{"nrhp_refnum":"82004954","name":"Bidwell, Rev. Adonijah, House","other_names":["Deep Woods Manse"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Royal Hemlocks and Art School Rds.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Monterey","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.207660904500045,"lon":-73.21859028931395,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1982-08-26","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Agriculture","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Exploration/Settlement","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 60-acre site in Monterey, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, containing the Rev. Adonijah Bidwell House, a two-story saltbox-style Georgian house built in 1750, and the foundation site of the first Meetinghouse of Housatonic Township No. 1 (1743).","why_significant":"The house was the home of the town's first settled minister and later a working farm and a summer art school. The Meetinghouse site records the early church that served what became the separate towns of Tyringham and Monterey. The nomination argues for local, regional and statewide importance under criteria A, B and C, with archaeological potential under D.","narrative":"This 60-acre property in the Berkshire Mountains of Monterey, Massachusetts, combines a mid-18th century farmhouse with the foundation of a village's first church. The Rev. Adonijah Bidwell House, built in 1750, is a two-story saltbox with a massive central brick chimney, three rooms around the chimney and staircase, and extensive raised wood paneling. A horse barn ell was added around 1790 and a Greek Revival woodshed and carriage house around 1837. Bidwell was the first settled minister of Housatonic Township No. 1, served for thirty-four years, and ran a large farm. His sons held county, state and national offices. Later the Carrington family farmed the land from 1837 to 1913, and from 1914 to 1922 it hosted a summer artists' colony. The Meetinghouse, built in 1743, served both Tyringham and Monterey settlements until a new church and a separate Tyringham congregation led to its dismantling by about 1798. Its stone foundation and steps survive and may hold archaeological evidence.","period_of_significance":"1700-1799","architect_builder":"Rev. Adonijah Bidwell","architectural_style":"Georgian \"Saltbox\" style, vernacular mid-18th century house with Greek Revival style woodshed and carriage house ell","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Listed as occupied, in excellent condition, used as a private residence, with the original site unmoved and the structure altered. The 1790 horse barn ell and 1837 Greek Revival woodshed were added later, and the shingle roof was restored by the present owner.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.241402-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/38/7941/63794138/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/82004954.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004954/c866c53dad-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/82004954/c866c53dad-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Agardner623","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bidwell_House.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Agardner623</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bidwell_House.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794138","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bidwell_House_Museum","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4904292"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/bidwell-rev-adonijah-house-82004954/"}