The Residence at Chesterwood

As early as 1891, Daniel Chester French (1850-1931) began looking for a country estate. In 1896, after looking at homes in New Hampshire and Newport, Rhode Island, French and his wife, Mary Adams French (1859-1939), drove by horse and buggy through the Berkshire Hills to the resort town of Stockbridge. In the nearby hamlet of Glendale, the Frenches discovered the 122 acre Marshall Warner farm.

The earliest known owners of the property were members of the Mohican tribe. By 1781, however, they had deeded the property to Isaac and Jonathan Ball. Isaac's son-in-law purchased it in 1802 and built a modest farmhouse on the land. His descendant, Marshall Warner, operated a boys' school on the property until he died in 1882, leading his widow to sell the property to Daniel Chester French in 1896.

Since French needed a place to work on his monumental sculpture, he first asked his friend and colleague Henry Bacon (1866-1924) to design a studio for him. (For more information on the Studio and its contents, please see the Studio virtual exhibit.)

The family continued to live in the Warner farmhouse while the Studio was under construction. By 1900, however, French found the farmhouse to be inadequate, especially in comparison to his grand Studio, and commissioned Bacon to design and construct a new residence. The architectural firm of Brite & Bacon finished the three-story Colonial Revival and Italianate residence in 1901.

Until his death in 1931, French spent nearly every summer, from May to mid-October, at Chesterwood. French compared Chesterwood to "heaven" and boasted how it was as "beautiful as Fairyland." In many ways, Chesterwood was an estate typical of its time. It was the summer home of a well-to-do New Yorker, with landscaped grounds, servants, and fashionable social gatherings. Its climate, convenience to both Boston and New York, and fashionable residents made it the ideal location for a summer retreat.

Chesterwood, 4 Williamsville Road, PO Box 827, Stockbridge, MA 01262 Phone: 413-298-3579 www.chesterwood.org - This project was supported in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services - www.imls.org -
chesterwood@nthp.org
Last modified on: September 29, 2009