Send an E-Postcard of:
Liberty Pole

(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved.
Contact us for information about using this image.

Liberty poles were erected in the American Colonies in the years before the Revolution as a symbol of resistance to British rule. They occasionally were surmounted with a liberty cap (a loose-fitting cloth cap) or had a flag flown from them. They became rallying points for partisans of both sides; those opposed to the resistance often attacked the poles. It is not recorded whether Greenfield erected a liberty pole in the years before the Revolution but it is likely that it did, given its solid record of support for the revolutionaries. The pole stood on Main Street in front of the Commons for decades. This stereoscopic photograph was taken soon after the Civil War.

top of page