Buildings

David Hoyt House, Deerfield, Massachusetts

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The David Hoyt House on Old Main Street in Deerfield, on July 24, 1930. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library; photographed by Leon Abdalian.

The house in 2023:

This house was built in 1803 near the southern end of Deerfield’s Old Main Street. It was originally the home of David Hoyt, and it was subsequently owned by several more generations of the Hoyt family, including his son Horatio Hoyt and grandson Horatio Hoyt Jr.

The house features Federal style architecture, including details such as ornate window casings and pediments above the first floor windows, along with a distinctive front doorway. Although not as large or elaborate as the Federal style homes that were being built in the coastal parts of Massachusetts during this time, the house is nonetheless a good example of this type of architecture here in the Connecticut River Valley.

The top photo was taken in 1930, and very little has changed here in nearly a century since then. Along with many other homes here in the center of Deerfield, it is now owned by Deerfield Academy, but the exterior remains nearly identical to when the top photo was taken. It is one of the many well-preserved historic homes here on Old Main Street, and it is a contributing property in the Deerfield Village Historic District, which was designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1966.

Sheldon House, Deerfield, Massachusetts

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The Sheldon House on Old Main Street in Deerfield, on July 24, 1930. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library; photographed by Leon Abdalian.

The house in 2023:

The house shown in these two photos was built around 1754 as the home of John Sheldon III (1710-1793) and his wife Mercy Arms. John was the grandson of the first John Sheldon, who had built the famous “Old Indian House,” which survived the French and Native American raid on the town in 1704. This had occurred a few years before the younger John was born, but his newlywed parents had been in that house at the time of the raid. His father escaped safely, but his mother Hannah was captured and taken to Canada as a prisoner, although she was released several years later.

John and Mercy were married in 1734, and by the time they moved into this house they had three teenaged children: Mercy, Hannah, and John. Their son John Sheldon IV eventually inherited the property, and he likewise raised his family here after marrying Persis Hoyt in 1769. They had eight children, who were born between 1770 and 1794: David, William, John, Ephraim, Mercy, Persis, Seth, and Polly.

To accommodate this large and growing family, the Sheldons added a wing to the back of the house. However, tuberculosis soon swept through the family. Over the next five years John Sheldon IV died, as did his children William, Ephraim, Mercy, and Persis, all of whom were in their late teens or twenties. Their youngest child, Polly, also died young, in 1814 at the age of 19.

Having outlived most of his older siblings, their youngest son Seth eventually inherited this house. He married Caroline Stebbins in 1810, and they had five children, including George Sheldon, who would likewise go on to inherit the house. Throughout the 19th century, George Sheldon was a prominent figure in Deerfield. He served one term each in the state house of representatives and the state senate, but he is best remembered for his work as a historian. He was one of the founders and the first president of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, and he wrote extensively about local history, including the two-volume A History of Deerfield Massachusetts.

George Sheldon died in 1916 at the age of 98. By that point, thanks in part of his efforts, Deerfield was becoming noteworthy for its history and for its well-preserved historic Main Street. The top photo was taken in 1930 by Leon Abdalian, who used his camera to document many historic homes in New England during the early 20th century. It was still owned by descendants of the Sheldon family at the time, and the photo shows some of the changes that had occurred to the house, including the bay window on the left side and the twin chimneys in place of the earlier central chimney. The Sheldon descendants eventually sold the house in 1946, nearly 200 years after John Sheldon built it.

Today, the house is one of the many historic homes on Main Street that has been preserved by Historic Deerfield. It has undergone some exterior restoration to bring it back to its 18th century appearance, including the replacement of the central chimney and the removal of the bay window. Overall, though, it is still easily recognizable from the top photo. On the interior, the house is furnished based on how it would have looked during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Along with most of the other houses owned by Historic Deerfield, it is open to the public seasonally for tours.

Indian House Children’s Museum, Deerfield, Massachusetts

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The Indian House Children’s Museum on Old Main Street in Deerfield, on July 24, 1930. Image courtesy of the Boston Public Library; photographed by Leon Abdalian.

The house in 2023:

This house was built in 1929 as a replica of the John Sheldon House, also known as the Old Indian House. The original house had been built in 1696, and it stood a little to the north of here, behind the modern-day First Church. It was a famous Deerfield landmark for having survived the 1704 French and Native American raid on the village.

Despite its historical significance, the old house was demolished in 1848, but its loss eventually spurred the construction of this replica more than 80 years later. It was built using traditional construction methods, and this site on Old Main Street was chosen in part because of the large elm tree on the left, which was similar to the elm that once stood in front of the original house.

The first photo was taken about a year after the replica house opened, and not much has changed here in this scene since then, aside from the loss of the elm tree, which likely fell victim to Dutch Elm Disease in the mid-20th century. The house itself is still here, and it is run by the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association as the Indian House Children’s Museum.

John Sheldon House, Deerfield, Massachusetts

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The John Sheldon House, also known as the “Old Indian House,” in Deerfield, Massachusetts, around 1848. Image from Picturesque Franklin (1891).

The scene in 2023:

Deerfield features one of the best-preserved colonial town centers in New England, with a number of 18th century homes lining its historic Old Main Street. However, perhaps its single most famous landmark is a house that has been gone for the past 175 years. Known variously as the John Sheldon House or the Old Indian House, it was built around 1696 and stood here on the west side of Old Main Street until it was demolished in 1848. The top photo was taken shortly before its demolition, making it a very early example of an architectural photograph.

When it was built, the house was the largest in town. The original portion of the house measured 42 feet by 21 feet, and it consisted of two rooms on the first floor, two on the second floor, and a garret space in the attic. In the center of the house was a large chimney, which measured ten feet on each side on the first floor. Later in the 18th century, a kitchen lean-to was added to the back of the house, creating a saltbox-style appearance.

This was a common layout that was used in New England houses well into the mid-18th century, but it also had some architectural features that indicated its 17th century origins. It had a very steep roof, which was often seen on First Period homes, and it also appears to have had a fairly ornate chimney, in contrast to the more plain chimneys found on 18th century homes. Perhaps the most distinctive clues to its age were the overhanging second story on the front façade and the overhanging end gables on the sides of the house. These types of overhangs were common on 17th century homes, and were holdovers from post-medieval architecture in England.

Although the house was architecturally significant as a particularly elaborate First Period home in the Connecticut River Valley, it is best remembered for its role in the 1704 raid on Deerfield. The raid occurred during Queen Anne’s War, which was known in Europe as the War of Spanish Succession. The conflict began in Europe following the death of Charles II of Spain, the famously-inbred Hapsburg monarch who died without any heirs. Louis XIV of France claimed his grandson as the rightful heir to the Spanish throne, but this prompted England to go to war with France and Spain, in order to avoid shifting the balance of power in Europe. And, as was often the case in the 18th century, the conflict spilled over into the Americas, where French and English colonists fought for territorial control.

At the time, Deerfield was the northernmost major English settlement in the Connecticut River Valley, which left it vulnerable to French incursions. During the early morning hours of February 29, 1704, the town was attacked by a force of about 48 French soldiers and 240 Abenaki and other Native American warriors. The raiders went from house to house, killing or capturing as many of the inhabitants as possible, while also burning many of the homes.

Here at the Sheldon house, John Sheldon was evidently not home at the time, but the rest of his family was. The raiders had difficulty getting into the house due to the strength of the front door, but they used their axes to chop small holes in the door, which enabled them to shoot into the house. One of the bullets struck and killed John’s wife, Hannah.

The raiders were eventually able to gain access through the back door of the house. John’s son, who was also named John, was upstairs with his newlywed wife Hannah. They jumped out the window, intending to flee to Hatfield, but Hannah sprained her ankle in the fall. She was eventually captured, but she urged John to continue to Hatfield to get help for the town.

Aside from Hannah, several other members of the Sheldon family were captured, including 16-year-old Mary, 12-year-old Ebenezer, and 11-year-old Remembrance. The youngest Sheldon sibling, 2-year-old Mercy, was killed during the raid, supposedly from having her head beaten on the doorstep of the house.

In total, there were 291 Deerfield residents here in the village at the time of the raid. Of those, 56 were killed and 112 were captured. Nearly half of the houses in town were burned, but the Sheldon house survived. The house was temporarily used as a holding site for the captives before they were marched northward to Canada.

Some of the captives were killed during the march, and many of the young children were adopted into Native American families and chose not to return to the English colonies. However, All four of the Sheldon captives survived the march, and over the next few years John Sheldon made several trips to Canada to negotiate their release. All four were back here in Deerfield by 1706.

This house would remain in the Sheldon family for many years, with Ebenezer eventually acquiring it from his father. He lived here until 1744, when he sold the house to Jonathan Hoyt and relocated to Bernardston. There he built a fortified house that formed part of the northern defenses of the Massachusetts Bay colony during the next major war, King George’s War. As was the case 40 years earlier, English colonists fought against the French and their Native American allies, and one of Ebenezer Sheldon’s children was killed near their house in Bernardston during this war.

In the meantime, the old Sheldon house here in Deerfield remained in the Hoyt family for more than a hundred years. By the early 19th century it had become the town’s most famous landmark, but in 1847 the owner, one of the Hoyt descendants, announced that he would be demolishing it in order to build a new house on the site. The news prompted an outcry, and there were proposals to preserve it by moving the house to a new location. This was a very early example of historic preservation efforts in the United States, but it ultimately did not succeed in saving the house, which was demolished in 1848. However, several relics from the house were saved, most significantly the battle-scarred front door, and the exterior of the house was documented with a photograph, as shown in the image here at the top of this post.

Today, the site of the house is now part of the campus of Deerfield Academy. Its location is marked by a small monument, which is visible in the lower left side of the second photo. Aside from this, the only visible reminder of the scene from the top photo is the back part of the First Church, which can be seen on the right side of both photos. The door of the old house still exists, and it is on display at the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association (PVMA) museum here in Deerfield. The PVMA also owns a replica of the Sheldon House, which is known as the Indian House Children’s Museum. It was built in 1929, and it stands a little to the north of here, on the west side of Old Main Street.

Old Manse North Parlor, Concord, Massachusetts

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The north parlor at the Old Manse in Concord, probably around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos show the parlor in the northeast corner of the first floor at the Old Manse. In contrast to the south parlor, which was used primarily by family and close friends, the north parlor was historically a more formal space for entertaining guests, and would have generally had finer decorations and furnishings.

As described in more detail in an earlier post, the Old Manse was built in 1770 as the home of William and Phebe Emerson. William was the pastor of the church in Concord, but he died only a few years later in 1776, while serving as a chaplain in the Continental Army. His successor at the church was Ezra Ripley, who would go on to serve as pastor for 63 years. Ripley also married Emerson’s widow Phebe, and they lived here in this house for the rest of their lives.

The house remained in the Ripley family and their descendants for many years, but the house is best remembered for its association with two prominent writers who lived here early in their careers. From 1834 to 1835, William and Phebe Emerson’s grandson, Ralph Waldo Emerson, lived in the house, and then from 1842 to 1845 the family rented the house to Nathaniel Hawthorne and his newlywed wife Sophia. Both Emerson and Hawthorne used the same upstairs room as their study, and they each wrote some of their earliest published works there.

The top photo shows the north parlor at some point around the turn of the 20th century, when the house was owned by Ezra and Phebe’s granddaughter Sophia Thayer. Her daughter, Sarah Ames, subsequently inherited the house, and she owned it until her death in 1939. Sarah’s husband then donated the house and all of its contents to the Trustees of Reservations, a nonprofit conservation and historic preservation organization in Massachusetts.

Today, the house is still owned by the Trustees and operated as a museum. Here in the North Parlor, the highlights include an 1864 Steinway piano, which is partially visible in the lower right corner of the second photo, and the standing desk beyond it to the right. The desk originally belonged to Ezra Ripley, and it was there that he composed over 3,000 sermons during his more than six decades of ministry at the church.

Old Manse Main Staircase, Concord, Massachusetts (2)

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The second floor hallway and staircase at the Old Manse in Concord, probably around 1890-1910. Image courtesy of the Phillips Library at the Peabody Essex Museum, Frank Cousins Glass Plate Negatives Collection.

The scene in 2023:

These two photos were taken directly above the spot where the ones in a previous post were taken. The photos in the other post show the scene on the first floor, while these two photos show the stairway from the second floor, looing west. As discussed in more detail in other posts, this house was built in 1770 as the home of William and Phebe Emerson. The Emerson family was here when the Battle of Concord occurred in their backyard, and they witnessed the battle from the room on the right side of this hallway, in the northwest corner of the house. However, the house is perhaps best remembered for having briefly been the home of their grandson Ralph Waldo Emerson, and later as the home of Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Ralph Waldo Emerson lived here for about a year from 1834 to 1835. At the time he was a young widower and former pastor who had abandoned the ministry after the death of his first wife. Although he spent a relatively short time here, this was a formative period in his life as he began to develop his Transcendentalist philosophy. His study was located in the same room where his grandparents had watched the battle, and it was there that he wrote his famous essay “Nature,” which had a strong influence on the subsequent Transcendentalist movement.

Emerson moved out of the house after his marriage to his second wife Lidian in 1835. His step grandfather Ezra Ripley, who had owned the house, died in 1841, and starting in 1842 Ezra’s son Samuel rented the house to another young aspiring writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne and his wife Sophia spent their wedding night here in the house in 1842, and they lived here for the next three years, with Hawthorne likewise using the same room as Emerson for his study. While living here, he wrote a number of short stories that were later published as a book, titled Mosses from and Old Manse.

The top photo was taken at some point around the turn of the 20th century by photographer Frank Cousins, who used his camera to document the interiors and exteriors of many historic New England homes. The house was still owned by descendants of the Ripley family, and it remained in the family until 1939, when Ezra and Phebe Ripley’s great granddaughter Sarah Ames died.

After Sarah Ames’s death, her husband donated the house and its contents to the Trustees of Reservations, which continues to operate the house as a museum. It remains well-preserved, and it is still furnished with the Ripley family’s belongings, including many of the items shown here in these photos. The furnishings are not all in the same spot as they were when the top photo was taken, but otherwise the only significant difference is the wallpaper. The current wallpaper, with its trompe l’oeil drapery, is based on the wallpaper that was in the hallway earlier in the 19th century, before the wallpaper in the top photo was installed.