Of schools in the NESCAC league which are known to have a stronger history department?
Bowdoin, Hamilton and Trinity would be excellent. That said, history would be strong at all of them.
I think most of them have strong history departments. I know a freshman at Williams who plans to be a history major. He has loved his history courses so far.
Take a look at the online course catalogs at each college and see which courses appeal to you. Then think as well about all other aspects of the college experience beyond your major.
Good luck!
If you search “25 Best Value Small Colleges for a History Degree,” you will see Amherst, Middlebury, Williams, Hamilton and Wesleyan included.
Here is a list by number of graduates. They are all pretty small and history is a pretty broad area, so it would probably be best to look at course offerings to see which ones have offerings in the specific areas that you are interested.
…BA…MA…Phd
Tufts…32…1…1
Williams…37
Amherst…27
Trinity…27
Wesleyan…23
Bates…20
Bowdoin…18
Colby…18
Conn Coll…18
Middlebury…16
Hamilton…15