Historic Deerfield

Historic Deerfield has an outstanding collection of preserved, restored, and rebuilt eighteenth and nineteenth century homes. The houses are lined up on historic Old Main Street. The houses have guided tours which allow you to experience and learn the history of each house. The Flynt Center of Early New England Life is a modern museum in Historic Deerfield that displays over 2,500 artifacts from across New England. Some of the houses also offer demonstrations of life in this village in early America. All together there are over 12 different buildings in the village. For all that Historic Deerfield offers there are some things which could be better. Some of the houses are currently not open due to renovations or simply not having enough staffing. Although tours are offered for different buildings they are offered at the top of the hour only. It would be better to allow for self guided tours, or audio tours in many of the historic houses. This way visitors could see many more of the houses and get to see everything that is there. The village does need to showcase more of the history that it has, and there were simply too many houses that were closed. Tickets should be purchased in the Visitor Center. The gift shop is across from the Visitor Center and offers many different Historic Deerfield items. Some of the best houses to see in the village include the Wells-Thorn House, the Sheldon House, the Williams House, and the Barnard Tavern. An interesting place with lots of history.