Skip to main content

Travel New England: Deerfield Village

Image
By


Deerfield is one of the oldest Massachusetts settlements within the Connecticut River Valley. Settled in 1673, Deerfield was one of the furthest outposts of the early Colonial period. Deerfield and its surrounding areas were heavy in agriculture in the fertile fields of what is now known as the Pioneer Valley.

Old Main Street - Deerfield Village

Within modern day Deerfield is the Historic Old Deerfield Village.  A New England version of Colonial Williamsburg, Deerfield Village is a walk through to 18th Century New England.   Much of the old village sits along a one mile stretch of Old Main Street.  Here numerous historic homes and farmhouses from the 18th centuries can be found.  


With a basic admission of $18 per adult, you are able to walk inside and tour the grounds and many of the homes within Historic Deerfield.  Some homes have guided tours while others are self guided.  At various places with in town, you can see woodworking or cooking demonstrations or take a stop at the Carriage Barn.  When I visited in 2006, a wonderful 91 year old man, who did not look a day of it, tells stories about carriages and farm equipment from the 17th to the early 20th century.

One of the many 18th century homes within Historic Deerfield.

Most of the guided tours are on the hour by members of Historic Deerfield.  Parking is easy and for the most part, it is on either side of the quaint town road.  There is also a gift shop and bookstore.  The Visitor's Center is located within Hall Tavern.  The tavern was built in 1760 in Charlemont and moved to Deerfield.  The Tavern will sometimes host cooking demonstrations and also is home to a cook's garden.

An old fire call box and weathered American flag on the exterior of the Deerfield Fire Station.

Visitors that want to fully immerse themselves within the town can stay overnight at the historic Deerfield Inn which has been operating since 1884.  Or if passing through, enjoy lunch at Champney's Restaurant & Tavern.

The Deerfield Inn offers lodging and meals at Champney's Restaurant and Tavern.

Old Deerfield is a National Historic District and also listed in the National Register of Historic Places.  The preservation of the village under Historic Deerfield began in 1952 as a continuation of the work of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Flynt. 

Deerfield Academy

Deerfield today is a town of just over 5,000 residents.  It is home to the Yankee Candle Flagship store in South Deerfield which attracts thousands.  Deerfield Academy, a private preparatory high school, is located within Historic Deerfield.  The highly prestigious school has been in operation since 1797.

All photos taken by post author - September 30, 2006.

Further Reading:

How To Get There:

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Did Caltrans just kill the G26 cutout US Route shields?

By
The US Route System was formally created by the American Association of State Highway Officials during November 1926.  Through the history of the system the only state to which has elected to maintain cutout US Route shields has been California.  The G26 series cutout US Route shields have become a favorite in the road enthusiast hobby and are generally considered to be much more visually pleasing than the standard Federal Highway Administration variant.  However, the G26 shield series appears to have been killed off on January 18, 2026, when Caltrans updated their Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices.  This blog will examine the history of the US Route shield specifications in California and what is happening with the 2026 changes.  The blog cover photo is facing towards the terminus of California State Route 136 and at a G26-2 specification US Route 395 shield.  In the background Mount Whitney can be seen in the Sierra Nevada range.   ...
3 comments
Read more

Hawaii Route 50

By
Hawaii Route 50 is the longest Sign Route on the island of Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The entirety of Hawaii Route 50 is overlaid atop Kaumualii Highway from Lihue west to the Pacific Missile Range Facility at Barking Sands. Hawaii Route 50 is one of the original 1955-era State Highway designations on Kauai.  Much of the Kaumualii Highway corridor was constructed during the sugar plantation boom of the late Hawaiian Kingdom.  The first tee beam bridge in Hawaii would be constructed along the Kaumualii Highway in 1911 at the Hanapepe.  Much of this highway would be modernized to two-lane standards through the 1930s and 1940s. This page is part of the Gribblenation Hawaii Roads series.  A compellation of all Hawaii-related media from both Gribblenation and RoadwayWiz can be found by clicking  here .  Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 50 and Kaumualii Highway Hawaii Route 50 is the longest highway on Kauai at 32.6 miles.  The highway begins at Rice Str...
Post a Comment
Read more

Ghost Town Tuesday; Nichols, FL

By
A couple years ago I spent a lot of spare time exploring phosphate mining ghost towns in the Bone Valley of Polk County, Florida.  One ghost town in particular called Nichols on Polk County Route 676 west of Mulberry caught my eye due to a relative lack of documentation on ghosttowns.com. Nichols was created in 1905 during the early phosphate mining boom in the Bone Valley region.  For the time Nichols was unusual since it had company housing in the Nichols Mine site and private residences outside the gate.  Nichols is only about two miles west of Mulberry which probably made it a somewhat reasonable commute even by the wonky standards of the early 20th Century.  Most of the Bone Valley region was relatively remote which made commuting or homesteading impractical which is why there are so many ghost towns in the area.  The company housing section of Nichols was phased out and abandoned by 1950. The Nichols town site is largely abandoned and could "possibl...
4 comments
Read more