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.
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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