William Cullen Bryant Homestead

Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

United States historic place

William Cullen Bryant Homestead

U.S. National Register of Historic Places

U.S. National Historic Landmark

A string quartet plays on the homestead's porch

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Nearest city| Cummington, Massachusetts
Coordinates| 42°28′16.61″N 72°56′26″W﻿ / ﻿42.4712806°N 72.94056°W﻿ / 42.4712806; -72.94056
Area| 188.57 acres (0.7631 km2)[1]
Built| 1783
Architectural style| Late Victorian
Website| William Cullen Bryant Homestead
NRHP reference No.| 66000136
Significant dates
Added to NRHP| October 15, 1966[3]
Designated NHL| December 29, 1962[2]

The William Cullen Bryant Homestead is the boyhood home and later summer residence of William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878), one of America's foremost poets and newspaper editors. The 155-acre (63 ha) estate is located at 205 Bryant Road in Cummington, Massachusetts, overlooks the Westfield River Valley and is currently operated by the non-profit Trustees of Reservations. It is open to the public on weekends in summer and early fall for tours with an admission fee.

## History

[edit]

The Homestead was originally built in 1783 by Bryant's grandfather, Ebenezer Snell. It is set on a hillside above the Westfield River valley with views of the Hampshire Hills. The early form of the house appears to have been a gambrel-roofed of 1.5 stories, with a single story ell attached to the rear. Bryant's father, Peter Bryant, purchased the property in 1799, and it is in this place that Bryant spent much of his childhood and early life.[1] The future poet moved in at age four and remained there until he was 22.[4]

Bryant briefly attended Williams College but called his education there "meager and slight" and left after only seven months, returning to the family Homestead in May 1811.[5] After private study, he was admitted to the bar in 1815 and practiced law in nearby Plainfield, Massachusetts.[6] He would walk seven miles from home to work every day. It was on one of these commutes, in December 1815, that he saw a single bird flying on the horizon and was inspired to write his poem "To a Waterfowl".[7]

The property was sold out of the family in 1835.[1] Bryant bought back the family home in 1865 and renovated it extensively.[8] He had the original building raised up, and built a whole new first floor underneath it. He also had added to the building a replica of his father's office, and later added a major addition to the northwest side of the house. Bryant was also responsible for planting the property with fruit trees.[1]

Several of Bryant's poems are inspired by his time in Cummington, particularly in the landscape that surrounded it, including "Lines on Revisiting the Country", "The Rivulet", and "Inscription for the Entrance to a Wood".[9]

## Modern history

[edit]

The property remained owned by members of the Bryant family until 1929, when it was donated by the poet's granddaughter to The Trustees of Reservations.[1] The Homestead was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962.[1][2] The house is filled with furnishings and mementos from three generations of the Bryant family including exotic travel memorabilia from Europe and the Middle East and artifacts relating to rural life.[10]

The surrounding landscape has changed little since the early 1800s[10] and includes a stand of old-growth forest, a grove of 150-foot (46 m) pine trees, and nearly 200-year-old sugar maple trees. Included in the property are a visitor center, gift shop, barn, picnic areas, and two and a half miles of trails and roads.[10][11]

Annually, about 7,000 people visit the site.[10]

## Gallery

[edit]

* 1900 drawing of the house

* Bryant Barn

* Bryant in his study at the homestead

## See also

[edit]

* Cedarmere-Clayton Estates, includes Bryant's home in Roslyn Harbor, New York
* List of historic houses in Massachusetts
* National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampshire County, Massachusetts
* List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c d e f Polly M. Rettig and J. Walter Coleman (February 14, 1975) National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: William Cullen Bryant Homestead, National Park Service and Accompanying one photo, exterior, undated
2. ^ a b "Bryant, William Cullen, Homestead". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved July 25, 2008.
3. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
4. ^ Muller, Gilbert H. William Cullen Bryant: Author of America. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008: 6. ISBN 978-0-7914-7467-9
5. ^ Muller, Gilbert H. William Cullen Bryant: Author of America. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008: 14–15. ISBN 978-0-7914-7467-9
6. ^ Han, John J. Writers of the American Renaissance: An A-to-Z Guide (Denise D. Knight, editor). Greenwood Publishing Group, 2003: 30. ISBN 031332140X
7. ^ Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 56. ISBN 0-19-503186-5
8. ^ Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 46. ISBN 0-19-503186-5
9. ^ Muller, Gilbert H. William Cullen Bryant: Author of America. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2008: 6–7. ISBN 978-0-7914-7467-9
10. ^ a b c d Danilov, Victor J. Famous Americans A Directory of Museums, Historic Sites, and Memorials. Lanham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc., 2013: 189. ISBN 978-0-8108-9185-2
11. ^ Burk, John S. (2021). Massachusetts trail guide : AMC's comprehensive guide to hiking trails in Massachusetts, from the Berkshires to Cape Cod (11th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts. p. 163\. ISBN 978-1-62842-130-9.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to William Cullen Bryant Homestead.

* The Trustees of Reservations: William Cullen Bryant Homestead
* William Cullen Bryant Homestead at nps.gov

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Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

| National Historical Parks|

* Adams
* Blackstone River Valley
* Boston
* Lowell
* Minute Man
* New Bedford Whaling

|

National Historic Sites|

* Boston African American
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Other National Park Service units|

* Appalachian National Scenic Trail
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National Wildlife Refuges|

* Assabet River
* Great Meadows
* Mashpee
* Massasoit
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* Nantucket
* Nomans Land
* Oxbow
* Parker River
* Silvio O. Conte
* Thacher Island

Wild and Scenic Rivers|

* Assabet
* Concord
* Sudbury
* Taunton
* Westfield

Other protected areas|

* Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
* Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
* West Hill Dam (USACE)

State parks

| Parks|

* Alewife Brook
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Reservations|

* Beaver Brook
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* Scusset Beach
* Stony Brook
* Upper Charles River
* Wachusett Mountain
* Walden Pond
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* Wilson Mountain

Other|

* Appalachian Trail
* Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
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* Fort Revere
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* Lower Neponset River Trail
* Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside
* Nashua River Rail Trail
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* Sudbury Reservoir
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* Ware River Watershed Area

State forests

* Barnstable
* Beartown
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* Chester-Blandford
* DAR
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* Erving
* F. Gilbert Hills
* Federated Women's Club
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* Gilbert A. Bliss
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* Mohawk Trail
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* Shawme-Crowell
* South River
* Spencer
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* Upton
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* Wendell
* Willard Brook
* Willowdale
* Windsor

Wildlife management areas

| Wildlife
management areas|

* Agawam Lake
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* Ashby
* Ashfield Hawley
* Attitash
* Ayer Game Farm
* Baddacook Pond
* Bakers Pond
* Bay Circuit Trail
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* Becket
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* Black Brook
* Blackstone / West River
* Bolton Flats
* Boxboro Station
* Brayton Point Salt Marsh
* Breakneck Brook
* Brewer Brook
* Bullock Ledge
* Burrage Pond
* Canoe River
* Catamount
* Chalet
* Chase Garden Creek Salt Marsh
* Childs River
* Chockalog Swamp
* Church Homestead
* Clapps Pond
* Clinton Bluff
* Concord River
* Connecticut River
* Cook Pond
* Copicut
* Coy Hill
* Crane Pond
* Cummington
* Cusky Pond
* Dartmoor Farm
* Darwin Scott Memorial
* Day Mountain
* Deerfield River
* Dogfish Bar Beach Coastal
* Dolomite Ledges
* Dunstable Brook
* E. Kent Swift
* Eagle Island
* East Mountain
* Eastham Salt Marsh
* Elbow Meadow
* English Salt Marsh
* Eugene D. Moran
* Facing Rock
* Fairfield Brook
* Farmington River
* Fish Brook
* Fisherville Pond
* Fisk Forestdale Lot
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* Five Mile River
* Flagg Swamp
* Flint Pond
* Four Chimneys
* Fox Den
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* Frances A. Crane
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* Glen Echo Lake
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* Greenfield River
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* Jug End
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* Maple Hill
* Maple Springs
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* Mascuppic Lake
* Mashpee Pine Barrens
* Mashpee Pond Lot
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* Mckinstry Brook
* Meetinghouse Swamp
* Merrill Pond
* Miacomet Heath
* Mill Brook Bogs
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* Mine Brook
* Montague
* Montague Plains
* Moose Brook Access
* Moose Brook
* Moose Hill
* Mossy Pond
* Mount Watatic Reservation
* Mt. Esther
* Mt. Toby Highlands
* Mt. Toby
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* Muddy Brook
* Muddy Pond
* Mulpus Brook
* Nashua River
* Natty Brook
* Nemasket River
* Nissitissit River
* Noquochoke
* Nordeen Marsh
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* North Shore Salt Marsh
* Northboro
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* Olivers Pond
* Orange
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* Packard Pond
* Palmer
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* Peru
* Peterson Swamp
* Phillipston
* Podunk Marsh
* Poland Brook
* Popple Camp
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* Powell Brook
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* Quaboag
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* Quag Pond Bog
* Quashnet River
* Quashnet Woods State Reservation
* Quinapoxet River
* Quinsigamond Marsh
* Quisset
* Raccoon Hill
* Rainbow Beach
* Red Brook
* Richardson
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* Rochester
* Rocky Gutter
* Rowe
* Salisbury Salt Marsh
* Salisbury Salt Marsh WMA
* Sandwich Game Farm
* Sandy Pond
* Satan's Kingdom
* Savage Hill
* Savoy
* Sawmill River
* Scorton Creek Coastal
* SE Mass Bioreserve
* Sevenmile River
* Shattuck Brook
* Sheperds Island
* Shubael Pond
* Sibley Brook
* Sly Pond
* South Barrier Beach
* South Meadow Pond
* South Shore Salt Marsh
* South Triangle Pond
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* Spectacle Pond
* Springhill Lot
* Sputtermill Pond
* Squannacook River
* Stafford Hill
* Sudbury River
* Sunderland Islands
* Taconic Mountain
* Taunton River Access
* Taunton River
* Tekoa Mountain
* Thad Ellis
* Thayer Pond
* Three Mile Pond
* Townsend
* Townsend Hill
* Trapfall Brook
* Triangle Pond
* Tully Brook
* Tully Mountain
* Tully River
* Wakeby Pond
* Wales
* Walnut Hill
* Ware River
* Warwick
* Wendell
* West Meadows
* Westboro
* Westfield River
* Westfield
* Weymouth Back River
* Whately Great Swamp
* Whately Ponds
* Whately
* Wilbraham Game Farm
* William Forward
* Williams River
* Williamsburg
* Winimusset
* Wolf Swamp

|

Wildlife
sanctuaries|

* Billingsgate Island
* Carr Island
* E. Howe Forbush
* Egg Rock
* Grace A. Robson
* J.C. Phillips
* Knight
* Penikese Island
* Ram Island (Mattapoisett)
* Ram Island (Salisbury)
* Susan B. Minns
* Tarpaulin Cove
* Watatic Mountain

The Nature Conservancy

* Black Pond Bog
* Boat Meadow
* Francis Newhall Woods
* Grassy Pond
* Greene Swamp
* Halfway Pond Island
* Hawley Bog
* Hockomock Swamp
* Hoft Farm
* Homer-Watcha
* Katama Plains
* McElwain-Olsen
* Miacomet Moors
* Reed Brook
* Roger and Virginia Drury
* Sandy Neck
* David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail
* Stacy Mountain
* Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

* Governor Oliver Ames Estate
* Appleton Farms
* Ashintully Gardens
* Bartholomew's Cobble
* Bear Swamp
* Bear's Den
* Boston Community Gardens
* The Brickyard
* Bullitt
* Chestnut Hill Farm
* Colonel John Ashley House
* Dunes' Edge Campground
* Francis William Bird Park
* Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
* Bridge Island Meadows
* Brooks Woodland
* William Cullen Bryant Homestead
* Cape Poge
* Cedariver
* Castle Hill
* Chapel Brook
* Charles River Peninsula
* Chase Woodlands
* Chesterfield Gorge
* Coolidge
* Copicut Woods
* Cormier Woods
* Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge
* Crane Beach
* Crane Wildlife Refuge
* Crowninshield Island
* Dexter Drumlin
* Dinosaur Footprints
* Doane's Falls
* Doyle
* Dry Hill
* East Over
* Elliott Laurel
* Farandnear
* FARM Institute
* Field Farm
* Fruitlands Museum
* Fork Factory Brook
* Glendale Falls
* Goose Pond
* Greenwood Farm
* Hales Brook and Sippican River
* Halibut Point
* Hamlin
* Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens
* Holmes
* Governor Hutchinson's Field
* Jacobs Hill
* Little Tom Mountain
* Land of Providence
* Leatherbee Woods
* Long Hill
* Long Point
* Lowell Holly
* Lyman
* Malcolm
* Mashpee River
* McLennan
* Medfield Meadow Lots
* Medfield Rhododendrons
* Menemsha Hills and The Brickyard
* Misery Islands
* Mission House
* The Monoliths
* Monument Mountain
* Moose Hill Farm
* Moraine Farm
* Mount Ann
* Mount Warner
* Mountain Meadow
* Mytoi
* Naumkeag
* Noanet Woodlands
* Noon Hill and Shattuck
* Norris
* North Common Meadow
* Norton Point Beach
* Notchview
* Old Manse
* Old Town Hill
* Peaked Mountain
* Pegan Hill
* Peters
* Petticoat Hill
* Pierce
* Pine and Hemlock Knoll
* Powisset Farm
* Questing
* Quinebaug Woods
* Ravenswood Park
* Redemption Rock
* Rock House
* Rocky Narrows
* Rocky Woods
* Royalston Falls
* Shattuck
* Signal Hill
* Slocum's River
* Stavros
* Stevens-Coolidge
* Swift River
* Tantiusques
* Tully Lake Campground
* Two Mile Farm
* Tyringham Cobble
* Ward
* Wasque
* Weir Hill
* Weir River Farm
* Westport Town Farm
* Whitney and Thayer Woods
* World's End

Audubon Society wildlife sanctuaries

* Allens Pond
* Arcadia
* Ashumet Holly
* Attleboro Springs
* Barnstable Great Marsh
* Blue Hills Trailside Museum
* Boston Nature Center
* Broad Meadow Brook
* Broadmoor
* Burncoat Pond
* Canoe Meadows
* Daniel Webster
* Drumlin Farm
* Eagle Lake
* Eastern Point
* Endicott
* Felix Neck
* Flat Rock
* Graves Farm
* Great Neck
* Habitat
* High Ledges
* Ipswich River
* Joppa Flats
* Kettle Island
* Lake Wampanoag
* Laughing Brook
* Lime Kiln Farm
* Lincoln Woods
* Long Pasture
* Lynes Woods
* Marblehead Neck
* Moose Hill
* Museum of American Bird Art
* Nahant Thicket
* Nashoba Brook
* North Hill Marsh
* North River
* Oak Knoll
* Pierpont Meadow
* Pleasant Valley
* Poor Farm Hill
* Richardson Brook
* Road's End
* Rough Meadows
* Rutland Brook
* Sampsons Island
* Sesachacha Heathlands
* Skunknett River
* Stony Brook
* Wachusett Meadow
* Waseeka
* Wellfleet Bay
* Wildwood Camp

Other

* Concord Land Conservation Trust
* Harvard Forest
* Lincoln Land Conservation Trust
* Lloyd Center for the Environment
* Lynn Woods Reservation
* Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
* Old Harbor Wildlife Refuge

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