In 1926, the sale of a property on Ridgewood Terrace came with several explicit restrictions outlined in the deed.
These included a prohibition against converting the property into a store, a requirement that no structures be built within 20 feet of the road, and a clause stating that the property “shall not be sold or occupied by any colored person.”
A recent preliminary report from the Northampton Reparations Study Commission revealed that at least 140 property deeds or mortgages in Northampton either directly include or reference older documents containing explicitly racist language.
