Spring 2011 Newsletter

The Bidwell House Museum ‐ Spring 2011 ‐ 1
Newsletter
Spring 2011
The Bidwell House Museum is a New England heritage landmark that uses the history of its land, house, and collections
to re-imagine, re-create, restore, and research colonial and early American life in Western Massachusetts.
Bidwell House Museum Opens with Music of 1776
T
he Bidwell House Museum will open for the season on
Sunday, May 29th, at 3 pm with a one-hour program exploring Colonial-era music performed by Singer/Songwriter
Diane Taraz. The performance will be followed by refreshments and the official opening of the museum.
In 1776, New Englanders sang in kitchens and workshops, in military camps, and in churches and taverns—rowdy drinking songs, laments for lost love, marching tunes, and
ballads created to spread the latest news and celebrate bold
deeds.
Singer and historian Diane Taraz presents the “greatest
hits” of the American Revolution, exploring the fascinating
world behind the songs that rallied both sides. In Colonial
dress, she sings and accompanies herself on guitar and dulcimer, transporting listeners back to the turbulent time of our
country’s birth. A Berkshires native, Diane lives in the Boston
area and performs throughout New England. According to
Wanda Fischer, producer/host of “Hudson River Sampler”
on WAMC-FM, “rarely, if ever, does a new singer/songwriter
literally jump out of the CD player and make me take notice,
but that’s exactly what happened the first time I heard Diane
Taraz. Whenever I play the album on the air, the phones light
up with listeners asking, ‘Who’s THAT?’”
After the performance, the museum
will celebrate the opening of the season. As
befits the home of the
first settled minister
of Township No. 1,
the Reverend Adonijah Bidwell, the house
and the season will be
blessed by the heirs to
his position, the Reverend Liz Goodman,
Pastor of the Monterey
Church, and the Reverend Janet McKinstry, Diane Taraz in costume, with a dulcimer
Pastor of Tyringham Union Church. Refreshments will be
served to toast the opening of the 21st season of the house as
a museum. All are invited to join.
There is a suggested donation of $15 ($10 for members
of the museum) for attendance at the concert. To learn more
about Diane Taraz or sample her music, please go to her website: www.dianetaraz.com.
Local History Talk: Splitsville: Tyringham and Monterey in 1847, by Clinton Elliott
A
s former longtime chairman of the Tyringham Historical Commission, Clint Elliott is an expert on the story
of the town. An intrepid researcher, he has gone way beyond
what is popularly known about the early days of this part of
the Berkshires. Years ago, he became intrigued by the division
of the town of Tyringham and looked for evidence of what
led to the split. He followed the trail from the records of early
proprietors’ meetings, which took place outside of Boston, in
Watertown, to the town records, and to contemporary 1840s
newspaper accounts.
On Saturday, June 25th, at 10 am, Clint Elliott will tell
the story of the two settlements in the town of Tyringham,
what they were like and why they had to split. He will also
talk about what he found in the Boston records on the naming of the town of Monterey—the name of a bloody battle far
away, chosen near the time of the beginnings of the Civil War.
This unusual choice of a New England town name apparently
involved no local consultation!
Mr. Elliott is the author of African Americans in the Berkshires: Tyringham and Monterey 1850 (2007), documenting
his research into early black residents in the town and census
records. He is also the editor of the revised 1989 edition of
Tyringham: A Hinterland Settlement by Eloise Myers. He will
speak at the Tyringham Union Church on Main Road.
2 ‐ The Bidwell House Museum ‐ Spring 2011
W
Bluebirds in the Meadow
henever I visit the Bidwell House Museum, I gaze
across the meadow that lies between the house and the
parking lot and I think of bluebirds. I wonder if there is sufficient open space for one or more Eastern Bluebird families
to nest. When I discussed my idea of placing several bluebird boxes in the field with Board members, they responded
­affirmatively. In order to educate myself about bluebird nesting requirements, I consulted the websites of The North American
Bluebird Society, The New York State Bluebird Society, and
The Cornell University Lab of Ornithology. Locally, I consulted with Jody Soules, proprietor of the Wildbirds Country Store in Great Barrington, who knows the Bidwell House
Museum property and offered many helpful suggestions. I purchased four bluebird boxes and four metal poles from
Jody Soules, and had them in place at the Bidwell House in
time for the arriving male bluebirds to establish territory.
Bluebirds are quite particular about who their neighbors are. They will not usually nest within 100 yards of other
bluebirds, and they prefer to have the opening of the box face
southeast, away from prevailing winds. The box should not
be too high or too low, with about five feet above ground
­being ideal. Since the meadow is not located on a pond, I do
not anticipate a flood of Tree Swallows. By placing the nest
boxes in the middle of the field, away from the trees, I feel
that this will reduce competition from nesting House Wrens
and Chickadees.
Why do Eastern Bluebirds need to get by with a little
help from their friends? In the nineteenth century, these
beautiful creatures were quite common throughout most
of eastern North America. However, the clear cutting of
old growth forest (which provided an ample supply of nesting cavities), along with the introduction and proliferation
of European House Sparrows and European Starlings (two
­aggressive ­cavity-nesting birds), severely depleted their numbers. Combine this with the fact that bluebirds are quite
choosy about their nesting habitats, and you have a recipe for
a severe population decline for the species.
However, I am pleased to observe that the Eastern Bluebird has become the poster child for its own recovery. People
do enjoy having them nest on their property and are more
than willing to assist them in their struggle for survival. I
have located more than twenty useful bluebird societies, and
quality nest boxes are readily available. These efforts have
met with considerable success, and Bluebirds numbers are
rebounding.
So what will happen once I place these nest boxes in
the meadow? Therein lies the beauty, and the frustration,
of nature observation. The meadow is large enough to at-
tract one, perhaps two,
nesting pairs, which, with
luck and favorable weather,
will produce two broods of
young this year. The remaining boxes will most
likely attract pairs of Tree
Swallows, House Wrens or
Chickadees. If the birds
are successful, there will
be a nice avian show all
summer long. I plan to
properly monitor bluebird
progress on a weekly basis,
according to proscribed
standards, and will write a
follow-up report.
— Gil Schrank
Gil Schrank with a new bluebird box
on the Bidwell meadow
For more information about Eastern Bluebirds, visit:
New York State Bluebird Society at
www.nysbs.org
North American Bluebird Society at www.nabluebirdsociety.org
T
Museum Bids Farewell to
Caretaker Chris Caccamo
his May, Caretaker Chris Caccamo will end her threeyear tenure with the Bidwell House Museum. During
her time at the museum, Chris has been a careful and attentive steward of the house,
the collection, and the
grounds. She has also been
an invaluable docent, sharing her knowledge of and
enthusiasm for the house
and its history with many
visitors. Many of you have
enjoyed the exhibitions
of farm tools which Chris
curated in the outbuildings here at the museum,
and her beautiful displays in the rooms. Chris’s service to the
museum has been a tremendous asset, and while we are certainly reluctant to say goodbye, we wish her much luck in the
­future. Thank you, Chris!
The Bidwell House Museum ‐ Spring 2011 ‐ 3
The Old Albany Road... and the “Unredeemed Captive”
A
mong the more striking features of the Bidwell House
landscape is the old roadbed situated perhaps 200 yards
to the south of the residence itself. Heavily overgrown now
after the passage of two centuries, it nonetheless retains a clear
outline and some of its internal features as well. The parallel stone walls built to line the sides are still at least partially
intact. And there are ruts in the middle suggestive of ancient
usage.
Parallel stone walls in foreground and at rear mark the now overgrown
roadbed of the old Albany Road on the Bidwell House grounds
The road was laid out in 1735, apparently at the instance
of the Massachusetts authorities; before that there may have
been an Indian trail covering approximately the same route.
It was designed to connect Westfield, Massachusetts, with
­Albany, New York (it was generally referred to as the Albany
Road). It ran through the present-day towns of Blandford,
Otis, Monterey, Great Barrington, and on to the New York
line. At first the road was very rough, and passable only on
horseback; an early visitor described it as “the worst road,
perhaps, that was ever rid,” and the surrounding countryside
as “a most doleful wilderness.” When covered by snow in
­wintertime, the same man surmised, it would be impossible
to follow; then “his Majesty’s subjects living in these parts of
the province” would be isolated and wholly unable to obtain
“foreign commodities.”
Still, the road’s opening was important, enabling the
settlement of at least four new towns—Tyringham, New
Marlborough, Sandisfield, and Becket. Within a few years,
moreover, a group of local residents took it on themselves to
improve the road, so as to make it accessible to carriages and
sleighs. By the time of Reverend Bidwell’s arrival in 1750 (and
the construction of his house) the road was the largest, and
likely the busiest, “thoroughfare” in western Massachusetts.
Among the early travelers on the road was a famed
­“Indian captive”—around whose life I wrote a long book (The
Unredeemed Captive, Alfred Knopf Publishers, 1994). Her
birth name was Eunice Williams; she was born, and spent
her early childhood, in the town of Deerfield. Captured in
a notorious raid on that community by French and Indian
forces in 1704, she was taken to Canada and there adopted
by a Mohawk Indian family; after some years she became
fully ­absorbed into Mohawk life. Her choice to remain with
the Indians proved deeply wounding to her Deerfield kin—­
especially to her father, an eminent Puritan minister. She
would never return to New England on a permanent basis,
but she did make four visits (1740, 1741, 1743, 1761). Each
time she traveled by way of the Albany Road.
When I first toured the Bidwell House some 15 years
ago, and walked a few yards on the roadbed, it was (how to
say this?) a somewhat transcendent experience. I had spent
the previous decade following Eunice’s tracks—figuratively
speaking—through a broad range of documentary sources.
And now it wasn’t just figurative; somewhere close by were
her actual tracks. Of course, I couldn’t find them; but simply
to be so near raised a few hairs on the back of my neck and
brought a large lump to the top of my throat.
I wondered about a possible meeting between Eunice
and Reverend Bidwell. Her first three visits preceded the building of his house, but
for the final one he
and the house were
most definitely present. Like everyone
else in western New
England he would
have known her
story. Perhaps he
wished to meet her
in person, as she and
her Indian family
trudged by on the
road en route to her
Williams relatives
further east? Perhaps, too, he seized
the chance to urge
her (as many others
had already done) to
resettle at last in the land of her birth? Perhaps she, for her
part, welcomed a break in the long wilderness journey down
from her home near Montreal? Perhaps, then, the minister
offered her a meal by his fireside—or even an overnight stay?
Perhaps. Questions like these connect us with “history”
in the most direct, and personally meaningful, way.
— John Demos, Board Member
4 ‐ The Bidwell House Museum ‐ Spring 2011
The Plan for the City on the Hill
Township No. 1, Tyringham and Monterey, the Original “Hinterland Settlement”
Part 4: The Minister and the Meeting House — 1750
This is the fourth part in a series of articles about the early history of
Township No. 1 and the Bidwell House Museum property.
W
e learned in the last article that it took 13 years of
struggles and effort—from 1737 to 1750—to make
real progress toward completing the first meeting house in
Township No. 1. This was due to several factors: interruptions from the French and Indian War in the middle 1740s,
lack of consensus among the proprietors about how much
they should spend for the meeting house and other necessary
improvements to the township, and apparent wrangling between two factions of proprietors—those who actually lived
here in the Hinterland, and the absentee proprietors still living in their homes near Watertown, Mass.
Many of these issues seem finally to have been resolved
at the proprietors’ meeting of January 12, 1749/50. They
voted to reinstate two of the members of the 1742 meeting house committee, John Brown and Isaac Gearfield, and
added Ephraim Thomas. They voted to finally complete the
meeting house according to the 1742 plans—“…Fort[y]h
feet long and thirty five feet wide & of suitable height for one
tier of Galleries…”—but with a few changes: adding five feet
to the length, making the final dimensions 45 feet by 35 feet,
and adding seventeen windows six square each, to ten other
windows of nine square each.
They also voted that “…the Proprietors Meeting shall be
holden in sd Township No 1 for the future…” instead of in
Watertown where all previous meetings had been conducted.
At this same productive meeting, they voted to obtain their first full-time resident minister “as soon as may be
with convenience.” Up to this time, the township had relied
upon ministers “supplied” by other towns, including Rev.
Sargeant. Rev. John Sargeant ministered to the Mahicans in
“Indian Town”—now Stockbridge—for 15 years and died in
1749. The proprietors of Township No. 1 voted: “…to settle
a learned & orthodox minister...for carrying on preaching.”
Each proprietor was to pay eight pounds “old tenor” for this
purpose. Upon settling, the minister would receive one hundred dollars in addition to the lot already reserved for the first
minister, and he would receive “one hundred & sixty dollars
… for his annual salary.” John Brewer, Thomas Slaton and
Ephraim Thomas were appointed to procure the minister.
The first meeting in the township was held on May 25,
1749/50 at the house of Mr. John Brewer, Innholder. The
committee reported “that they had procured and implored
Mr Adonijah Bidwell in said service for divers[e] months.…”
The meeting accordingly voted “to give Mr. Adonijah Bidwell
a call to settle in the ministry of the Gospel.…” Bidwell responded, “it was his desire to take a months time to consider
of and give an answer to the Proprietors respecting his acceptance or refusal of said call.” In the meantime, Ephraim
Williams, Thomas Orton and John Jackson were appointed
to consult with three of the ministers of neighboring churches
“…respecting the settlement of Mr Bidwell in the Ministry.…”
Adonijah Bidwell was presumably known to the other
ministers in the area. He grew up in Hartford, CT, the youngest of four children.
His father, John, was a
wealthy merchant and
ship owner; John was
lost at sea on a return
voyage from the West
Indies a few months before Adonijah was born
in 1716. Adonijah attended Yale Divinity
School, graduating in
1740 during a period of
religious fervor known
as “The Great Awakening.” After graduating,
he taught school for several years in Connecticut
and Massachusetts before he was ordained in 1744. During
the French and Indian Wars, Bidwell was commissioned as
military chaplain for the Connecticut fleet which participated
in the 1745 Louisberg (Nova Scotia) expedition. His diary
account of the expedition has been published. After the war,
Rev. Bidwell returned to Connecticut, serving as minister in
Simsbury. He then served as interim pastor for the Dutch
Reformed Church in Kinderhook, NY, for 29 weeks during
1749.
On June 27, 1750, the proprietors held a meeting to receive the favorable recommendation by the neighboring three
ministers—Jonathan Hubbard (Sheffield), Thomas Strong
(New Marlborough), and Samuel Hopkins (north parish of
Sheffield, now Great Barrington)—and Mr. Bidwell’s answer
to their call: “[he] has declared his acceptance thereof to settle
with them in the work and service of the Gospel Ministry.”
Rev. Bidwell was 34 years old and unmarried, and apparently
ready for a lifetime commitment. On September 20, Rev.
Bidwell formally accepted the pastorate in Township No. 1.
Article continued on page 7
The Bidwell House Museum ‐ Spring 2011 ‐ 5
6 ‐ The Bidwell House Museum ‐ Spring 2011
Thank You, 2010 Supporters—it was a great anniversary year thanks to you!
The Bidwell Society - $1500+
William Brockman
John & Virginia Demos
Delight & Paul Dodyk
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Hargis and Brush Circle
$500-1,499
Janet & David Cathcart
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Chapin Fish
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Paula Moats
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David Walker-Price
Old Manse Society - $250-499
Brian Andreoli
J. Truman Bidwell
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Old Manse Society - continued
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Itochu International, Inc.
Benefactors - continued
Keator Group, LLC
Lee Bank
Yo-Yo Ma & Jill Horner
Carey McIntosh & Joan Ferrante
Monterey Library
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Donald & Lauria Puntin
Lizbeth Sanchez &
Rosanna Murray
Dan Schulman &
Jennie Kassanoff
Marion & Leonard Simon
FS Smithers
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Guido’s
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Friends - continued
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The Bidwell House Museum ‐ Spring 2011 ‐ 7
1 Thank you!
Brian Andreoli for legal advice
Andrus Power Solutions for parking lot lights
David Dashiell for photography and graphic design
Philip Deely for board consulting
Ruth Green for garden leadership
Colonial History Series:
Stages of Life in the 1700s
A lecture series by Prof. John Demos
Demos,
Samuel
John
Knight Professor of Ameri-
can ­History Emeritus at Yale
University and distinguished
author, is returning for a series
Roger Tryon for fence building
of three talks on the stages of
Michael White for advising on restoration
life in the “colonial” period—
Wild Bird Store for discounting bluebird houses
with special emphasis on 18th
century New England.
The Minister and the Meetinghouse... continued from page 4 Join us for any one talk or register for the whole series —it is
The ordination of Adonijah Bidwell as the township’s minister sure to be a fascinating program! Professor Demos will suggest
was held on Wednesday, October 3, 1750, and presided over some readings, and discussion is invited in each session.
Pre-registration is recommended. Reserve your place now!
by Benjamin Cotton, minister from the Church in Hartford,
CT—Adonijah Bidwell’s home town—and by the neighborSaturday, July 9—Birth & Childhood in Early America
ing town’s ministers, Jonathan Hubbard and Thomas Strong,
Saturday, July 16— Adult Life in Early America
and with “messengers” Ebenezer Mix and Deacons James
Saturday, July 30 — Old Age & Death in Early America
Dewey, Nath’l Harmon, and Jonah Pixley.
The Church of Christ in No. 1 was actually formed a All meetings will take place on Saturdays at 10 am at the Tyringweek before Adonijah Bidwell’s ordination. On September ham Union Church, Main Road, Tyringham (a 5-minute drive
25, 1750, the new church’s covenant was signed by eight men: from the Bidwell House Museum)
Adonijah Bidwell, Pastor; John Chadwick; Ephraim Thomas;
William Hale, Deacon; John Jackson, Deacon; Jabez Davis,
RESERVATIONS FOR
Deacon; Thomas Orton, Deacon; and David Everest.
THE STAGES OF LIFE IN THE 1700s
Rev. Adonijah Bidwell served as minister of the church
and township for the rest of his life. During his 34 years
Please register me / us for the following talks:
of ministry in the township, his handwritten church records
All 3 sessions:
show the following: 101 people were inducted into member
$40, or $25 for members
#______ $______
ship of the church, 378 children and adults were baptized,
165 couples were married, and 244 people died, including
Any one:
two of Rev. Bidwell’s three wives. He delivered thousands
July 9 $15, or $10 for members
#______ $_______
of sermons (which he wrote, unfortunately, in untranslatJuly 16$15, or $10 for members
#______ $_______
able shorthand). He presided over countless meetings, raised
a family of four children, participated in the War of IndeJuly 30$15, or $10 for members
#______ $_______
pendence, sold beef to the army, acted as Town Clerk for the
Total amount
#______ $_______
newly incorporated (in 1762) Town of Tyringham, and later
fought with the Town of Tyringham for his minister’s salary.
This was a turbulent and productive period in the history
Name(s)_____________________________________
of our towns, our state, and our new nation, and Adonijah
Address _____________________________________
Bidwell participated in every aspect—religious, social, and
Town/City_________________________ State_____
economic—of this foundation. The year 1750 marked the
turning point of the settlement of Township No. 1: the first
Zipcode_________ Phone_____________________
proprietors’ meetings were actually held within the township,
Email_______________________________________
the meeting house was being finished, the church was foundPlease return this form and payment to:
ed, and Adonijah Bidwell was settled as the first ­minister.
Bidwell House Museum PO Box 537 Monterey, MA 01245
— Robert Hoogs, President of the Board
Helga Orthofer-Kaiser for consulting on education space
P.O. Box 537, Monterey, MA 01245
413-528-6888/ fax 413-644-9997
[email protected]
www.bidwellhousemuseum.org
1111111111111111111111111111111111111
2011 BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Please Renew Your Membership
Membership Benefits: All members receive the Bidwell House Museum
Newsletter, invitations to all parties, discounts on lecture programs, a listing
in the annual recognition of friends, and:
____ Individual: $35 - a season tour pass for 1
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passes and a pre-arranged private tour by the museum director
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8 guest passes and a personal invitation to view the private
collections
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cards and approved use of museum grounds for a private event
Name(s) ________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________
____________________ Phone ______________________
Email ______________________________
Please send your tax-deductible donations by check to the museum at
the address above, or donate by credit card on our website:
www.bidwellhousemuseum.org
Robert Hoogs, President
Kathryn Roberts, Vice President
Paula Leuchs Moats, Secretary
Barbara Tryon, Treasurer
Dr. Larry Birnbach
John Demos
Nancy Dinan
Delight Dodyk
George Emmons
L. Chapin Fish
Charles Flint
Christine Goldfinger
Richard Greene, MD
Joseph Gromacki
Colta Ives
Nancy Jones
David Walker-Price
Donald Welsch
MUSEUM STAFF
Barbara Palmer, Executive Director
Virginia Davidson, Administrative Manager
Chris Caccamo, Caretaker
Lauren Goldfinger, Webmaster