About Stockbridge

Stockbridge, its wide Main Street lined with grand houses, each set apart in its own lawns and gardens, was the summer home of renowned illustrator Norman Rockwell, and of famous sculptor Daniel Chester French. The Norman Rockwell Museum here is full of the famed illustrator's work, and Chesterwood, Daniel Chester French's sculpture studio, is on the outskirts, as is the delightful Berkshire Botanical Garden. Don't miss Naumkeag, the sumptuous estate of a wealthy New York lawyer; Mission House, with furnishings from 1740 and earlier; and the Berkshire Theater Festival.

You'll want to stroll along Main Street east of the Red Lion Inn, admiring the well-kept old buildings, houses and shops. Then go west to see even grander houses, and north to take in the view from Eden Hill.

Though similarly named, the village of West Stockbridge, 4.3 miles (7 km) northwest of Stockbridge, is a much smaller, quite different place with its own special ambience.

Norman Rockwell Museum

South of the Berkshire Botanical Garden at 9 Glendale Road (MA Route 183; map), this museum boasts the world's largest collection of works by famed illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978). It also features changing exhibits of others' art.

The Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge MA.

For decades Norman Rockwell was America's favorite popular artist. His illustrations for magazine covers and posters captured the best, funniest and most poignant moments in American life.

The world's largest permanent collection of paintings and illustrations by illustrator Norman Rockwell (1894-1978) is at the Norman Rockwell Museum just outside of Stockbridge MA (map).

Norman Rockwell wanted to be an artist from an early age, and began his artistic studies at the age of 14. While still a teenager, he became the art director of Boys' Life, the official magazine of the Boy Scouts of America.

In 1916, at the age of 22, he painted his first picture to appear on the cover of the popular Saturday Evening Post magazine. An amazing 321 of his illustrations appeared on the cover of the Post over the next 47 years.

Married in 1930 to Mary Barstow—his second marriage— Rockwell and his wife started a family. The couple and their three sons moved to the small town of Arlington VT, north of Bennington VT, in 1939.

In 1943 a disastrous fire destroyed Rockwell's studio and many of his works. Ten years later, he and his family moved to Stockbridge MA, where he lived and worked until his death in 1978.

The Norman Rockwell Museum is set in 36 acres of green, rolling lawns fringed with forest about 2 miles west of Stockbridge. For more, see the Norman Rockwell Museum website.

(The Norman Rockwell Museum of Vermont, in Rutland VT, is another place to see the artist's work. More...)

Chesterwood

Just a short distance beyond the Norman Rockwell Museum at 4 Williamsville Road (map) is the Berkshire summer estate of renowned sculptor Daniel Chester French features his studio and a gallery of his work.

The studio's north façade at Chesterwood, still holding works in progress by the sculptor.

Just a few miles west of Stockbridge along MA Route 102 (map) is Chesterwood, the former summer estate of famed sculptor Daniel Chester French. His Berkshire estate features his studio and a gallery of his work. French (1850-1931) summered here from 1897 until 1931 and used the studio (built in 1898) near the house for his work, maintained by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

French's monumental works include the Seated Lincoln in Washington DC's Lincoln Memorial, and The Minute Man at Concord North Bridge.

You can visit both the mansion and studio as well as an 1800s barn which has been converted to a gallery featuring exhibits on French's life and work. A lovely country gentleman's garden, a woodland walk laid out by French himself, a panoramic view of Monument Mountain, and a museum store are unexpected extras to a Chesterwood visit.

Daniel Chester French's grave is in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord MA. More...

Berkshire Theatre Festival

The Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge MA, founded in 1928, has brought theater to the Berkshires for the better part of a century. It's organized by the Berkshire Theatre Group which stages performing arts events on five stages: three at the Festival's campus in Stockbridge, two in Pittsfield.

Performances of theater classics, with big-name performers, are given in the Main Theatre (once called the Berkshire Playhouse). Newer, more experimental works are set in the neighboring, smaller Unicorn Theatre and outdoor performances are at the Neil Ellenoff Stage.

Here's information on all theater activities in the Berkshires.

Naumkeag

This palatial mansion at 5 Prospect Hill Road (map), just west of the National Shrine of the Divine Mercy, was designed in 1886 by renowned architect Stanford White, and is now open to the public thanks to The Trustees. Many of its sumptuous furnishings are still in place, and there are extensive formal gardens.

Naumkeag, the Choate residence.

Palatial Naumkeag in Stockbridge MA was designed by renowned architect Stanford White for Joseph Hodges Choate (1832-1917), a New York City attorney, and finished in 1886.

Many of the sumptuous period furnishings are still in place, and there are 49 acres (20 hectares) of formal gardens, including a Chinese temple with a circular Moon Gate, an Afternoon Garden, and the striking Blue Steps, a graceful cascade of staircases, white railings, pools and paper birch trees that is much admired—and much photographed.

The water steps at Naumkeag, a sumptuous estate in Stockbridge MA.

Joseph Choate was appointed US ambassador to the Court of St James's in 1899, and the family lived in London until 1905.

Miss Mabel Choate, one of Joseph's daughters, inherited Naumkeag in 1929, and spent her summers here until her death in 1958, when Naumkeag was willed to The Trustees of Reservations, who now own it and open it to the public.

You must take a 35-minute guided tour to visit the house; you may wander in the gardens on your own (after paying the admission fee). The last tour of the day departs at about 4:15 pm.

From the Red Lion Inn on Main Street in the center of Stockbridge, follow Pine Street toward the National Shrine of Divine Mercy on Eden Hill, but follow the signs to the left to Prospect Hill Road and Naumkeag, barely a mile from the center of Stockbridge.

You can walk to Naumkeag from the Red Lion Inn in Stockbridge in about 30 minutes (uphill; map).

Berkshire Botanical Garden

Learning about the 3000 Berkshire-native flowers, plants and trees at the Berkshire Botanical Garden.

While you're enjoying the fresh, bracing air of the Berkshires, why not add beautiful flowers and lots more? The Berkshire Botanical Garden, founded nearly a century ago at 5 West Stockbridge Road in Stockbridge (map), offers 24 acres (10 hectares) of formal and informal gardens, but not for beauty alone. Want to see one tree that bears 40 different varieties of fruit? An ash tree that's grown out of a boulder? Topiary, rose gardens, edible-vegetable beds, conseravtories and greenhouses, a children's garden, nature-themed art galleries—Berkshire Botanical is an ideal place to interest and inform children about the natural world, and to delight anyone who loves nature. More...

The Mission House

Mission House, on Main Street in the center of Stockbridge (map), was built in 1739 by the Reverend John Sergeant to carry out his Christian mission to the Stockbridge Indians.

The house is a National Historic Landmark owned by The Trustees and is furnished in American pieces all dating from 1740 or earlier. Guided tours are offered.

Merwin House

This late-Federal-style residence, across from the Mission House at 14 Main Street, is now a museum with an eclectic mix of European and American objects and furnishings. More...

West Stockbridge

The historic Shaker Mill, West Stockbridge MA.

The town of West Stockbridge MA is a different municipality altogether from Stockbridge, 4 miles to the east, and neighboring Lenox (map).

With the broad Shaker Mill Pond to the north, emptying into the Williams River which wends its way southward through the village, it's a picturesque spot.

Most visitors enjoy their time here, meandering along the short streets, peering in windows and shops, having a meal or a cool refresher.

A small Information Kiosk is set up on Albany Road opposite the historic red-barn Shaker Mill with details on local businesses, shops, inns and restaurants.

Check out the two old-time Baldwin stores facing one another on Center Street: Arthur W Baldwin Hardware and Charles Baldwin & Sons, makers of pure vanilla extract.

Two long-time restaurants are Truc Orient Express serving Vietnamese cuisine; Rouge Restaurant & Bistro specializing in French-inspired cuisine; and the Shaker Mill Tavern for burgers, steaks, pasta and pizza.

For lodgings, there's the 4-star, 9-room Shaker Mill Inn, a luxury bed-and-breakfast. Guest rooms have fireplaces and kitchenettes, and some have skylights and jacuzzis. More...