Historic Deerfield announces schedule for Revolution’s

A silversmithing demonstration takes place during Historic Deerfield’s 2025 season.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo

DEERFIELD — As the nation approaches the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution, Historic Deerfield’s 2026 season is centered on bringing the Revolutionary era to life as a lived, local experience in Western Massachusetts.

Starting April 18, visitors can explore the era through a new series of exhibitions that examines the Revolutionary period from multiple perspectives: political, cultural, aesthetic and deeply personal.

Drawing from its extensive collections and the stories of local residents, Historic Deerfield’s upcoming exhibitions illuminate how the Revolution was experienced, debated, and understood both in New England and across the Atlantic world.

The three exhibitions include “Picturing the Revolution, Dressing the Revolution, Fashion and Politics 1760-1789” and “A Town Divided, Deerfield in the Age of the Revolution.” The first two exhibitions will run from April 18 to Jan. 3, 2027 while the third exhibition will run from April 18 until Jan. 2, 2028.

Together, the exhibitions reveal how images shaped political narratives across the Atlantic world; how garments, textiles, and adornment became declarations of allegiance; and how one rural Massachusetts town grappled with the upheaval transforming an empire into a republic. According to organizers, by placing Deerfield within the wider currents of Revolutionary thought and commerce, these exhibitions illuminate Western Massachusetts’ essential role in the birth of the nation.

Historic Deerfield Marketing and Communications Director Danaë DiNicola said that during the spring and summer, Historic Deerfield is offering hands-on and immersive programs that connect visitors directly to 18th-century life. These programs include weekly trade demonstrations like blacksmithing, tailoring, and pottery; hearth cooking programs featuring historically significant foods like election cake; and family-focused activities at the Discovery Center that explore Revolutionary espionage through coded messages and invisible ink.

Special events include Wooly Wonders in early May, which highlights the agricultural and textile traditions that underpinned the colonial economy, and a Juneteenth Witness Stones Walking Tour that expands the Revolutionary narrative by honoring the lives of enslaved people in Deerfield, including Prince, an enslaved man who sought self-emancipation.

Later in the season, Historic Deerfield is collaborating with Plays in Place to present “A Stake in the Ground: 1774,” a series of outdoor, site-specific performances set on the eve of the Revolution.

“Altogether, the season invites visitors to explore the Revolution not as a distant story, but as something that unfolded in homes, workshops and communities like Deerfield,” DiNicola stated.

Historic Deerfield is a museum of early American life located in an authentic 18th-century New England village in the Connecticut River Valley. Through its preserved historic houses and extensive collection of decorative arts, it offers visitors a chance to engage directly with the material and cultural history of early America.

DiNicola said Historic Deerfield generally offers a robust lineup of exhibitions, demonstrations, and public programs, but has unified the theme of the American Revolution into a lot of its offerings this season. “Recognizing the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution was quite important to Historic Deerfield, particularly because this region played a meaningful role in that history,” DiNicola stated. “Our goal is not just to commemorate the anniversary, but to encourage thoughtful engagement with it.”

This 250th anniversary of the Revolution has given us the opportunity to unify our offerings and allowing us to explore a topic from unexpected angles.

DiNicola said most of Historic Deerfield’s daytime offerings, including exhibitions, trade demonstrations, hearth cooking programs, and Discovery Center activities, are included with general admission and do not require advance registration.

Historic Deerfield is open Wednesdays through Sundays, as well as Monday holidays, from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Visitors can purchase tickets upon arrival at our Hall Tavern Visitor Center or at the Flynt Center of Early New England Life.

However, certain special programs and events, such as “A Stake in the Ground: 1774,” do require advance tickets, which can be purchased through Historic Deerfield’s website. Readers can find more information at historic-deerfield.org.

General admission is $20 for adults and $5 for youth ages 13–17; children 12 and under receive free admission as do Historic Deerfield members and Deerfield/South Deerfield residents.