Dan Raymond House
Sheffield, MA
The house was built of home-made bricks in the mid-1770’s by wealthy merchant Dan Raymond, fourth largest taxpayer in town. He was married to Anne Noble, whose grandfather Matthew Noble was Sheffield’s first white settler. Dan Raymond’s original leanings were Tory, like many other merchants at the time, but by 1776 he was enrolled in the army and firmly on the Patriot side. Theodore Sedgwick in 1779, however, described him as “the soul and life of the [opposition] party…cunning as any man – in the year 73 or 74, he was convicted of common banditry.” This last possibly refers to the alleged cutting down of a recently erected liberty tree in town. Despite that he held many important positions in Sheffield over the years.
The Dan Raymond House is currently the home of the Sheffield Historical Society offices and is part of a complex of historic buildings which include a carriage house (c. 1870), a workshop/greenhouse (1876), smoke house (1838), the Parker L. Hall Law Office (c. 1820), and the Mark Dewey Research Center. The Research Center was built in about 1816 to house a hat shop for Mark Dewey and his three young apprentices.
The Society also owns the Old Stone Store, which is the oldest existing mercantile establishment in Sheffield. Sitting beside the town’s 18th century meetinghouse and in front of the 19th century Town Hall, it occupies an important location in the community both historically and geographically. Rescued by the Society in 1999, it presently serves as the Society’s gift shop and exhibition space.
The grounds are open year round during daylight hours. The Dan Raymond House is open for tours when staff is on the property and by appointment (call 413-229-2694 or email shs@sheffieldhistory.org). The Mark Dewey Research Center is open Monday and Friday afternoons from 1:30 to 4:00 and by appointment (413-229-3682 or mdrc@sheffieldhistory.org). The Old Stone Store exhibits and gift shop are open weekends May through October.
The Sheffield Historical Society also presents regular programs on the second Friday of each month, September through June, at 7:30 in Dewey Memorial Hall on the green in Sheffield. The Society also hosts a Cemetery Spirit Walk in the fall and other events and programs throughout the year. Check our website at www.sheffieldhistory.org for more information and a calendar of upcoming events.