Peterboro, New York

In the 1820s, Gerrit Smith took over the business interests of his father, Peter Smith Sr., managing his family's property holdings in the town and the surrounding area. The Peterboro Land Office—the surviving building of the Smith estate—was built as his office for these activities.

Gerrit Smith's commitment to both the abolition and temperance movements led to the Smith estate in Peterboro becoming a stop on the underground railroad. Less successful was Smith's temperance campaign, which did not enjoy local support; he built one of the first temperance hotels in the country in Peterboro, which commercially was not successful.[3] The Smith estate also served as an important meeting place for abolitionists from both New York and other parts of the country, including John Brown and Frederick Douglass.

• Elizabeth Cady Stanton, a founder of the women's rights movement and cousin of Gerrit Smith's on his mother's side, met her husband, Henry B. Stanton, at the Smith home in 1839.
• George Pack, his wife Maria Lathrop, and family resided in Peterboro in the late 1830s and early 1840s. From Peterboro, Pack went on to Michigan's Lower Peninsula, where he founded the family's business interests in timber.[4][5] Pack's son, George Willis Pack, who was born in Peterboro, and grandson, Charles Lathrop Pack, both became well-known timbermen in their own right.
• Alexander Preston Ellinwood, Wisconsin politician, teacher, and businessman, was born in Peterboro.[6]

• Nolan, David. 1984. Fifty Feet in Paradise: The Booming of Florida. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. (About Gen. Peter Sken Smith of Peterboro, brother of Gerrit Smith).