Ghost Tours Return at Ventfort Hall Sept. 3

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LENOX, Mass. — Join Ventfort Hall as Robert Oakes, author of Ghosts of the Berkshires, returns in September and throughout the fall to lead guests through the rooms and halls of the estate sharing tales of its hauntings.

Stand in the places where the encounters occurred, listen to the first-hand accounts of those who experienced them, and maybe even experience something unusual yourself. This is not an active investigation.

Oakes is an author, teacher, storyteller, and singer/songwriter originally from northern New Jersey and currently residing in the Berkshires in Western Massachusetts. Since 2010 Robert has led the ghost tours at Edith Wharton's The Mount in Lenox, MA, and has represented the museum and its ghosts on Syfy’s Ghost Hunters, Jeff Belanger’s New England Legends series on PBS, and The Apple Seed show on BYUradio.

In 2020, Robert's debut book, Ghosts of the Berkshires, was published by Arcadia Publishing.

The tours will take place on Sept. 3 and 25 at 7:30 pm, Oct. 9 and 30 at 7 pm and at 11 p.m. Oct. 28. Admission is $27 and the minimum age to attend is age 12.

Reservations are required. To purchase tickets please call us at 413-637-3206. 

Please note that all tickets are non-refundable and non-exchangeable. Payment is required to make a reservation for an event. Masks are required.


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Pittsfield Considers Repairing East Part Cemetery

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Historical Commission will consider grant opportunities for repairs to East Part Cemetery.

A resident reached out to the city with concerns about degradation in the half-acre burial ground at the top of Williams Street. East Part Cemetery was established in the early 1800s and has about 300 interments. 

“It's a nice old cemetery, and basically, (the resident) had had concerns that the stone wall had taken some damage, the gravestones have taken some damage, and was wondering if there's anything that could be done to repair the gravestones and the wall," City Planner Kevin Rayner told the commission on Monday.

In cooperation with cemetery leadership and residents, the Historical Commission will consider applying for Community Preservation Act funds to support repairs. West Part Cemetery, on the other side of Pittsfield, has previously used CPA funds for revitalization work. 

The 1080 Williams St. property is owned by the city and managed by the Pittsfield Cemetery Commission. Rayner presented photos of broken and overgrown gravestones, parts of the stone wall collapsing, and knocked-over obelisks. 

Some aspects could use general maintenance and restoration, he observed. 

According to the Pittsfield Cemetery and Crematory's website, East Part Cemetery was established around 1808 on land owned by Nathan Webb, who permitted and authorized its use as a public burying ground.  

In 1842, Nathan Webb's son, also named Nathan Webb, deeded the property to the Methodist Episcopal Society of Pittsfield as a public burying ground, and in 1893 the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal Society transferred their control of the cemetery to the Proprietors of the Pittsfield Cemetery. Their action was confirmed by the Berkshire Probate Court.

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