11 February 2024
Dear Governor Healey,
I am writing as the long-time Chair of the Stockbridge Community Preservation Committee to implore you to ensure that this vital program is funded.
Our small town of Stockbridge (year-round population of less than 2000) was founded in 1739, and, as you may know, boasts an extraordinarily rich and varied history. Once known as Indian Town, it came to being in part through the work of the Reverend John Sergeant, a graduate of Yale, who moved to Stockbridge in 1737 to live among his congregation. Sergeant’s house that he built for his family is now known as the Mission House, as he believed his “mission” was to bring Christianity to the resident Mahican tribe. The house still stands today as a museum and repository of many Native American artifacts. Sergeant was succeeded by Jonathan Edwards, widely regarded as one of America’s most important and original philosophical theologians. Edwards was the minister at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge.
Stockbridge was also home to Theodore Sedgwick, celebrated for having successfully brought the lawsuit that freed enslaved Elizabeth Freeman (“Mum Bet”). The list goes on — author Nathaniel Hawthorne, famed psychiatrist Erik Erikson (who worked at the Austen Riggs Center where Norman Rockwell and James Taylor, among many others, received treatment), Ambassadors Joseph Choate and Graham Parsons, Daniel Chester French, director Arthur Penn, playwright William Gibson, entrepreneur Jane Iredale, etc.
Stockbridge serves as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. The renowned Norman Rockwell Museum draws visitors from all over the world. Rockwell memorialized his beloved town in his iconic Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas, which is recreated as a winter festival the first weekend in December. The Berkshire Playhouse, now a part of the Berkshire Theatre Group, has featured many of this country’s most famous actors, playwrights, scenic designers, etc. Naumkeag (Ambassador Choate’s home), now one of the Trustees of Reservations properties, annually hosts their highly popular Halloween Pumpkin Festival and Winter Lights events, bringing thousands of visitors to the area in the off season. The Red Lion Inn on Main Street has been serving travellers (including 5 presidents) since 1773 when it was a stagecoach stop, and organizing site of Shay’s Rebellion!
The upkeep of these and other historically important buildings is sometimes daunting and maintaining their historic features is very expensive. Additionally, these institutions provide jobs and income to the town and the surrounding area.
Stockbridge was one of the early signatories to the CPA. Through CPA, the Stockbridge has been able to allocate more than $5.75 million to preserve our vital Open Spaces and iconic Historic structures, as well as to create and maintain critically important Affordable Housing.
I urge you in the strongest way to continue to fund this extremely valuable program. We would be thrilled to show you around our beautiful town so you could see for yourself what this program has meant to us.
Sincerely,
Sally Underwood-Miller, Chair
Stockbridge Community Preservation Committee
To the Honorable Citizens of Stockbridge
Our small town of Stockbridge (year-round population of less than 2000) was founded in 1739, boasting an extraordinarily rich and varied history. Once known as Indian Town, it came into being in part through the work of the Reverend John Sergeant, a graduate of Yale, who moved to Stockbridge in 1737 to live among his congregation. Sergeant’s house that he built for his family is the Mission House, as he believed his “mission” was to bring Christianity to the resident Mahican tribe. The house stands today as a museum and repository of many important Native American artifacts. Sergeant was succeeded by Jonathan Edwards, widely regarded as one of America’s most important and original philosophical theologians. Edwards was the minister at the First Congregational Church of Stockbridge.
Stockbridge was also home to Theodore Sedgwick, celebrated for having successfully brought the lawsuit that freed enslaved Elizabeth Freeman (“Mum Bet”). The list goes on — author Nathaniel Hawthorne, famed psychiatrist Erik Erikson (who worked at the Austen Riggs Center where Norman Rockwell and James Taylor, among many others, received treatment), Ambassadors Joseph Choate and Graham Parsons, Daniel Chester French, director Arthur Penn, playwright William Gibson, entrepreneur Jane Iredale, etc.
Stockbridge serves as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood. The renowned Norman Rockwell Museum draws visitors from all over the world. Rockwell memorialized his beloved town in his iconic Stockbridge Main Street at Christmas, that is recreated as a winter festival the first weekend in December. The Berkshire Playhouse, now a part of the Berkshire Theatre Group, has featured many of this country’s most famous actors, playwrights, scenic designers, etc. Naumkeag (Ambassador Choate’s home), now one of the Trustees of Reservations properties, annually hosts their highly popular Halloween Pumpkin Festival and Winter Lights events, bringing thousands of visitors to the area in the off season. The Red Lion Inn on Main Street has been serving travellers (including 5 presidents) since 1773 when it was a stagecoach stop, and organizing site of Shay’s Rebellion!
Kripalu, once part of the Shadowbrook estate, provides a welcome Yoga Retreat to many. The Berkshire Botanical Garden educates and delights visitors with their grounds and plantings. Chesterwood features the works of Daniel Chester French, along with its wonderous gardens and sculptures. The town’s cemeteries provide a glimpse into our past and a occasion to reflect. Monuments to our dead, both Native Americans and Soldiers, remind us of where we’ve been and what we’ve sacrificed. The beautiful Housatonic River bisects the town, providing recreational opportunities as well as vital habitat. Eden Hill, home to the Marian Fathers, draws visitors from all over the world especially for their annual Mercy Sunday services. The Children’s Chimes, built for his grandchildren by David Dudley Field II, now restored, charms listeners from Memorial Day to Labor day at sunset. The Guerierri Block at 40 Main Street was the site Alice’s Restaurant, made famous by the misadventures of Arlo Guthrie and friends. Our historic Train Station, now being revitalized by the Berkshire Scenic Railroad, was a stop on the route that ferried residents and cottagers alike from New York City. Mail was delivered via rail, and was picked up to be taken to the post office by Tom Carey with his horse and buggy until the 1950s.
The upkeep of these and other historically important buildings is sometimes daunting and maintaining their historic features is very expensive. Additionally, these institutions provide jobs and income to the town and the surrounding area.
Stockbridge was one of the early signatories (2002) to the CPA. Through CPA, the Stockbridge has been able to allocate more than $5.75 million to preserve our vital Open Spaces (Gould Meadows, Bullard Woods, Stockbridge Bowl, among others) and iconic Historic structures, as well as to create and maintain critically important Affordable Housing (Heaton Court, Pine Woods and Riverbrook).
Respectfully submitted,
Sally Underwood-Miller, Chair
Jay Bikofsky
Linda Jackson
Steve Knopf
Carole Owens
Gary Pitney
Anne Rabinowitz
Tom Stokes
