Tour the upcoming exhibition “Opium: The Business of Addiction” with Project Manager Barbara Silberman.

On Wednesday, April 27, 2022, the Forbes House Museum, in collaboration with the Milton Public Library and the Milton Coalition (formerly Milton Substance Abuse Prevention Coalition), will open Opium: The Business of Addiction.  The exhibition will tell the story of the Forbes family’s involvement in the 19th c. opium trade, the trade's links to the current opioid epidemic, and its lasting impact on US-Sino relations.

In the early 19th c., New England traders moved from slave-trading to selling opium to the Chinese in exchange for tea, an American obsession at the time. Other domestic products were exported from China for American use: silk, nankeen, porcelain, and artwork. Along with the Cabots, Peabodys, Delanos, Endicotts, Coolidges and other Boston Brahmin families, eleven members of the extended Forbes family were involved in the “China Trade,” spanning the years 1784 to 1887 and including the First and Second Opium Wars.

More about the Forbes House Museum: Inspired by the Forbes family legacy of entrepreneurship, social action and philanthropy, the Forbes House Museum in Milton, MA, fosters discourse around civic engagement and cultural awareness.

Purchase of this item supports Thoreau Farm Trust (TFT) and the preservation of Henry David Thoreau’s Birthplace.