Historic Deerfield

Old Deerfield Historic District

Wells-Thorn House
Location Deerfield, Massachusetts
Built 1650
Architect Benjamin,Asher; et al.
Architectural style Greek Revival, Federal
NRHP Reference # 66000774[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP October 15, 1966
Designated NHLD October 9, 1960, see
Dwight House
Barnard Tavern
The Deerfield Inn
Old Main Street

Historic Deerfield is a museum dedicated to the heritage and preservation of Deerfield, Massachusetts, and history of the Connecticut River Valley. Its historic houses, museums, and programs provide visitors with an understanding of New England's historic villages and countryside. It is located in the village of Old Deerfield which has been designated a National Historic Landmark District (as the Old Deerfield Historic District), and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The museum also hosts the Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife.

Sites

Eleven historic house museums are located in Historic Deerfield. Most are viewed on guided tours. A modern museum and a visitors 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.

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. The town 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 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 residents 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 age 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. In 1741 she visited surviving siblings for the first time, and she made two more visits later.

Deerfield survived the raid, and the frontier was pushed farther north and west. Settlers eventually moved into present-day Vermont and established settlements farther 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]

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Historic Deerfield.

References

  1. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ Historic-deerfield.org
  3. ↑ Museums.fivecolleges.edu

Coordinates: 42°32′49.2″N 72°36′14.9″W / 42.547000°N 72.604139°W / 42.547000; -72.604139

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