B Girardi
From its iconic red barn to an elegant allée of maples, this lovely home is testament to the celebrated poet's ideal of living mindfully on the land.
The serene vista of the Westfield River Valley served as lifelong inspiration for William Cullen Bryant, who was editor and publisher of the New York Evening Post for many years, and whose meditative verse influenced the 19th-century land conservation movement that included Frederick Law Olmsted and Charles Eliot, founder of The Trustees.
From 1865 until his death in 1878, Bryant summered here at what had been his childhood home—a two-story-farmhouse-turned-three-story Victorian cottage full of Colonial and Victorian pieces from the poet’s family, as well as exotic memorabilia from his extensive European and Asian travels. The Homestead’s pastoral landscape encompasses pastures, fields, and woodlands.
The house is currently not open for tours, but the grounds and trails of the Homestead remain open to the public.
Wander the Rivulet Trail, where an old-growth forest of hemlock and a magnificent cherry tree hugs the Rivulet, a trickling stream immortalized by Bryant’s 1823 poem of the same name.
The Pine Loop features enormous pines that reach heights of 150 feet, among the tallest in the Northeast.
The house is currently not open for tours, but the grounds and trails of the Homestead remain open to the public.
Free to all. Open sunrise to sunset.
Please note that while the park is open during winter, the parking lot may not be plowed for the first 24-72 hours following a snow storm.
207 Bryant Road
Cummington, MA 01026
E-mail: info@thetrustees.org
From Northampton: Follow Rt. 9 West, which will join Rt. 112 South. In Cummington, at the intersection where Rt. 112 South departs from Rt. 9, follow Rt. 112 South up the hill 1.5 mi. to a five-corner intersection. The Homestead is straight ahead.
From Pittsfield: Follow Rt.9 East. In Cummington, at the intersection where Rt. 112 South departs from Rt. 9, follow Rt. 112 South up the hill 1.5 mi. to a five-corner intersection. The Homestead is straight ahead.
We recommend that you take a photo of the map on your phone so you can refer to it during your visit, or download a trail map before you head out.
The boyhood home of one of America’s foremost 19th-century poets, the William Cullen Bryant Homestead is a National Historic Landmark. William Cullen Bryant, born November 3, 1794, astonished the literary world with the publication of his first major poem at age 13. Most of his poetry drew inspiration from the Cummington countryside surrounding the Homestead.
This is the home of one of the most famous poets of the nineteenth century, many of whose poems were inspired by the landscape surrounding the house where he lived as a boy and in his later years. Well marked trails take you into old, old forests with some of the tallest white pine trees in the country.
– 31mbel, Trip Advisor
