Berkshire County Historical Opens Arrowhead on May 17

04:29PM / Tuesday, May 13, 2025Print Story | Email Story

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — The Berkshire County Historical Society (BCHS)will open Herman Melville's historic home, Arrowhead, for guided tours beginning May 17.

Melville lived at Arrowhead from 1850-1863 and there wrote his masterpiece "Moby-Dick" inspired by the view of Mount Greylock outside his study window.

Tours are offered Thursday through Monday on the hour with the first tour beginning at 10 am and the last at 3 pm. Rates for guided tours are: adults $20, students $10, children 12 and under free. Reservations are not required but can be made by using the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org. Group tours are available by appointment for groups of twelve or more; $15 per person.

To celebrate the seasonal re-opening, BCHS will offer special orchard tours in collaboration with Berkshire Cider Project.

In 2022, BCHS teamed up with Berkshire Cider Project to plant a new orchard at Arrowhead. About 25 apple varieties were selected to represent the historic orchard on site during Melville's time and other important heirloom varieties. The orchard provides a learning destination for fruit growers, activities for kids and family, and provides apples to be used for cider making. Throughout the day Berkshire Cider Project's Matt Brogan will be pruning the orchard and at 10 am and 2 pm will demonstrate proper pruning and grafting techniques and discuss the history of apples in New England.

Cider samples will be available for guests 21+.

The celebration continues into the evening with a special concert of sea shanties by Alex Harvey and Shinbone Alley at 7 pm. Come early and picnic on the grounds and step into the tavern and warm up those swashbuckling vocal chords with hard ciders and beer from Berkshire Cider Project and Hot Plate Brewing Company for sale during the event.

Alex Harvey is an old-world folklorist who performs street ballads and songs of the sea in a project he calls Shinbone Alley. Tickets are available by using the BOOK NOW button at berkshirehistory.org - $15 BCHS Members, $20 nonmembers.

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Neal Tours Berkshire Innovation Center as Pittsfield's Tech Economy Grows

By Sabrina DammsiBerkshires Staff
05:38PM / Thursday, October 15, 2026

PITTSFIELD, Mass. —Congressman Richard Neal visited the Berkshire Innovation Center Thursday to highlight $735,000 in federal funding secured for a new cybersecurity training and testing facility.

"The number one job of the federal government is to provide for the security of its people. I mean, we should never lose sight of that, whether it's China or Russia, every single day there are these belligerents that are attempting to infiltrate national security here in the United States, and we should not be naive about it," Neal said. "I mean, we can have an argument about proportionality; we can do a lot of different things, but not to miss the point of what they're trying to do every day."

The new cybersecurity facility will provide regional manufacturers and businesses with research and design equipment, specialized lab space, and training facilities and is planned to be housed in a to-be-redeveloped space across the street from the Berkshire Innovation Center (BIC), located at 45 Woodlawn Ave.

The derelict property, formerly owned by General Electric, is now known as the William Stanley Business Park.

The project is a $7.2 million dollar investment from the state, $5.2 million from the tech collaborative, $2 million from bond funding secured by Neal, and $1 million that will be split into two phases: $500,000 for BIC to begin building and $500,000 for Myrias Optics to start production in Pittsfield, said Mayor Peter Marchetti.

BIC Executive Director Ben Sosne said manufacturers often highlight the need for help with cybersecurity, particularly in meeting the security requirements necessary to conduct business with General Dynamics and other major contractors.

Collaborators in the field and the public sector have recognized the need that has only grown since technology has advanced and is a great career opportunity, Sosne said.

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