A brief biography of a Deerfield native and America’s first African American poet.
Wells-Thorn House
Built in 1747, the Wells-Thorn House presents period rooms depicting the lifestyle of Deerfield residents in a progression from the early days of 1725 all the way up to the high-style of the 1850s. It is furnished to illustrate the development of the agricultural economy, domestic life, and refinement in the Connecticut Valley. The earliest rooms of the Wells-Thorn House show life in Deerfield during the frontier period. As consumer goods became more plentiful, craftsmen expanded their skills, and gentility and modernity replaced security as a concern. Later period rooms in the house reflect the increased availability of consumer goods and the growing prosperity and sophistication of Deerfield’s residents.
Guided tours are available during the regular season on the hour from 10:00am to 4:00pm.
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News
Join needlework experts and Historic Deerfield staff for a day of embroidery exploration and the launch of the new Marietta Stebbins sampler kit on Sat., Sept. 25. Joanne Harvey, owner of The Examplarery, will guide participants in using her kit to recreate Stebbins’ sampler.
Programs
New! Join museum educators in this fun family program to learn about bees and honey. Taste different kinds of honey, and make a beeswax candle to take home. Included with general admission.
In conjunction with the exhibition Dinner is Served!, Historic Deerfield will offer a chance for homeschool families to discuss how changing history and material culture influenced the dinner table.
Join Joanne Harvey for a workshop focused on reproducing the Marietta Stebbins’ 1801 sampler. Pre-registration required by September 17. Download the Information and Registration Form, or please contact Julie Orvis Marcinkiewicz at (413) 775-7179 or jmarcinkiewicz [at] historic-deerrfield [dot] org.
Historic Deerfield’s open hearth cooks will prepare select dishes that are on display in the Sheldon House, Hinsdale and Anna Williams House, and Stebbins House as part of the exhibition Dinner is Served!: Dining and the Decorative Arts. Come see “what’s cooking” and learn how these dishes were prepared in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Included with general admission.
New! Join Historic Deerfield and the Deerfield Inn for a fun and educational opportunity to learn more about tea drinking in colonial Deerfield. Pre-registration is required by September 22. For more information or to register, please call 413-774-5587.
Special fundraiser to support our local PBS station and WGBY. Gain access to experts from the Antiques Dealers’ Association of America (ADA).
Come meet Tukufu Zuberi from the PBS hit series History Detectives at a special live show to benefit WGBY. Pre-registration required. For tickets and more information, please call WGBY at 800-781-9429, or log on to wgby.org.
The kitchen was the center of activity in the Colonial era. Food preparation took a great deal of time, and children were expected to help with the many chores of meal time. Families are invited to come to the History Workshop where they can learn about making a colonial dinner through role playing.
Visitors of all ages are invited to attend a performance by musician and folklorist Cliff McGann who grew up outside of Boston with a strong connection to family in Nova Scotia. Today he continues to study, perform, and interpret music and folklore of both New England and Nova Scotia. He performs as a solo artist, and also regularly with The Boston Kiltics, a New England-based Celtic music and dance troupe. Included with general admission.
No matter your level of interest or ability to collect antiques, there will be something for everybody at the 2010 ADA/Historic Deerfield Antiques Show. The two-day event will include more than 50 of the country’s leading antique dealers selling thousands of rare antiques—from furniture and carpets to books and quilts.
Historic Deerfield will offer a Colonial Tavern Night on Saturday, October 9, focusing on the traditional New England harvest and featuring live entertainment by Bob Olsen as magician Mr. Potter and music by the Merry Players. For Colonial Tavern Night reservations, please call 413-775-7179 or e-mail events [at] historic-deerfield [dot] org.
Historic Deerfield’s open hearth cooks will prepare select dishes that are on display in the Sheldon House, Hinsdale and Anna Williams House, and Stebbins House as part of the exhibition Dinner is Served!: Dining and the Decorative Arts. Come see “what’s cooking” and learn how these dishes were prepared in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Included with general admission.
Join us for an Archaeological Walking Tour with Bob Paynter, Professor of Anthropology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Enjoy a guided tour of the Old Burying Ground with a guide from Historic Deerfield at 11:30 a.m. Free and open to the public.
Enjoy the fun of Halloween and the beauty of harvest during the fall season. Historic Deerfield presents seasonal hearth cooking, pumpkin decorating, wagon rides, mask-making, and face painting. Wear a costume and enjoy some early trick-or-treating at select historic houses. Included with general admission.
Come learn about early 19th-century cookery as an open hearth cook makes dishes from “receipts” (or recipes) from The American Frugal Housewife written by Lydia Maria Child in 1829. This cookbook was one of the most widely used and reprinted cookbooks in American culinary history. Included with general admission.
Families will make a holiday gift to give to someone special. With thread and a needle museum educators will help visitors embroider a small design or initials on a cloth napkin. Make a unique napkin ring to go along with the napkin, and tie it up with a ribbon. Then decorate a card, and put it a gift bag. Included with general admission.
Historic Deerfield will offer a symposium that explores design and proportion in early American furniture and architecture through lectures by international experts and hands-on workshops by master cabinetmakers.
New! Join Historic Deerfield and the Deerfield Inn for a fun and educational opportunity to learn more about tea drinking in colonial Deerfield. Pre-registration is required by November 10. For more information or to register, please call 413-774-5587.
Meet Jennifer Lee, Algonkian descendant, artist and re-enactor. Lee will be at Historic Deerfield to share material culture and customs as a historical Algonkian woman. Through basket-making demonstrations and conversation, she will help visitors understand the persistence of Native American life and culture into the present. Also enjoy open hearth cooking demonstrations, and craft a hand-made gift with the help of a museum educator. Included with general admission.
Meet members of the Society of the 17th Century, a group of re-enactors who will bring our historic Hall Tavern building to life with an incredible array of period arts, crafts, and trades that represent 17th-century English life. Included with general admission.
Help create beautiful natural wreaths to decorate the doorways of Deerfield.
Join President Philip Zea on a trip to The Connecticut Historical Society and the Florence Griswold Museum to view two exhibitions, one of which features embroidery from Historic Deerfield’s collection: Connecticut Needlework: Women, Art, and Family, 1740-1840, and With Needle and Brush: Schoolgirl Embroidery From the Connecticut River Valley.
Exhibitions
In collaboration with the Museums10 consortium and the region-wide partnership “Table for 10: The Art, History and Science of Food,” Historic Deerfield’s new exhibition will explore the social, cultural, and artistic importance of dining in early America with displays in the lobby of the Flynt Center of Early New England Life, as well as in three dining rooms of historic houses.
Explore a dazzling array of masterworks by famous American cabinetmakers including Duncan Phyfe and Honoré Lannuier, Samuel McIntire, John and Thomas Seymour, and John Townsend. Included with general admission.
Examine one of the finest collections of early American textiles and costumes ever assembled!
Museum Store
The tradition and styles of Deerfield Academy’s fireplaces.
An up to date history of Deerfield homelots integrating new interpretations of architectural evidence and insights into family history.
How people in a rural area acquired objects and knowledge to improve themselves and the society in which they lived.
An attractive, roomy carryall great for everyday use. 16” long x12” high
Proudly display your heritage with this Deerfield Descendant bumper sticker.
An up to date history of Deerfield homelots integrating new interpretations of architectural evidence and insights into family history.
New! Doorways of Deerfield features 16 historic houses and buildings throught the village of Old Deerfield. Under each doorway is the name of the house or building. Photographer Dan Dougherty. Poster comes rolled ready for you to frame. 18” x 24”
Dublin Seminar for New England Folklife, an illustrated and annotated checklist of 220 doorways.
Support Historic Deerfield with this 100% cotton twill cap.
80 pages of full color photos by Richard Cheek celebrating the four seasons in the historic village.
Hand hooked wool rug depicting 7 of our village buildings in Springtime. Taken from a painting by Anne Bell Robb, a MA artist. 2’ x 3’.
New! Doorways of Deerfield features 16 historic houses and buildings throught the village of Old Deerfield. Under each doorway is the name of the house or building. Photographer Dan Dougherty. Poster comes rolled ready for you to frame. 18” x 24”
