Dr. John Davis to Discuss Historic Deerfield at Williamstown Lecture

03:21PM / Wednesday, April 23, 2025Print Story | Email Story

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — Dr. John Davis, President of Historic Deerfield, will present a lecture titled "Historic Deerfield: Local Legacy, National Relevance" on Saturday, April 26, at 11:00 a.m.

The event will be held in the auditorium at Sweetwood, located at 1611 Cold Spring Road (Route 7) in Williamstown. The Williamstown Historical Museum (WHM) is presenting this free lecture.

Dr. Davis’ presentation will address the connection between Williamstown and Deerfield through individuals and artifacts, the current state of Historic Deerfield, and its summer exhibitions: "Envisioning America: Deerfield Academy’s Collection of Paintings and Drawings" and "Body by Design: Fashionable Silhouettes from the Ideal to the Real."

John Davis holds a PhD from Columbia University and is a graduate of Cornell University. His previous roles include Provost and Under Secretary for Museums, Education, and Research at the Smithsonian Institution, Executive Director of the Terra Foundation for American Art Europe (Paris), and Alice Pratt Brown Professor of Art at Smith College. He has authored, co-authored, or edited seven books, and his research interests encompass landscape painting, religion and visual culture, music and art, African-American representation during the Civil War and Reconstruction eras, the history of artists’ organizations, archival and documentary histories of American art, and 19th-century architecture and urbanism. Davis is an elected member of the American Antiquarian Society.

Historic Deerfield, Inc., was founded in 1952 by Henry and Helen Geier Flynt, parents of Henry N. "Hank" Flynt, Jr. (Williams ‘44), a longtime Williamstown resident and supporter of the WHM. In 1936, the Flynts enrolled their son at Deerfield Academy and subsequently began purchasing and restoring historic houses along "The Street."

Today, Historic Deerfield comprises twelve preserved antique houses dating from 1730 to 1850, featuring collections of regional furniture, silver, textiles, and decorative arts displayed within the period houses. The site also includes the Flynt Center of Early New England Life, a museum facility with exhibitions and visible storage, and the Henry N. Flynt Library, which contains over 21,000 volumes on the history and material culture of the region.

Additional information is available at www.williamstownhistoricalmuseum.org. The Williamstown Historical Museum can also be found on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/williamstownhistoricalmuseum and on Instagram at @WilliamstownHistoricalMuseum.

iBerkshires.com Text Ads

Greylock Youth SummerFest

Come join in on the wealth building fun! August 3-8. Click for event details. Insured by NCUA.

www.greylock.org

rk MILES Blding Materials

Are You Ready to Update Your Home? Start With rk MILES. 4 Locations (800)670-7433

www.rkmiles.com

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Williamstown Studying Major Overhaul for Main Street

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
05:14AM / Wednesday, July 29, 2026

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. — The town is working with a Worcester civil engineering firm to redesign Main Street with an eye toward a major project sometime in the next decade.

Community Development Director Andrew Groff was before the Select Board on Monday night to talk about Town Hall's use of a $500,000 state grant to do preliminary design on major improvements to that portion of Route 2 that runs from Water Street west to the Field Park rotary, through the middle of Williams College's campus.

Groff introduced the elected officials to Amanda Bazinet of Worcester's Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, who is helping the town to develop a plan for Main Street that would align with the commonwealth's Complete Streets Program.

"Our project goals, in addition to the increased pedestrian and bicycle accommodations, is just, in general, improving the sightlines and improving the intersection geometry," Bazinet said.

"Complete Streets … has a lot of different facets to it. As Andrew had mentioned, the goal is to improve the safety for all of the roadway users — not just the motorists. We're looking at improving it for pedestrians, bicyclists, anyone using a mobility device. We want to create streets that are safe for all ages and abilities to use. So, while bicyclists will still be allowed, legally, to use the roadway, we want to look at providing a separate bicycle accommodation along the corridor, whether it's a shared use path along both sides of the streets that is a little more accessible to young children or older people with disabilities to look at all transportation options."

One goal is to encourage "active transportation." The Massachusetts Department of Transportation, who the town hopes one day might fund the construction, has a "healthy transportation policy," Bazinet said.

That MassDOT funding would come through the Transportation Improvement Program, which is managed locally by the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. The design work underway now is being done with an eye toward going after TIP funding years down the road.

View Full Story