Apprentice's Workshop at Dwight House

New!  Visitors are invited to learn more about the craftsmanship behind some of the fascinating objects that can be seen in the Flynt Center of Early New England Life, and throughout museum houses at the Apprentice’s Workshop at Dwight House.  Through exhibits presented in three first-floor rooms of the Dwight House, visitors will learn about the work involved in creating the architectural woodworking, English factory-produced ceramics, and woven wool textiles that were popular in New England around 1790 to 1810.  Exhibit displays introduce the raw materials, tools, and work necessary to create finished pieces, as well as the manner in which apprentices gained the skills and knowledge to become accomplished trades people. Visitors will see some processes by which goods were made, including weaving on a loom to reproduce an early 19^th-century blanket from our collection.  Hands-on experiences include using handtools like a rasp, a coping saw, and an auger to shape wood in the architectural woodworking gallery, and the hand-processing of wool fibers in the textile gallery, and using a rouletting wheel in clay to make patterns similar to those found in Historic Deerfield’s large collection of English ceramics.  Included with general admission.