What is now Field Farm was an agricultural property dating back to the mid-18th century, as colonists cleared the lower slopes of the Berkshires and Taconic ranges for crop fields, livestock pastures, and houses and outbuildings. Previous to European settlement, Mohican and Mohawk tribes were on this land.
After Lawrence Bloedel returned from World War II and purchased the former Nathan Field farm, he had two distinctive houses built, both in mid-century Modern style. The family home, which also became a repository for the burgeoning Bloedel collection of contemporary art, featured redwood siding, a flat roof – and multiple windows and doors and decks to take advantage of fine views of Mount Greylock, rising across the Green River Valley.
Today the home, known as the Guest House at Field Farm, welcomes overnight visitors. The second house, designed in the 1960s, represents an amalgamation of styles and references—including a grain silo and propellers – and was whimsically named The Folly, and is available for tours June-October. Visitors will also find formal gardens and wide expanses of manicured lawn.
To ensure that a sense of rural continuity is maintained, The Trustees operate almost 80 acres for crops and pastures on the reservation.