The Ensign John Sheldon house in Deerfield, Massachusetts, achieved local fame after it was attacked during the February 29, 1704 raid on the town by French and Indigenous soldiers. The 1847 decision by its owner to demolish the house and erect a new dwelling in its place stimulated one of the earliest recorded preservation movements in the United States. Appeals for donations to purchase and preserve the “Indian House” failed to raise enough money. The house was razed in 1848, save for a few architectural fragments, including a door with a hole hacked in it during the 1704 raid. Participants in this initial preservation effort founded the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, and preserved other local buildings, artifacts and documents. George Washington Mark (1795-1879) was one of many people who came to view this famous local landmark. He painted the old “Indian House” just before it was demolished.