The Berkshires ~ An Antiquers Paradise

Visiting New England has a great write up on why check out the Berkshires http://www.visitingnewengland.com/antiques-berkshires.html

For those that want to just poke around locally using the 1896 House as a base here are 3 great local antique spots in Williamstown to go check out.

The Library Antiques (5 minutes by car)

http://libraryantiques.com/

The Library Antiques offers a variety of antiques and lifestyle accessories including furniture, lighting, jewelry, art, rare books, and more.

70 Spring Street, Williamstown, MA

413-458-3436  and 800-294-4798

OPEN Daily from 10:00 am - 5:30 pm, Sunday 11am - 5pm

Saddleback Antiques (1.5 minutes by car, about 20 minutes to walk to)

http://www.saddlebackantiques.com/

Offering a large inventory including Civil War; Western; Folk Art; furniture; books; stoneware, farm tools and much more!

1396 Cold Spring Road, Williamstown, MA 01267

413-458-5852

OPEN Monday - Saturday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm, Sunday noon - 5pm

Collectors Warehouse (1 minute by car, 11 minutes to walk to)

http://collectorswarehouse-williamstown.com/

A shop every kind of collector will enjoy

723 Cold Spring Road, Williamstown, MA

413-458-9686 ‎

OPEN Daily from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm  (hours may change please call)

Here are a few sites that list multiple antique shops in the Berkshire area for those that want to get in a full day of antique shopping:

http://bcaada.com/

http://justtheberkshires.com/antiques.htm

http://www.berkshireweb.com/plexus/antiques/antiques.html

Enjoy a Day of Family Fun at Sweet Brook Farm

When: Saturday & Sunday Sept 24-25, 10am-3pm
Where: 580 Oblong Road, Williamstown, MA

• Watch the Green Mountain Spinners and Weavers Guild members demonstrate spinning, weaving, and knitting, and try your hand at these wonderful crafts
• Tour the scenic farm on the horse-drawn wagon, driven by a beautiful team of Belgian horses, Bob and Babe.  They are offering special pricing for this weekend only — $4 for both adults and children! And see beautiful views of Mt. Greylock
• Visit with and learn about the beautiful, elegant alpacas of Sweet Brook Farm
• Shop at the farm store, fully stocked with everything alpaca — from yarns and knitting and crocheting supplies and knitting kits, to high-quality alpaca apparel for men, women, and children such as sweaters, hats, gloves, mittens, scarves, socks, and toys
• Check out the maple syrup and maple goodies — maple candy, maple cream, maple-roasted nuts, and cream-covered cider donunts

For more information visit http://www.sweetbrookfarm.mybigcommerce.com/

1896 House Inn has added 2 new packages!

Kayak & Picnic
Glide over picturesque Pontoosuc Lake in your own kayak as you witness the foliage reflections in the water. Scramble over to an island for lunch, or connect your kayaks and dine in the middle of the lake!

Includes kayak rental, life vest, and freshly packed picnic.

Picnic includes a tuna salad, turkey club, or
Roast beef wrap with horseradish.
 Pickles & potato chips
Chocolate Brownie
Granny Smith Apple
Bottle of Spring Water

$39 per person

Bike & Picnic
Bike the beautiful Ashuwillticook Rail Trail along scenic Cheshire Lake.
.
Find a serene spot to enjoy your freshly packed picnic. 

Includes a 3-hour bike rental, helmet, and picnic.

Picnic includes a tuna salad, turkey club, or
Roast beef wrap with horseradish.
Pickles & potato chips
Chocolate Brownie
Granny Smith Apple
Bottle of Spring Water

$39 per person

Mount Greylock

At 3,491 feet, Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts. Rising above the surrounding Berkshire landscape, dramatic views of 60-90 miles distant may be seen. It became Massachusetts' first wilderness state park, acquired by the Commonwealth in 1898, to preserve its natural environment for public enjoyment. Wild and rugged yet intimate and accessible, Mount Greylock rewards the visitor exploring this special place of scenic and natural beauty.

The roads to the summit are open seasonally from late-May through November 1; weather permitting into fall, please call ahead for current road conditions.  Following the two-year Historic Parkway Rehabilitation Project the newly restored road system offers numerous opportunities for scenic viewing along this state-designated Scenic Byway. Bascom Lodge and the Veterans War Memorial Tower are open seasonally. The Mount Greylock Campground (primitive overnight area) is accessible by hiking only.

The Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower (shown at left, in winter) was built in 1932 and crowns the highest point in the state. The memorial was dedicated in June 1933 as a tribute to courage, endurance, loyalty and self-sacrifice, wherever these qualities have been shown, by the state’s men and women in the uniform of the state or nation.

Summer Use Trail Map http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/mgry1.pdf

Winter Use Trail Map http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/trails/mgry2.pdf

For more specific trail maps http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/mtGreylock/brochures.htm

Information courtesy of http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/mtGreylock/

Local Events at Mass Moca, Hopkins Memorial Forest Trail and area points of interest

September Local Events at Mass Moca

• I Love Vinyl Dance Party, Sunday, September 4, 2011
• Bureau for Open Culture: All Hands on Deck!, Friday, September 9, 2011
• Bureau for Open Culture: Bartleby's Pen - Gauthier & Sullivan, Friday, September 9, 2011
• Opening of The Speed Way, Saturday, September 24, 2011
• FreshGrass: A Festival of Art + Bluegrass, Sept 24 - Sept 25

For more information and details visit: http://www.massmoca.org/search_results.php?st=2&search=30

Hopkins Memorial Forest Trail and area points of interest

Only 4 miles from the 1896 House Inn

A quiet, easy hike through an old settlement area now managed as a research forest and a cross-country ski trail. The 2,500-acre Hopkins Memorial Forest lies in the extreme northwest corner of Massachusetts. Essentially a research forest belonging to Williams College’s Center for Environmental Studies (CES), its trails are well marked and open to the public.

On your way to or from Hiking on the Hopkins Forest Trail stop and check out some of the other local spots of interest, the Rosenburg Center, the Moon Barn, Buxton Garden and the Canopy Walkway. For more information about these attractions please visit http://web.williams.edu/ces/hopkins/researchacademics/resourcesfacilities.htm#buxtonpoint

For a trail map visit http://hmf.williams.edu/public/trail-map/

Ashuwillticook Rail Trail

 Ride or walk along this former railroad line now a scenic, paved 11.2 mile-long, passive recreation path with a gentle grade and smooth surface, as it passes along the Hoosic River, between Mount Greylock and the Hoosac Mountain Range. Access oprtins are at the Berkshire Mall entrance, Farnam;s Road or from downtown Adams at the Discover the Berkshires Visitors Center. Walking, biking, roller blading, picnicking, and car-top boating.

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is a former railroad corridor converted into a 10-foot (3.0 m) wide paved universally accessible scenic rail trail path. The Ashuwillticook (ash-oo-will-ti-cook) Rail Trail runs parallel to Route 8 through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams, Massachusetts and has become a popular resource for biking, walking, roller-blading, and jogging. The trail is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR).
The southern end of the trail begins at the entrance to the Berkshire Mall off Route 8 in Lanesborough and travels 11 miles (18 km) north to the center of Adams. Parking lots and restrooms are available along the way.

The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail passes through the Hoosac River Valley, between Mount Greylock and the Hoosac Mountains. Cheshire Reservoir, the Hoosic River, and associated wetland communities flank much of the trail offering outstanding views and abundant wildlife. The word Ashuwillticook (ash-oo-will-ti-cook) is from the American Indian name for the south branch of the Hoosic River and literally means “at the in-between pleasant river,” or in common tongue, “the pleasant river in between the hills.” The name was adopted for the trail as a way to reconnect people to local history and the natural environment.

History of the rail corridor

Built during the industrial boom of the 1800s, the railway proved to be a vital commercial link from the Atlantic Seaboard to communities which would have otherwise been isolated in the Berkshire Hills.

In 1845, the Pittsfield and North Adams Railroad developed this corridor with the goal of extending the Housatonic Railroad north to Rutland, Vermont. While the track was under construction, the company was acquired by the Western Railroad, which later became part of the Boston and Albany Railroad (B&A), as their North Adams Branch. Mineral traffic developed on the line and a number of limestone operations went into business. The New York Central Railroad took over the B&A in 1900, and upgraded the line, which was sold to the Boston and Maine Corporation in 1981. As a connection to an existing track in North Adams, Boston and Maine ran the line with declining success until they abandoned rail service in 1990. Seeing the potential for recreational use of the corridor, citizens organized to preserve the right-of-way, eventually gaining the local and political support needed to make this rail trail a reality.

Information courtesy of http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/western/asrt.htm

Williams College Museum of Art

(under 5 minutes from the 1896 House Inn)

The Museum has 14 different galleries to browse through, so a perfect afternoon trip or morning Jaunt just minutes away from the inn.

15 Lawrence Hall Dr, Ste 2 Williamstown, MA

http://wcma.williams.edu/

Check out their blog at http://wcma.williams.edu/blog/

General Information: (413) 597-2429

Widely considered one of the finest college art museums in the country, the Williams College Museum of Art is a department of Williams College. WCMA houses nearly 13,000 works that span the history of art

An active, collecting museum, its strengths are in modern and contemporary art, photography, prints, and Indian painting. The museum is especially known for its stellar collection of American art from the late 18th century to the present.

Admission is free.

Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Sunday, 1 to 5 p.m.

The museum is closed on Mondays

Exhibitions:

JUNE 11, 2011 - OCTOBER 2, 2011

Masters of the Modern: The Gift of Madeleine P. and Harvey R. Plonsker, Class of 1961

MAY 13, 2011 - SEPTEMBER 4, 2011

Artist’s Project: Jesse Aron Green

Jesse Aron Green, on campus for this academic year as the Arthur Levitt, Jr. ’52 Artist-in-Residence in Art, has been commissioned to create a work of art in response to the question: How does an artist respond to the space of the museum?

Check out the many more current and upcoming exhibitions at http://wcma.williams.edu/exhibitions/current/