Memorial Hall Museum facts for kids
Memorial Hall Museum is a special place in Deerfield, Massachusetts. It helps us learn about the history, art, and culture of this area and all of New England. The museum is looked after by a group called the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association (PVMA). It first opened its doors in 1880.
The Museum's First Home
The building where Memorial Hall Museum is today has a long history. It was first built in 1798 to be the home of Deerfield Academy, a school. A famous architect named Asher Benjamin designed it.
The building was a school until 1878. Even when it was a school, it was planned to have a museum inside. This makes it one of the oldest museum buildings in the United States!
The first collection included interesting rocks and "curiosities." These items helped students learn. There were also special things donated by the family of Reverend John Williams. He was taken to Canada after a big event in 1704 called the Raid on Deerfield.
How the Museum Started
In 1870, a person named George Sheldon started the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association (PVMA). He was very interested in saving old things and history. George Sheldon was the first president of this group.
He worked hard to find and save old papers, books, and artifacts (historical items). When Deerfield Academy moved to a new building in 1878, the PVMA took over the Memorial Hall building. They added many items that George Sheldon had collected.
The museum opened to the public in 1880. It had three rooms that showed what life was like in Colonial America. This was the first museum in the United States to create a permanent "period room." A period room is like a time capsule, showing how a room looked in a specific historical time. The museum building has been made bigger several times over the years.
(Even though it's close to the buildings of Historic Deerfield, Memorial Hall Museum is a separate place.)
What You Can See Inside
The museum focuses on the history, art, and culture of Deerfield. It also covers the Deerfield River Valley, the Connecticut River Valley, and the wider New England area. The items range from ancient times all the way to today.
The museum's collection includes many different things. You can see old furniture, paintings, and photographs. There are also beautiful quilts and other fabrics. You might find old musical instruments and tools. The museum also has important Native American artifacts. Many items from the Arts and Crafts Movement are on display too.
The museum also has a huge library and archive. It holds more than 25,000 old papers, books, maps, and other historical documents.
One very special item in the museum is the Indian House Door. This is a piece of a door from the French and Native American Raid on Deerfield. An old message next to the door says how this "stout door kept at bay the French and Indians." It also says its "hatchet hewn face still tells the tale of that fateful night."
The PVMA also owns a copy of the Indian House, which is also in Deerfield. You can visit this replica too.
