Bidwell House Museum

The Bidwell House

Rev. Adonijah Bidwell House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Location	Monterey, Massachusetts
Built	1750
Architect	Adonijah Bidwell
Architectural style	Greek Revival, Georgian Saltbox, Classic Colonial
NRHP reference No.	82004954
Added to NRHP	August 26, 1982

The Rev. Adonijah Bidwell House is a historic house and museum on Art School Road in Monterey, Massachusetts.

The house was built in 1750 by the Reverend Adonijah Bidwell, the first minister in what was then Township No. 1. At that time, the house was the demographic center of the township and was located on the route of the Boston-Albany Post Road. It is a classic Georgian Saltbox built around a central chimney. Four fireplaces and two beehive ovens feed into the chimney structure, which is supported by a classical Greek Arch in the basement. The house has two additions, the Ell Addition (1790) and a Greek Revival/Carraige Barn addition (1837).

History

Henry Knox

Reverend Bidwell, a patriot, was an active supporter of the United States Army. Henry Knox, famous for his leadership of the expedition that carried strategically crucial cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Boston Harbor, passed through Monterey on that famous mission, most likely on the post road. Historical evidence increasingly points towards the hypothesis that Knox passed through the Bidwell property on his famous journey, now the basis for books, films, and the historic Henry Knox Trail. He may have even stopped at the house in the middle of winter, possibly to stay a night or obtain supplies.

Ownership

The Reverend died in 1784 and left the house to his son, Adonijah the Younger. Adonijah the Younger utilized the house and grounds (approximately 125 acres (0.51 km²) at the time) as a family farm, before selling the house in his old age to his son, John Devotion Bidwell, for "love and affection and one dollar." In 1853, John Devotion Bidwell sold the house to the Carrington family. At the time, John Bidwell was a selectman and prominent personality in the newly incorporated town of Monterey, Massachusetts (1847).

The house remained with the Carrington family for three generations until they sold it to a lumber company in the early 1900s. After using the house as a base for local operations, the company sold it to an Art School. It was used as a faculty house by the school until 1935, when it was purchased by a wealthy Russian professor, who used for several years as a summer cottage. By this time it had acquired the name "Deepwood Manse." By the 1950s, the house was in an increasing state of disrepair.

Restoration

In 1960, it was purchased by Jack Hargis and David Brush, two fashion designers from New York City. They bought it and 196 acres (0.79 km²) surrounding for the sum of $30,000 and proceeded to spend the next 25 years restoring the house. They were fortunate enough to come across the Death Inventory of the Rev. Adonijah Bidwell, which listed all his worldly possessions at the time of his death. Hargis and Brush proceeded to fill the restored house with dated pieces of furniture, artwork, and other objects, many of them originally owned by the Reverend.

Today

It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. In 1990, the house became a museum, the result of a death request by David Brush. It remains active to this day and holds tours from Thursday through Monday, and Memorial Day to Columbus Day, in addition to several special events each year.

Board members and staff

• Kathryn Roberts, President
• Richard Greene, MD, Vice President
• Paula Leuchs Moats, Secretary
• Barbara Tryon, Treasurer
• Dr. Lawrence Birnbach, Board Member
• Rev. Richard Chrisman, Board Member
• Nancy Dinan, Board Member
• Delight Dodyk, Board Member
• George B. Emmons, Board Member
• Charles Flint, Board Member
• Rev. Elizabeth Goodman, Board Member
• Robert Hoogs, Board Member
• Colta Ives, Board Member
• Steven Lewis, Board Member
• Donald Welsch, Board Member
• William Brockman, Emeritus
• Joanna Jennings, Assistant to the Director

External links

• [1]
• [2]