Quick History Stops: Stockbridge, MA | Part 2

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Continuing from Part 1 published yesterday, I visited the town of Stockbridge, MA during my trip to the Berkshires in July 2023 and visited several quick history stops. Highlights include churches, a bank, town offices, residential homes, and an American Civil War memorial.

St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church

A stunning stone building with a garden of daylilies, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church is part of the Parish of Mary, Mother of the Church, which also includes the parishioners of St. Mary in Lee and St. Mary of the Lake in Otis. The church building was constructed in 1862 during the American Civil War, two years before the library was built. Just down the street from the church is an old fire station, which was converted into a residence.

St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church; A two-story stone church with a three-story steeple over the front entrance. Sign for St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church; a tan wooden sign reading Saint Joseph's Church Roman Catholic 1862 Mass Sunday 9:30. Part of the church is visible behind the sign. Old Fire Station in Stockbridge; a two-story blueish-gray wooden building with a bright red garage door and a watchtower.

Housatonic National Bank Building

This cute, single story bank building holds the Stockbridge branch of Berkshire Bank. The building celebrated its 125th anniversary this year, as construction finished in 1828. During this era, banks were permitted to print their own money, and this bank did so throughout the 19th century. Berkshire Bank was founded in 1846 as Berkshire County Savings Bank as a rival to Lee National Bank in Lee, MA. While the assets of the bank have significantly increased, this building is still petite, the perfect size for a small town.

Housatonic National Bank Building; a single story Neoclassical red brick building a whitewashed wooden pediment and a pair of matching columns at the front of the building.

Stockbridge Town Offices

The most recent town office building replaced a smaller red brick town hall that had been built next to the bank in 1884. This newer building was built in 1914 and previously used as the school. A plaque on the side of the building is dedicated to Cyrus Williams who founded the first free public school in Stockbridge the same year that the older town hall was built. Williams was the president of the bank and owner of Williams & Sons Country Store, so he donated $3,000 to the project. Unsurprisingly, the school was named Williams Academy in his honor. The school closed in 1968 when students were transferred to Monument Mountain Regional High School in Great Barrington, a mere five minutes down the road. As an added bonus, this building has clean public restrooms.

Stockbridge Town Offices; A two-story red brick building with a long flight of concrete stairs and a white, wooden cupola Sign for Stockbridge Town Offices; a green sign with white text and the town seal featuring a Mohican resident looking towards the Berkshire Mountains Plaque for Cyrus Williams who funded the first public school in Stockbridge.

Old Corner House

This Federalist style home has served many different purposes in the Stockbridge community. Starting in 1969, it was the home of the Stockbridge Historical Society, which started the Norman Rockwell Museum. More recently, since its sale in 2017, the house holds the Austen Riggs Center for mental health treatment. The organization is named for Dr. Austen Fox Riggs, who founded the Stockbridge Institute for the Psychoneuroses in 1907 but changed the practice to its current name in 1919.

Old Corner House; a two-story whitewashed wooden Neoclassical house with green shutters on the windows

Stockbridge Civil War Memorial

Also known as the Stockbridge Soldiers’ Monument, the town erected the memorial in 1866, mere months after the end of the American Civil War. Carved into the monument are the names of twenty-seven Stockbridge men who died during the war, along with the quote, “To her sons, beloved and honored, who died for their country in the great war of the rebellion”. Like many Civil War memorials, this one was produced by New England Granite Works located in Hartford, CT and owned by James Goodwin Batterson. Other notable monuments and buildings created by this company include Soldiers’ National Monument at Gettysburg National Military Park in Gettysburg, VA; U.S. Soldier Monument at Antietam National Cemetery in Sharpsburg, MD; the Connecticut State Capitol in Hartford, CT; and the Library of Congress in Washington, DC.

Stockbridge Civil War Memorial; A brown obelisk with a metal eagle and American flag on top standing in the middle of a grassy median on an empty street

St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church

Located across from the Red Lion Inn, St. Paul’s Protestant Episcopal Church began with a schism in the Congregational church in 1834 as some congregants joined Anglicans to form their own church. The original Protestant Episcopal church building in Stockbridge was constructed of wood ten years later in 1844. The current stone building was constructed gradually over a period of thirty-five years, from 1874 to 1909. American architect Charles Follen McKim designed the building, his other notable work including the McKim Building of the Boston Public Library.

St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church; a gray stone church with a large bell tower over the entrance. A line of colorful Adirondack chairs side on the lawn near the entrance. St. Paul's Protestant Episcopal Church Sign; a brown sign with a thin green middle border and thick black outer border. The text in gold reads St. Paul's Church 1834 Protestant Episcopal Rev. Elizabeth Wade, Interim Sunday Services. A taped on piece of paper reads Sunday Worship is at 9:00 A.M.

Henderson House

The final stop in the two-part series is Henderson House, which was built around 1845. The house has been owned by the Henderson family since 1975 and does not have any unusual history except for its current color palette. I loved the bright yellow siding with green shutters.

Henderson House; A two-story bright yellow house with a large porch and green shutters seen across an expansive green lawn. Sign for Henderson House; a wooden oval sign with a black background and white text reading Henderson House circa 1845.
Location: Stockbridge, MA, USA