“Old Indian House”

From the collections of PVMA • Digital image © Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Assoc. • Image use information

About this item

This Deerfield, Massachusetts, house, built by John Sheldon in 1699, survived a 1704 raid on the town by French soldiers from Canada with their Indigenous allies.  Sheldon lost his wife and a daughter in the attack and three children and his daughter-in-law were taken captive and marched to Canada, but were eventually redeemed.  The attackers had hacked a hole in the front door of the house and soon after the raid, early tourists came to Deerfield to see what was dubbed the “Indian House” and its door. In the 1730s, the Hoyt family acquired the home and ran a tavern in one of its front rooms.  The house stood until 1848, when it was taken down by its owners.  The front door eventually made its way to Deerfield’s Memorial Hall Museum, where it can still be seen today.

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Details

Item typeDocumentary Photograph
PhotographerNorth, William Case
Datecirca 1848
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicArchitecture, Buildings
EraColonial settlement, 1620–1762
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatPhotography; Daguerreotype
Dimension detailsHeight: 4.75 in Width: 6.00 in
Catalog #1988.12
View this item in our curatorial database →
North, William Case, photographer. Old Indian House. Photograph. ca. 1848. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1988-12/. Accessed on December 5, 2024.

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