Historic Deerfield

Old Deerfield Village Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. National Historic Landmark District
Location:	Deerfield, Massachusetts
Built:	1650
Architect:	Benjamin,Asher; et al.
Architectural style:	Greek Revival, Federal
Governing body:	Local
NRHP Reference#:	66000774[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP:	October 15, 1966
Designated NHLD:	October 9, 1960, see [1]

Barnard Tavern

Allen House

The Deerfield Inn

Old Main Street

Historic Deerfield is an open-air living history museum dedicated to the heritage and preservation of Deerfield, Massachusetts and the Connecticut River Valley. Its historic houses, museums and programs provide visitors with an understanding of New England's historic villages and countryside. The Old Deerfield Village Historic District has been designated a National Historic Landmark.

Sites

Eleven historic house museums are located in Historic Deerfield. Most are viewed on guided tours. A modern museum and a visitor center are part of the complex. The museum offers special exhibitions, family activities, workshops and seminars on historic subjects, and a gift shop. The Deerfield Inn is available for visitors.

• Ashley House - 1734 home of Deerfield's 18th-century minister, with furnishings of the Connecticut River elite and English ceramics.

• Allen House - 1734 home that was the 20th-century residence of Historic Deerfield's founders Henry and Helen Flynt. The Flynt family renovated the house in 1945. The home features their personal collection of American antiques. Open by arrangement.

• Stebbins House - 1799 home of Asa Stebbins, designed by architect Asher Benjamin. The brick house features Federal period decorations, including neoclassical furnishings dating from 1790 to 1830.^[2] One highlight are the French scenic wallpaper panels manufactured by Joseph Dufour et Cie that depict the voyages of Captain Cook. This house is open for self-guided tours.

• Barnard Tavern - 1795 tavern, currently closed for restoration and reinterpretation. It is scheduled to reopen in Fall 2010.

• Dwight House - This 1754 house was built in Springfield, Massachusetts. It was moved to Deerfield in 1950 when it was threatened with demolition. The house re-opened in 2009 as a museum of historic trades.

• Frary House - 1750 home that is interpreted to depict the 1890s home of Miss C. Alice Baker, who restored the house in 1892. Displays include New England antiques, Arts and Crafts needlework, ironware and basketry. The house features Miss Baker's role in fostering the Colonial Revival in Deerfield.

• Sheldon House - Built in 1754/7, the Sheldon House is interpreted to the period of 1780 to 1810. This house is open for self-guided tours.

• Wells-Thorn House - This 1747 house features rooms demonstrating different periods and lifestyles from 1725 to the 1850s.

• Williams House - 1730 house built by a son of Rev. John Williams, a leader of the colonial village who was captured in the 1704 Deerfield Raid. Renovated in 1816, the house features Federal-style furnishings and decorations.

• Flynt Center of Early New England Life - a modern museum with changing exhibits of history, heritage crafts, decorative arts and other topics.

• Hall Tavern Visitor Center - Originally built in 1760 in Charlemont, Massachusetts, with a ballroom wing that was added around 1800, the building was moved to Deerfield and converted to a visitor center.

Local Geography

Historic Deerfield is based on a 330-year-old, mile-long street, situated along the Connecticut River in the Pioneer Valley of Western Massachusetts.

Deerfield history

At the time of European contact, the area now known as Deerfield was inhabited by the indigenous Pocumtuck nation. It was originally established as a grant of land to the residents of Dedham, Massachusetts, who had given land to the Massachusetts Bay Colony for the purpose of settling Christianized Indians.

For much of the colonial period, Deerfield was one of New England's frontier villages. Briefly abandoned during King Philip's War in the 1670s, it was subjected to French and Indian raids during King William's War in the 1690s. In Queen Anne's War, the village was subjected to a major raid in which 40 percent of the village population was taken prisoner. French and allied Abenaki, Mohawk and other warriors breached the palisade and raided the village. They killed numerous settlers, and took more than 100 captive. Before leaving for Canada, the raiding party burned the village.

Almost all of those who survived the attack and the march to Canada eventually were ransomed and returned to New England. Eunice Williams, captured at eight, was adopted by a Mohawk family and became totally assimilated. She married a Mohawk man and had a family with him, choosing not to return to New England. Finally in 1741 she visited surviving siblings for the first time, and made two more visits later.

Deerfield survived the raid, and the frontier continued to be pushed north and west. Settlers eventually moved into present-day Vermont and established settlements further up the Connecticut River in New Hampshire.

Collection Database

Historic Deerfield's collections can be searched on the database maintained by the Five College Museums/Historic Deerfield.^[3]

Other attractions in the town of Deerfield

The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association operates the Memorial Hall Museum, and the Indian House Children's Museum.

Other attractions in the area include Magic Wings Butterfly Conservatory, Yankee Candle Company, Richardson's Chocolates, and the Old Deerfield Country Store.

See also

• Borden Base Line

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2008-04-15. http://nrhp.focus.nps.gov/natreg/docs/All_Data.html. 
2. ^ Historic-deerfield.org
3. ^ Museums.fivecolleges.edu

External links

• Historic Deerfield
• Town of Deerfield
• Images of Historic Deerfield
• Old Deerfield Historic District - National Historic Landmarks Program

Coordinates: 42°32′49.2″N 72°36′14.9″W / 42.547°N 72.604139°W / 42.547; -72.604139