  We present WFPC2 and ground-based VI photometry of NGC 121 and a nearby field
in the outer SMC. For NGC 121, we measure a true distance modulus of (m-M)0 =
18.96 +/- 0.04 (distance of 61.9 +/- 1.1 kpc), age of 10.6 +/- 0.5 Gyr,
metallicity of [Fe/H] = -1.03 +/- 0.06, and initial mass of 4.1 +/- 0.4 x 10^5
Msun, assuming a Salpeter IMF with lower cutoff at 0.1 Msun. In the outer SMC
field, we find evidence of stars covering a wide range of ages -- from 2 Gyr
old to at least 9-12 Gyr old. We have measured the distance, extinction, and
star formation history (past star formation rates and enrichment history) using
a CMD fitting algorithm. The distance modulus of the SMC is measured to be
(m-M)0 = 18.88 +/- 0.08, corresponding to a distance of 59.7 +/- 2.2 kpc. The
overall star formation rate appears to have been relatively constant over this
period, although there may be small gaps in the star forming activity too small
to be resolved. The lack of current star-forming activity is a selection
effect, as the field was intentionally chosen to avoid recent activity. The
mean metallicity of this field has increased from an average of [Fe/H] = -1.3
+/- 0.3 for stars older than 8 Gyr to [Fe/H] = -0.7 +/- 0.2 in the past 3 Gyr.
