Berkshire Towns: The Rich, the Famous, And the Rich and Famous

Tonight we are in the city of Hudson, New York, having crossed the Massachusetts/New York border late this afternoon. 


We spent the day in Berkshire towns.  I can now say I am somewhat of an expert on New England villages.  There are many, large and small, mill towns and farming towns, quaint to spectacular, all beautiful.  You could take your pick and not go wrong.  There would be a town green, wonderful steepled churches, classic public buildings, and tree lined streets full of big old houses. You might need some ready cash to keep your old house looking good and working well in the modern age.




In the Berkshires, the real people were farmers.  But because of its beauty and proximity to New York city, it early on became a retreat for the rich and famous, and in some cases, the famous but not so rich.


Such was the case of Herman Melville, who lived on a farm near Pittsfield during his early career as a writer.  We began our day at the Melville room at the Pittsfield library, called the Berkshire Antheneum, where they have artifacts and papers and photos of Melville's time here in the 1840's.

 Then we went on to tour his home, Arrowhead.

 Only one photo is allowed inside the house, and that is looking out Melville's upstairs study window with a view of Mount Greylock.  It is said that the shape of the mountain inspired the great white whale.

 Another writer, who had no cash flow problem, was Edith Warton, who built her summer house, named The Mount,  near Lenox in 1902.

 We toured the house and gardens.

Let me put in a plug here for two modern conveniences we have great appreciation for.  The first is our GPS, which keeps us from getting lost and allows us to find most things that the guide books have enticed us with.


The second is Subway.  When we are tired and hungry, as we were about 1:00 today, we just put "Subway" into our GPS, find one near by, because there is always one near by, and soon are enjoying a fast and healthy lunch.

After lunch, we proceeded south to Stockbridge, another beautiful village described as classic Norman Rockwell, and he did live here too.  


But we were in search of another grand summer cottage, Naumkeag, the retreat of the Choate family.

 We toured the house and the lovely gardens.  No photos were allowed inside, but it was a remarkable place.

 It was getting late in the afternoon as we drove through Great Barrington and Sheffield, so we only got to two antique shops in "Antique Alley" before they closed at 5:00.  But it's just as well.  Our extra luggage space is filling up fast.

Tomorrow we tour towns and estates along the Hudson.