Henry Needham Flynt
(1893-1970)

Henry Needham Flynt, with his wife Helen, founded Historic Deerfield in Deerfield, Massachusetts. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of George Converse Flynt and Helen Pratt Needham. Henry was raised in Monson, Massachusetts, and educated at Monson Academy. He graduated from Williams College in 1916 and served in the U.S. Army during World War I. In 1920 he married Helen Margaret Geier (1895-1986) of Cincinnati, Ohio. Helen was the daughter of the Cincinnati Milling Machine Company founder, a Vassar College graduate, and the sister of Henry's classmate and fraternity brother, Frederick. In 1921 Henry was admitted to the New York bar. The Flynts lived in Brooklyn Heights for several years and then decided to move out of the city. They built a home in Greenwich, Connecticut, in 1929. They had three children, including one son, Henry Jr., who went to Deerfield Academy in 1936. By 1941 Henry Sr. was on the academy's board of directors. Their connection with headmaster Frank Boyden and with the town of Deerfield itself led the Flynts to purchase their first property in the town in 1942. Soon they purchased four more properties, viewing their mission for the town as one of preservation and restoration, a mission that had expanded to include the entire village center of Deerfield. To furnish their houses they began purchasing antiques that often had some historical association with the property. In 1952, to assist their efforts, the Flynts formed the Heritage Foundation, which was renamed Historic Deerfield in 1971. Henry Flynt closely followed the foundation's activities. His involvement in Deerfield history led to his membership in the Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield's first historical association, serving as its president from 1949 until his death in 1970. Helen Flynt's involvement in their preservation efforts led her to become an expert in early American textiles, helping to build a world-renowned collection.