Pioneer Valley

William Cullen Bryant Homestead

Cummington

195 acres

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.

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Plan Your Visit
  • Overview
  • Ideas for Your Visit
  • Admission & Hours
  • Directions & Contact Info
  • Property Map
  • Regulations & Advisories

Overview

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.

Ideas for Your Visit

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.

Admission & Hours

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.

Directions & Contact Info

207 Bryant Road
Cummington, MA 01026

E-mail: info@thetrustees.org

Get directions on Google Maps

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.

Property Map

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.

Regulations & Advisories

  • Dogs must be kept on a leash at all times.
  • PHOTOGRAPHY: We ask that photographers or their clients become Contributing Level Members before conducting portrait sessions at this property.  Click here for more information, and to request permission for any portrait sessions. Photography is not permitted inside the house. The Trustees of Reservations reserves the right, and may give permission to its designated photographers and videographers, or to outside media, to photograph or video visitors and program participants at all its facilities and properties.
  • Mountain biking is not allowed.
  • Hunting is permitted at this property subject to all state and town laws. It is recommended to wear brightly colored clothing like an orange vest or hat during the hunting season.  Hunting is not allowed on Sundays. Learn more about hunting on Trustees properties, and read safety tips for non-hunters.
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History

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.

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The View From Here
See What People Say

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

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