A Town Divided: Deerfield in the Age of Revolution

This exhibition explores how a rural Massachusetts community responded to the upheaval of the late 1760s through the 1780s. Using objects, documents, and personal narratives, it will present multiple perspectives on how Deerfield residents embraced, rejected, or questioned Revolutionary ideals. While many associate the Revolution with Boston or battlefield sites, A Town Divided brings the promises—and contradictions—of the Revolution to life through the lens of a deeply divided rural town in western Massachusetts.

As in other communities, Deerfield’s citizens struggled to adapt to an everchanging social, political, and economic landscape as rebellion and war affected villages far from urban centers and coastal cities. In Deerfield, which was evenly split between Loyalists and Whigs, conflicts between neighbors upturned lives and polarized the community. By expanding and interpreting Deerfield’s stories, the exhibition investigates overlooked aspects of the Revolution, highlighting a period when Americans faced severe challenges but eventually emerged a new nation.

Objects, documents, and voices from the period allow us to access the urgency and uncertainty of the era. The ideals of equality and liberty engaged not only Loyalists and Whigs, but also rich and poor, women and children, African Americans (both free and enslaved), and Indigenous people.

This program is made possible by a grant from Mass Humanities, which provided funding through the Massachusetts Cultural Council.