Deerfield Views 1839 from JW Barber

REVISED Feb 15   2025   - #140 ms added.... wash dwgs from AAS

Three 1838 drawings of Deerfield scenes are now available online at the Mass Historical Society, part of the John Warner Barber manuscripts for his 1839 "Historical Collections .."  book.


1)  32   Bloody Brook Monument Area looking Southeast..   BELOW ...  followed by a marked up copy.
MHS link to #32

And, BELOW is a marked up copy:  



1) North Sugarloaf Mountain


2) 4-wheeled horse-drawn cart


3) Mount Sugarloaf


4) Bloody Brook Monument


5) old bridge over Bloody Brook


6) Stephen Whitney / Rev. Samuel Ware house ca. 1840. Still exists. 100 North Main Street per Gary S.


7) Josiah Arms house (1838). Existed 1907. Newer building on site today, construction date unknown.

Address is 103 North Main.  .Per Gary S.


BELOW is the published version from the 1839 (1st edition) of the JW Barber book.


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2)  #141   Bloody Brook Monument Area looking Northwest. This sketch was NOT published.   (Note that the sketch is not labelled "Drawn" in lower right as are # 140 & 143, both which appear as published images.)
.   (Note: The MHS image here has been enhanced in Photoshop)

 

If we assume that the artist was standing at the STAR above, does sketch #141 make sense?
 
1)  house - ??
2) Barn?
3  "Cong Ch."
4) "School House"
5) Bloody Brook Monument
6) Joel Smith per Gary email 1-31-25


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3)  #143  The Old Indian House drawing is a simple one, but Barber's handwritten notes are interesting. The colors here have been altered in Photoshop for better legibility. SEE BELOW for an annotated copy. This was the building attacked by Indians in 1704, whose ax-impaled door is preserved at the PVMA museum.

  1) The Old Indian House (aka Sheldon House) on its original site. This was attacked by Indians
| in the Deerfield Massacre of 1704. Site is now vacant land owned by Deerfield Academy

2)  Congregational Church  Old Deerfield
The space between these two buildings is distorted here. The church was located about 150 (?) feet
north of the Sheldon House, while in this sketch it appears to be less than 50'.


Can someone help with Mr Barber's notes written atop this drawing?  He is referring, in part,  to the somewhat famous 1837 visit by Indians from Canada, some of them descendants of 1704 captives. (???)|

Below is the published woodcut.

Type in what you know   at this Google Link




Barber's original "wash drawing" for this published view is at the American Antiquarian Socirty, and is available online - below.





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4)  #140     Old Deerfield Main Strret

 The MHS manuscripts online do not include the 1838 sketch for the Old Deerfield Main Street published view, seen below.  However MHS has sent me a PDF of image 140 (see below).

1)
2)
3)
4) "Unitarian Ch."
5)
6)
7)
8)
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Below, the published 1839 view (from the 1844 edition)



Below:  Barber's "wash" drawing  of #140 from the American Antiquairian Society.

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