The Mount Carmel Retreat Center, a 700-acre property on Oblong Road in Williamstown that once belonged to Nobel Prize-winning author Sinclair H. Lewis, is for sale for $2.2 million.
The property has been owned by the Carmelite Fathers of the New York Province since 1952, when it was purchased as a novitiate. But the novitiate, a training center for young men interested in the Carmelite life, long ago moved to Middletown, N.Y., and the South Williamstown property has been used in recent years primarily as a retreat center.
The 1916 Georgian revival mansion was owned by Lewis from 1946 to 1952. The granite posts at the entrance still proclaim the property as Thorvale, a name referring to the thunder that resonates through the valley.
The Rev. Michael Driscoll, the prior provincial of the Carmelites of New York Province of St. Elias, reached by telephone yesterday, said the order is selling the property to concentrate its resources on its missions in Trinidad and Vietnam.
The property is listed for sale with real estate broker Harsch Associates.
Driscoll said the sale is prompted by dwindling personnel, and the property’s comparative remoteness from Long Island where many retreat participants live.
“The remoteness, while ideal for Carmelite life, is a little too remote for lay people to go there on retreats in abundance,†said Driscoll.
“We did an awful lot of good in a certain area at a certain time, and then we have to move on,†said Driscoll. “In 50 years we’ve touched a lot of people in the Berkshire area, but now we have to move on. And Trinidad and Vietnam are where we’re committed to establishing our communities.â€
At one time, the order had perhaps 30 novices and professed students at the center.
“We need more personnel to run the retreat center the way we used to, and we don’t have that,†he said.
The Rev. Maurice Cummings has been at the center, mostly alone with the weekly assistance of a Carmelite father from Troy, N.Y., for the past two or three years, said Driscoll.
“Money that we would have to put into upgrading the property needs to go into the education of seminarians in Trinidad and Vietnam,†he said.
Driscoll said the Carmelite order, while growing slowly in the United States and Western Europe, is “growing tremendously in Third World Countries.â€
“The Prior General has asked every province to accept a mission, and some have more than one. The Chicago Province, for example, has missions in Peru and Mexico.
Our community is growing in mission lands.â€
“Our province has dwindling numbers, and selling (the center) would help us in our commitment to two missions,†he said.
“Something has to give, and maybe it’s the retreat center,†said Driscoll.
“The other retreat houses will take up the slack.â€
The decision to sell was reached with regret, said Driscoll, agreeing that it was part of a pattern in the Roman Catholic Church in North America, where parish churches and parochial schools have been put on the market, to the consternation of many who had cherished them.
“I spent three years there, and if it is sold I will miss it,†said Driscoll. “Many of our priests feel close to that place, and I think we all love it. We’re going to find it hard. It’s like breaking up the old homestead.â€
The property is advertised for sale in today’s issue of The Advocate by Harsch Associates.
Broker Paul Harsch said the property, which overlooks spectacular views, has 905 feet of frontage along Oblong Road, its elevation rising from 1,000 feet at the road to 2,800 feet at the Taconic ridge.
The Taconic Crest Trail cuts through the upper corner of the property.
The property could possibly be developed through creating a minor way subdivision, but the town’s upland building restrictions reduce the amount of building it could support. According to that bylaw, building between 1,150 and 1,300 feet — designated as Rural Residence 1 — requires more area and additional frontage, and no building at all is allowed above 1,300 feet, designated a conservation overlay district.
Coincidentally, $2.2 million is the same price paid for Cricket Creek Farm, an extensive property also on Oblong Road, but on its south end, by the Sabot family.
The Georgian revival house has 6,600 square feet; the 1955 building, 20,000 square feet, with dormitory-style rooms, an indoor gymnasium and a chapel.
Leslie Reed-Evans, executive director of the Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation, said “the Taconic Range is important ecologically. There has been an ongoing effort — particularly since the 1993 compact between Massachusetts and New York — to protect as much of the ridge as possible. The Carmelites property is an integral piece because it is adjacent to Berlin Mountain. The Rural Lands Foundation has worked with the state Department of Environmental Management to protect other parcels along the Taconic Crest, including the former Phelps Farm and land in Kidder Hollow.â€
Part of the property was settled first in 1768, when William Torrey, a shoemaker from Middletown, Conn., and his brother John, settled across from one another on Oblong Road, but by the early 20th century the property had passed out of the Torrey family, whose name continues in Torrey Woods Road.
Lewis, the notoriously difficult novelist, spent only a few years at Thorvale, but those years were marked by alcoholism, illness, and acrimony, the latter involving both a tenant farmer family on the property, and the Williams College English department whose members apparently failed to welcome the author with the enthusiasm he felt he merited, according to a 1988 memoir by Ida L. Compton. He died in Rome in 1951.
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Berkshire County Homes Celebrating Holiday Cheer
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
There's holiday cheer throughout the Berkshires this winter.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
We asked the homeowners questions on their decorations and why they like to light up their houses.
In Great Barrington, Matt Pevzner has decorated his house with many lights and even has a Facebook page dedicated to making sure others can see the holiday joy.
Located at 93 Brush Hill Road, there's more than 61,000 lights strewn across the yard decorating trees and reindeer and even a polar bear.
The Pevzner family started decorating in September by testing their hundreds of boxes of lights. He builds all of his own decorations like the star 10-foot star that shines done from 80-feet up, 10 10-foot trees, nine 5-foot trees, and even the sleigh, and more that he also uses a lift to make sure are perfect each year.
"I always decorated but I went big during COVID. I felt that people needed something positive and to bring joy and happiness to everyone," he wrote. "I strive to bring as much joy and happiness as I can during the holidays. I love it when I get a message about how much people enjoy it. I've received cards thanking me how much they enjoyed it and made them smile. That means a lot."
Pevzner starts thinking about next year's display immediately after they take it down after New Year's. He gets his ideas by asking on his Facebook page for people's favorite decorations. The Pevzner family encourages you to take a drive and see their decorations, which are lighted every night from 5 to 10.
In North Adams, the Wilson family decorates their house with fun inflatables and even a big Santa waving to those who pass by.
The Wilsons start decorating before Thanksgiving and started decorating once their daughter was born and have grown their decorations each year as she has grown. They love to decorate as they used to drive around to look at decorations when they were younger and hope to spread the same joy.
"I have always loved driving around looking at Christmas lights and decorations. It's incredible what people can achieve these days with their displays," they wrote.
The Wilsons' invite you to come and look at their display at 432 Church St. that's lit from 4:30 to 10:30 every night, though if it's really windy, the inflatables might not be up as the weather will be too harsh.
In Pittsfield, Travis and Shannon Dozier decorated their house for the first time this Christmas as they recently purchased their home on Faucett Lane. The two started decorating in November, and hope to bring joy to the community.
"If we put a smile on one child's face driving by, then our mission was accomplished," they said.
Many homeowners are showing their holiday spirit by decorating their houses. We asked for submissions so those in the community can check out these fanciful lights and decor when they're out.
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