A paleomagnetic study of a 2500 year sequence of varved sediments from western New England has provided detailed information about the late Wisconsinan geomagnetic field. The resulting curves of secular variation are compared to a model of the recent secular variation in New England produced by drifting the present geomagnetic field past an observation point. In terms of both major and minor features the two fields appear to be remarkably similar, attesting to the long-term persistence of the basic structure of the field. The principal difference between the two fields is that the late Wisconsinan field exhibits a slightly greater range of secular variation. This difference implies that either the late Wisconsinan field had a lower intensity than the present field or that the total magnetic energy external to the earth's core has decreased since the late Wisconsinan.