This article has been changed since the original version to correctly identify the name of the business.

Tucked away in Peterborough’s former one-room schoolhouse, Hayfields Antiques seeks to bring quality, Federal-style antiques to the Monadnock region.

Founded in late 2023 by partners Thomas R. Thomas and Steven McCall, the business is a culmination of two long careers that led the pair to Old Street Road. After meeting in Florida, Thomas and McCall moved to Deering in 2003. With Thomas having worked as an organist and McCall being a home designer, their Deering home became the prototype location for their antiques business.

A combination of their respective backgrounds built the high standards for their products at Hayfields  Antiques. However, the remoteness of their location grew frustrating and the pair returned to Florida in 2010. Returning to New Hampshire in September 2019, they have made Peterborough their home for the past four years. 

Thomas remains an active organist in the area, playing at All Saints’ Episcopal Church in Peterborough and other churches in the Dublin area. McCall has retired from design and spends his available time building Hayfields Antiques’ inventory and selection. The pair pride themselves on their high-caliber clocks, as well as their collaboration with Peter Pap of Dublin. Hayfields is a vendor of Pap’s rugs and currently has three for sale. Thomas and McCall have made the quality and pedigree of their inventory a cornerstone of their business model, emphasizing the unique nature of their antiques.

“We don't sell collectibles. We sell real antiques,” said Thomas. 

Thomas brings in clocks from across New England as well as from his native Pennsylvania, clocks which he still has an affinity for. 

“It’s mostly antiques from Massachusetts from New England -- Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont. And my clock favorites are Pennsylvania because I think the Pennsylvania clock-makers, and the cabinets and the clock cases and the movement, they're just far superior to the New England ones,” said Thomas.

The clocks featured at Hayfields are from the 19th and late 18th centuries, with some from the early 20th century. The business also proudly features one of Thomas’ restored organs as the centerpiece of the first floor. 

The location, 6 Old Street Road, also holds unique historical significance.

“The first schoolhouse was built in 1877 and burned to the ground in 1893,” said Thomas, reading from a yellowed document which came with the house. “The present building, now 6 Old Street Road, was started on April 1, 1895, and finished in November of 1895. And the last enrollment was June of 1924. And the school was officially closed in 1925.”

Aiming to make the business their project in retirement, Thomas and McCall hope to expand their home as customer demand requires. Coming from a life of curating homes and restoring church organs in Florida, the pair are still adjusting to the quiet life in Peterborough. They feel they are offering something unique to the region, and their diverse backgrounds offer a one-of-a-kind inventory.

“There isn't anything like it,” said Thomas.

Hayfields Antiques is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays. At the moment, only cash is accepted, but the pair hopes to take cards in the near future on sales of $40 or less.