Saturday, October 12, 2013

Saturday Snapshot - Fall Doorways in Deerfield, Massachusetts



Last weekend, my husband and I joined friends on the campus of UMass- Amherst to participate in a fundraising walk/bike ride/run for the campus Hillel organization. The day was cloudy and drizzly, but the company was great fun. After everyone completed the route, SB and I dawdled our way back up the Connecticut River Valley and east toward our little corner of New Hampshire ...

Historic Deerfield Village is one of the stops we made along the way - I have promised myself that I would drive the little village street in autumn to get photos of the various architectural features of buildings that interest me. The doorways of homes that have been restored are especially ornate and reflect the different periods of the homes. The whole village holds a special place in colonial history (and my imagination), as it is the site of a particularly vicious attack by French military and their Native allies during Queen Anne's War. 

The massacre took place in the winter of 1704 and became famous for the numbers killed in the village and the numbers of captives that were taken back north to Canada. Over one hundred captives were driven out of the village and around eighty survived the trek north to the French and Indian settlements along the St. Lawrence River. Over the years following the massacre, great efforts were made to negotiate the return of the captives and many did, indeed, return to their families, but some chose to remain with the Native families and tribes into which they'd been adopted. I've often thought a novel about the whole event and era would be a terrific read ... 

If your imagination is piqued, check out the link below ... it tells the story of the attack and aftermath really well.


The grey skies made for great lighting ... no washed out colors. You see the vibrancy of the paints, the details of the weathering on the old houses, and the contrasts with the leaves, flowers, and pumpkins. 

I have a hard time choosing my favorite ... how 'bout you?

















shared with others at Saturday Snapshot

Special thanks to Melinda Ott for hosting this weekly photo share

13 comments:

  1. Absolutely stunning photos! Thanks for sharing. I love New England. Enjoyed the history too.

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  2. What a lovely view at the top--and so many cool doors! I like the third one best--but I always like red(dish) doors.

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  3. What a beautiful place to visit. Those pumpkins look so huge. We don't get them that big over here.

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  4. What wonderful images with history too! I love the very top landscape shot because the color is eye popping. But the doors are wonderful and it would be hard to pick just one. The each have something different to offer. Thanks for sharing these.

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  5. They are all wonderful. My favorite is the #26 with the orange wreath and the hostas at the base of the lamppost. What fun to take pictures of doorways! Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos.

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  6. Wow!! Absolutely beautiful!! Love the view and the architecture of the buildings!

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  7. What a lovely collection of old doors on old houses. Being from the NW we don't see houses aged to lovely.

    Anne's Snapshot Saturday

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  8. those doors are absolutely gorgeous! I definitely can't pick a favorite ~ all of them are my favorite!!!

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  9. My husband & I are West Wing fans and I can't see the word New Hampshire without thinking of Jed Bartlett :-)
    If we ever get to the States again New Hampshire & Deerfield Village will now definitely be on our itinerary!
    Gorgeous - love the pumpkins.

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  10. What a fascinating post. I love that first picture, the tree in the foreground is so vibrant. That wreath at #26 is beautiful too. While I think pumpkins are attractive it makes me sad that they're mainly seen as decorative there- in Australia we just eat them! (different varieties to the ones you use there, but still)

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  11. The doorways are elaborate and I'm so glad they were preserved. That first shot of the river below is stunning.

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  12. What an interesting bit of history. Great photos. I love autumn shots of doors -- so inviting and cozy.

    Joy's Book Blog

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  13. Ohhhhhhh...I love these. I love looking at old homes like this.

    I love the door on house #26.

    THANKS so much for sharing.

    I don't have a Saturday Snapshot, but wanted to stop by anyway.

    Elizabeth
    Silver's Reviews
    My Blog

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