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.
If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.
Your Comments
iBerkshires.com welcomes critical, respectful dialogue. Name-calling, personal attacks, libel, slander or foul language is not allowed. All comments are reviewed before posting and will be deleted or edited as necessary.
No Comments
Freight Yard Pub Serving the Community for Decades
By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
One of the eatery's menu mainstays is the popular French onion soup.
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — Freight Yard Pub has been serving the community for decades with a welcoming atmosphere and homemade food.
Siblings Sean and Colleen Taylor are the owners Freight Yard Pub. They took it over with their brother Kevin and Colleen's first husband in 1992. The two came from Connecticut and Boston to establish a restaurant and said they immediately felt welcomed in their new home.
"The reception that the community gave us in the beginning was so warm and so welcoming that we knew we found home," Colleen Taylors said. "We've made this area our homes since then, as a matter of fact, all of our friends and relationships came out of Freight Yard Pub."
The pub is located in Western Gateway Heritage State Park, and its decor is appropriately train-themed, as the building it's in used to be part of the freight yard, but it also has an Irish pub feel. It is the only original tenant still operating in the largely vacant park. The Taylors purchased the business after it had several years of instability and closures; they have run it successfully for more than three decades.
Colleen and Sean have been working together since they were teenagers. They have operated a few restaurants, including the former Taylor's on Holden Street, and currently operate takeout restaurant Craft Food Barn, Trail House Kitchen & Bar and Berkshire Catering Co., operating as Bay State Hospitality Group. Over the weekend, it was announced they would take over management of the historic Store at Five Corners in Williamstown.
"Sean and I've been working together. Gosh, I think since we were 16, and we have a wonderful business relationship, where I know what I cover, he knows what he covers," she said. "We chat every single day, literally every day we have a morning phone call to say, OK, checking in."
The two enjoy being a part of the community and making sure to lend a hand to those who made them feel so welcome in the first place.
The museum will host the recommendations for the Veterans Memorial Bridge and the surrounding area. This will be on Friday, Dec. 12, at 3 p.m. in the swing space and is open to the public. click for more
Check out the activities happening this weekend around the county including many holiday-themed events like Santa meet and greets, and some Christmas tree lightings. Find all the craft fairs and bazaars happening here.
click for more