The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association was founded in 1870 and is one of the country’s oldest historical preservation societies. Volume I of the Association’s proceedings (p. 7), published in 1890, records its purpose as “collecting and preserving such memorials, books, records, papers and curiosities as may tend to illustrate and perpetuate the history of the early settlers of this region, and of the race which vanished before them.” The Association opened a seven-room museum, Memorial Hall, in the original Deerfield Academy building in 1880. Since its founding the Association has both sustained and expanded its original purpose, encompassing later eras and employing a multifaceted approach to interpreting the area’s history – through museums, a library, Web sites, and cultural and historical programs in the community and with area schools.