“Old Indian House” Door

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

About this item

This fortified door from a house in Deerfield, Massachusetts, is one of only two surviving exterior doors dating from the 17th century. Salvaged from the house John Sheldon built in 1699, the door has come to symbolize a 1704 raid on the town- a conflict between Deerfield’s early settlers and the French in Canada and their Native American allies. When the house was taken down in 1848, residents began to question the fate of other relics of their past. This concern eventually resulted in the formation of the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and the opening of Memorial Hall Museum, where the “Old Indian House door” and other material evidence of the past could be safely housed and displayed.

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Details

Item typeHousehold Objects
Date1699
PlaceDeerfield, Massachusetts
TopicArchitecture, Buildings
EraColonial settlement, 1620–1762
EventDeerfield Raid. February 29, 1704
MaterialWood
Dimension detailsHeight: 69.25 in Width: 36.12 in Depth: 2.00 in
Catalog #IR.001
View this item in our curatorial database →
Old Indian House. 1699. Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, American Centuries. https://americancenturies.org/collection/ir-001/. Accessed on December 5, 2024.

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