Deerfield

We made our first visit on our journey through Massachusetts on Sunday March 2, 2008 to the town of Deerfield in Franklin County. Actually we basically visited Old Deerfield which is an historic area of the town. We drove from our home in Chicopee about 40 minutes to the historic Deerfield region where they were having a re-enactment of the 1704 Deerfield Massacre. A battle of Queen Anne's War, the early morning raid of the quiet Puritan village by French and Native American forces, razed the village and left 47 dead with over 100 others captured. The battle has gained local notoriety and is marked by a reenactment every year. The surrounding area is a curious mix of old and restored buildings, modern houses, museum buildings that are a favorite field trip destination for students from all over western Mass and the grounds of the prestigious Deerfield Academy.

We visited the Flynt Center for Early New England Life which is part of the museum complex in Old Deerfield. It was very interesting to see the extensive collection of engraved powder horns - something I wouldn't necessarily ever thought of looking at but once you see them, it is very entriguing! Many of them are ornately decorated with the names of their owners and pictures of battles, coats-of-arms or other items of interest to the owner. This powder horn is engraved with the name David Willson 1747.

Dave has been researching his geneaology for several years now and is always looking for names that may connect in some way to his family tree. He knew this was a possible connection and he was right! He has posted the picture on one of his websites and is making the connections.

The rest of the museum had all types of artifacts and one of the best parts is the "attic" which is filled with furniture, dishes, swords, household items and pictures that they own but have not been made part of an official display yet. All items are beautifully preserved, numbered and displayed behind glass with access to computers to get more information about any item. This building is open to the public free of charge.

We also walked to the old burying ground to see if we could find any other of Dave's ancestors because he knows there were Bassett's and Blodgett's in the area at that time. As you can see the stones were pretty much buried in the snow so we will have to make another trip to old Deerfield in the spring or summer.

The last place we stopped in Old Deerfield was outside the post office to take a picture. The building is restored but retains the old world charm.

It was a great day for a drive and a walk outside - seems like spring is on its way!