Federal-style Architecture and Neoclassical Furnishings
Built in 1799, the Asa Stebbins House features Federal period architecture, wall treatments, and decorative arts. It was the first brick house in Deerfield, and the interior of the house features neoclassical furnishings dating from 1790 to 1830. Inspired by ancient Greek and Roman design, this style was popular in the years following the American Revolution. One of Deerfield’s wealthiest and most highly respected citizens, Stebbins’ selection of brick construction and linear neoclassical design was a stylish departure from earlier Deerfield houses with their wooden clapboards and bold pedimented doorways. Stebbins, a wealthy farmer and mill owner, was on the building committees for two other brick structures: the original building of Deerfield Academy (now the Memorial Hall Museum) and the town’s “Brick Church.” Of special note are French scenic wallpaper panels by Joseph Dufour depicting the voyages of Captain Cook, freehand wall painting that may have been executed by itinerant artist Jared Jessup in 1812, and several portraits of the Hubbard family by Erastus Salisbury Field of nearby Sunderland, Massachusetts.