-752-0888 • Questions: info@mechanicshall.org