Deerfield, Massachusetts (April 20, 2021) — Historic Deerfield opens for the 2021 season on Memorial Day weekend, with its opening day scheduled for Saturday, May 29, 2021. The museum days and hours of operation are Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and Monday holidays through November 28, 2021 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Please note, the days and hours of operation are subject to change based on current COVID-19 safety recommendations from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Visitors to Historic Deerfield are required to social distance and wear a mask or face covering by order of the Governor of Massachusetts. The museum’s public spaces are thoroughly cleaned and disinfected frequently in accordance with CDC guidelines.
It is strongly encouraged for visitors to purchase their tickets in advance online at historic-deerfield.org. So that all guests may safely and comfortably tour Historic Deerfield, the museum is now using a timed entry ticketing system to facilitate social distancing. Timed entry tickets indicate visitor arrival time to the museum; timed entry does not reserve a space on a tour. Adult admission is $15, and the museum is pleased to offer free admission for children age 17 and under for the 2021 season. As always, Historic Deerfield members and Deerfield/South Deerfield residents receive free admission.
During this period, admission tickets will only be available at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life. The Visitor Center at Hall Tavern will be closed. Visitors should stop at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life to redeem their online tickets or purchase tickets. If purchasing walk-up (in person) tickets, visitor contact information will be collected at the time of ticket purchase in case contact tracing is needed. The Flynt Center of Early New England Life is located at 37D Old Main Street, in Deerfield.
The 2021 season at Historic Deerfield will feature a variety of programs, tours, and events for visitors to enjoy at a safe distance at both indoor and outdoor museum spaces. Due to COVID-19, access to the museum’s historic houses is limited.
Each weekend, visitors to the museum can explore the exhibitions in the Flynt Center of Early New England Life, walk through the first floors of the Wells-Thorn House or the Frary House, visit the History Workshop, and participate in our outdoor-only tours along Old Main Street. Explore the architecture of Old Deerfield, dive into Deerfield history or see the artwork of the gravestones in Deerfield’s Old Burying Ground on our walking tours. Other outdoor tours will be added throughout the season. All tours are weather permitting.
Visitors can also explore the museum’s gardens, including the Cooks’ Garden of heirloom plants, and the Three Sisters Garden on the grounds of the History Workshop, featuring corn, beans, and squash. The Channing Blake Footpath takes visitors past a working farm and through meadows to the Deerfield River. Interpretive panels along the one-third mile walk describe local geology, natural history, and Native and European presence.
Special programs and events include:
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Digging Deeper: Stebbins House Archaeology Project (May 29, June 11-13, 25-27) Visit the excavation site and talk to archaeologists at work as they follow-up on clues from a ground penetrating radar survey.
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Broom-Making Demonstrations at the History Workshop (Saturdays) Watch a broom being made by hand, learn about growing broomcorn, and see broom making tools and equipment.
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Summer Evening Strolls (June 6, 20, July 4, 18, August 1, 22) Special guided evening walking tours along Old Main Street, followed by a discount on dinner and history trivia at Champney's Restaurant at the Deerfield Inn.
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Family Fun Days (July 10, August 14) Enjoy special outdoor activities for families on the museum grounds, including a Storywalk™, a Take and Make craft activity, a self-guided family-friendly Scavenger Hunt, Storytelling and Musical Performances.
Visit the museum's website for a complete list of events, including virtual programming.
Exhibitions at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life include:
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TEXTiles and Technology: Featured in the Helen Geier Flynt Textile Gallery in 2021 is an insightful display featuring a group of objects that used both the printed word and/or new innovations to decorate and improve life for people in the 19th and 20th centuries. The theme is explored through a selection of objects that include an engaging pair of printed cotton handkerchiefs, a rare pair of early 20th-century water wings, and a 19th-century hoop skirt patent – as well as an actual hoop skirt made to its specifications!
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View an impressive array of furniture produced in Boston in the 18th and 19th centuries in the “Into the Woods” gallery at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life. Rare and exceptional forms include an 18th-century japanned high chest, an 18th-century turret-top tea table, and a 19th-century sideboard attributed to cabinetmakers John and Thomas Seymour.
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In 18th and 19th-century Britain and America, ceramics became an important medium for denouncing the horrors of slavery and promoting social change. Come visit the “Museum’s Attic” at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life to view and learn more about examples of anti-slavery ceramics, and the meaning behind their design and decoration.
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Branches of Woodworking: Labor, Learning & Livelihood, 1760-1860, a new exhibition in the Flynt Center’s lobby featuring the diverse scope of work practiced by different kinds of woodworkers.
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In the Flynt Center hallway, Following the Captives’ Trail is a photographic expedition by Allison Williams Bell combining images and maps with cultural and natural history details to give a sense of the daunting challenges met by the 1704 captors and captives of the Deerfield Raid.
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About Historic Deerfield, Inc.
Historic Deerfield is a museum of early American life situated in an authentic 18th-century New England village in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts. Its historic houses and world-famous collection of early American decorative arts open doors to new perspectives that inspire people to seek a deeper understanding of themselves, their communities, and the world.
