Abby Epplett, Historian

During my trip to the Berkshires in July 2023, I took a hike at Questing , a seventeen-acre property owned by The Trustees of Reservations. I visited several other properties owned by the Trustees during this trip, including Ashintully Gardens , Tyringham Cobble , and Mission House . Like these other properties, this park had its own unique history. The trails of Questing go up and around Leffingwell Hill , named after brothers William and Jerome Leffingwell who built a farm on the property and brought their families to live with them. Both brothers died in horrific farming accidents. In 1873 at age fifty-two, William was kicked to death by a horse, leaving his wife with eleven children. In 1879 at age forty-eight, Jerome was crushed by a thirty-foot long timber at a barn construction site and died several days later. After these accidents, surviving family members abandoned the seemingly cursed property and moved West. Hikers can see the ruins of this farm while...

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. Housatonic National Bank Building This cute, single story bank building holds the Stockbridge branch of Berkshire Bank. The building celebrated its 125 th anniversary this year, as construction finished in ...

During my adventure through the Berkshires in July 2023, I made several quick history stops in Stockbridge, MA. In Part 1 of a two part series, I explore a carillon tower, former town hall, cemetery, library, inn, and country store. Chime Tower & Procter Hall Also known as the Children’s Chime Tower , David Dudley Field II funded the construction of this four-story stone structure in 1878, thirteen years before he donated the property that became Ice Glen Trail at Laurel Hill Association to the town of Stockbridge. The building reminded me of the Women’s Memorial Bell Tower at Cathedral of the Pines in Rindge, NH , which I visited in October 2022 . According to a stone inscription on the tower, it stands on top of the site where missionary John Sergeant built a chapel for Stockbridge Mohicans in 1738, three years before he built his own home, Mission House . A whitewashed Neoclassical building just across the lawn is Procter Hall, which once served as the town ...

During my adventure through the Berkshires in July 2023, I visited Mission House , a property owned by the Trustees of Reservations located across the street from Historic New England’s Merwin House . This self-guided tour comes in two sections: a small museum telling the history of the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians , and a Georgian style home with antique furniture. Although more familiar with earlier colonial history than the average American, I did not know much about this community before visiting the museum, but the beautifully designed signage told the full story. While history textbooks frequently reference Cherokee Nation when describing colonization and displacement, European colonizers perpetuated the same acts of violence against many nations, including those who lived in Stockbridge. The exhibit telling this history began with the ancestors of the Mohicans and other Indigenous people, who arrived in the area between 12,500 and...