Interior of the First Church of Deerfield

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

About this item

Decorated for Christmas and with both a cross and flanking tablets displaying The Ten Commandments, the First Church of Deerfield, Massachusetts, appears  very different from the four buildings that preceded it.  This brick building was constructed next to the town common in 1824.  It was the town’s  fifth “meetinghouse” and the first to be used “solely for worship,” and not also for town meetings. Christmas was not celebrated in New England until the middle years of the 19th century so decorations like these never appeared in previous meetinghouses. Note the grain-painted box pews and the absence of an altar.

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Details

Item typeDocumentary Photograph
PhotographerAllen, Frances and Mary
Datecirca 1910
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicReligion, Church, Meetings & Revivals
EraProgressive Era, World War I, 1900–1928
MaterialPaper
Process/FormatPhotography
Dimension detailsHeight: 5.00 in Width: 8.00 in
Catalog #1996.14.0658
View this item in our curatorial database →
Allen, Frances and Mary, photographer. Interior of the First Church of Deerfield. Photograph. ca. 1910. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/1996-14-0658/. Accessed on December 5, 2024.

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