The Oblong Road estate that once belonged to novelist Sinclair Lewis and is renowned for its spectacular views has been sold by the Carmelite Fathers, a Roman Catholic order, to its next door neighbor for $2.1 million.
According to transactions recorded April 17 in the Northern Berkshire Registry of Deeds in Adams, the Carmelite Fathers sold the property at 239 Oblong Road to Linda H. White of 237 Oblong Road for $2.1 million.
Subsequently, that transaction was followed by three others.
The middle, 50-acre lot containing the 10-bedroom house and buildings, was sold to the KRSE Nominee Trust for $900,000.
Another parcel, of forest and uplands, was sold to the Macomber Mountain Nominee Trust for $10.
And White transferred, for no consideration, 101 acres to herself and her husband, Dr. Eric White.
Linda White, contacted by telephone, said “Our aim has always been to maintain the integrity of the property, and we think we’ve accomplished that.â€
Neither attorney Adam Filson, trustee of the KRSE Nominee Trust, nor attorney F. Sidney Smithers, trustee of the Macomber trust, would disclose the identities of the principals of the trust.
Filson said the house will be a private residence, not multi-family. There are no plans to demolish the buildings, which include a 22,000-square-foot concrete block addition that houses a chapel, dining hall and 30 dormitory rooms.
The Carmelite Fathers most recently operated the property as a retreat center.
But when it went on the market last year, a Carmelite spokesman in Middletown, N.Y., said the order planned to concentrate on its missions in Southeast Asia and the Caribbean.
The 1916 house, then called Thorvale, was home to Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Sinclair Lewis for five years, until 1951. The Carmelite Fathers bought it the following year for $60,000.
White is director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Greylock Theater Project in North Adams. Eric White is an orthopedic surgeon at North Adams Regional Hospital.
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Healey Makes Berkshire Campaign Swing: 'I Stand With You'
By Tammy Daniels & Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
North Adams Mayor Jennifer Macksey says she endorses Healey and Kim Driscoll '150 percent' as they pursue a second term as governor and lieutenant governor, respectively.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Maura Healey was in the Berkshires on Monday to rally support for a second four-year term as governor. She spoke at a meet and greet on Main Street, visited small businesses on North Street in Pittsfield, and planned to stop in Great Barrington on Tuesday.
Speaking with dozens of supporters at the new Main & Mill restaurant, the Democrat ticked off successes over her term and challenges ahead in education, energy, healthcare and housing.
"I go around the state and I talk to colleagues around the country. People are hurting. You know, they can't afford gas, groceries, rent. Everything it seems has gotten more expensive," she said. "We got a president who continues to cut and make things more expensive and more difficult for all of us.
"I mean, except for the very rich and the very powerful, it didn't work out really well for a lot of people across this country right now, which is why state leadership I think, is all the more important."
Mayor Jennifer Macksey, who hosted the meet and greet, said Healey "gets what it is to grow a community, and she has supported me for the last 4 1/2 years."
"No matter where you sit or who you represent, you are important to Governor Healey, and I know that firsthand because we talk often about the work that we do, the work we do in the weeds, the work we do at higher end, but Governor Healey gets it," she said, adding at a walkthrough of the Greylock School project later that she supports Healey and her running mate Kim Driscoll "150 percent."
Healey touted her role in being the "first governor in 20 years" to cut taxes, pointing to increases in tax credits for seniors and families, and signing the $5 billion housing act that allows accesory dwelling units by right and offered incentives for converting office space.
Maura Healey was in the Berkshires on Monday to rally support for a second four-year term as governor. She spoke at a meet and greet on Main Street, visited small businesses on North Street in Pittsfield, and planned to stop in Great Barrington on Tuesday. click for more
The new Greylock School hit another milestone on Friday with a traditional "topping out" to celebrate the near completion of its steel skeleton. click for more
The City Council on Tuesday approved four temporary easements to accommodate the $2 million reconstruction of a collapsed section of Walnut Street over the next year. click for more