Bidwell House Museum Announces 2025 Season Program

MONTEREY, Mass. The Bidwell House Museum announced its 2025 season program.

All summer long, the Museum will highlight traditional trades, with programs and an exhibition. Past events like the Reenactment Weekend and the Summer History Talk series will return.

New this year: a play, a concert, and some nature walks.

The Museum's third annual member's week kicks off on May 19. Members are invited to house tours, no appointment needed, on May 19, 22, 23, and 24, at either 1 p.m. or 3 p.m.

The official tour season starts on Memorial Day, May 26. Guided tours of the house will be by appointment only, on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, at 11:00 a.m., 1:00 p.m., or 3:00 p.m. Visitors will need to book their tour at least 24 hours in advance. This can be done by calling 413-528-6888 or by emailing bidwellhm2@gmail.com.

Visitors will learn all about 18th-century Berkshires, early American architecture, and daily life, through the story of the Bidwell family and their descendants. The museum grounds are open year-round, and it's free to wander around.

There are 194 acres of flower, herb, and heritage vegetable gardens, woods, fields, historic stonewalls, trails, and picnic spots. There are also two self-guided tours: the Native American Interpretive Trail and the "Outside the House" tour.

2025 Season Program Schedule

Most programs will be held at the Bidwell House Museum, 100 Art School Road, Monterey. More vents will be added throughout the summer.

JUNE

June 14, 11 a.m.

• History Talk – Accommodating the Republic: Taverns in the Early United States

  • Kicking off our four-lecture summer history talk series, Kirsten E. Wood, Associate Professor of History at Florida International University, will be chatting about her recent book, "Accommodating the Republic: Taverns in the Early United States." She'll be diving into how these taverns were hubs for guys looking to raise capital and drum up support for their pet projects. But it wasn't just them – other Americans (who weren't of European descent) were also hanging out there, which made things...complicated. This talk is happening at the Tyringham Union Church, Main Road Tyringham. It's $15 for members and $25 for non-members to attend in person, or free for members and $15 for non-members on Zoom. If you want to catch it on Zoom, you'll need to pre-register.

June 24, 4 p.m.

Concert - Historic Songs of the American Revolution with Cosby Gibson and Tom Staudle

• As part of the Revolution 250 series, we've teamed up with The Berkshire County Historical Society at Herman Melville’s Arrowhead for a concert of music from the Revolution. It wasn't all just battles and meetings; there was also a lot of patriotism, inspiration, and, of course, song! This musical program features nine historic songs and gives a brief narrative of the history of the war through song. The concert will last about an hour long. Tickets are $15 for members and $20 for non-members.

June 28, 11 a.m.

• History Talk – A Mason’s Tool Chest: 18th and 19th Century Stone Work with Dennis Picard

  • For our second history talk, we're taking a look at the history of masonry work in New England. From foundations to fence posts, millstones to gravestones, the work of the Early American mason is still all around us. Dennis D. Picard, a museum pro with over forty years of experience, will be showing off some examples and talking about the tools and techniques they used. This one's also at the Tyringham Union Church, Main Road Tyringham. Admission is $15 for members and $25 for non-members in person, or free for members and $15 for non-members on Zoom. Zoom folks, remember to pre-register!

JULY

July 25, 4-7 p.m.

• Summer Fundraising Party – Bidwell Roadshow

  • It's our annual fundraising party! This year, bring along one of your family heirlooms to get it appraised by our three antiques experts: Charlie Flint, Lorraine German, and Sam Herrup. All the money we raise goes towards keeping the historic house in good shape, creating cool educational programs, and taking care of our 194-acre property. We'll have music from DJ Drew and some tasty hors d’oeuvres. Tickets go on sale in June.

July 26, 11 a.m.

• History Talk – Plan, Form and Construction: The Bidwell house as an example of 18th century New England domestic architecture

  • For our third history talk, architectural historian Eric Gradoia will be diving into why the Bidwell House Museum is such a big deal in 18th-century architecture. He'll also be sharing some interesting details about its many important features. It's $15 for members and $25 for non-members to attend in person, or free for members and $15 for non-members on Zoom. And you know the drill: pre-register for the Zoom link.

AUGUST

August 2, 11 a.m.

• History Talk – The Battle of Louisbourg

  • For the final history talk of the 2025 season, we're talking about a lesser-known battle from the mid-18th century. In 1745, New England colonists decided to try and take Louisbourg (in present-day Nova Scotia) from the French. Reverend Adonijah Bidwell was actually there as the Chaplain of the fleet! Dr. Amy Watson, Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, will explain why these New Englanders wanted to invade this chilly Canadian port, why they had to give it back, and what the whole Siege of Louisbourg thing tells us about British politics and the lead-up to the American Revolution. This lecture will be on Zoom, and is free for members and $15 for non-members. Pre-registration is a must for the Zoom link.

SEPTEMBER

The Museum is hosting two Housatonic Heritage walks in September. Check the website for more info as we get closer.

September 13, 1 pm

• Knox’s Noble Train of Artillery Through Monterey with Rob Hoogs

• September 28, 12 pm

  • Native Tree and Shrub Identification and Ecological Forestry Concepts with Local State Forester Tom Ryan

OCTOBER

October 3-5

• 18th Century Living History Weekend at the Bidwell House Museum

  • Step back in time and experience life during the Revolutionary War! Reenactors playing British and Continental soldiers will be camping out on the Museum grounds all weekend, teaching visitors, having the occasional skirmish, and basically bringing 18th-century New England to life. We'll have talks on Mercy Otis Warren, Martha Washington, tavern keeping, midwifery, and sutlery. Trust us, you won't want to miss this. We'll be posting more details (and the link for tickets) on the Museum website over the summer. This program is supported in part by grants from the Massachusetts Society of Cincinnati along with the Lee, Monterey, New Marlborough, Otis, Sheffield and Tyringham Cultural Councils, local agencies which are supported by the Mass Cultural Council, a state agency.

Sheffield Craftsman Offering Workshops on Windsor Chairs

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
10:30AM / Sunday, March 29, 2026

Andrew Jack uses hand tools in his wood working shop. 

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — A new workshop is bringing woodworking classes and handmade items.

Andrew Jack specializes in Windsor chairs and has been making them for almost 20 years.

He recently opened a workshop at 292 South Main St. as a space for people to see his work and learn how to do it.

"This is sort of the next, or latest iteration of a business that I've kind of been limping along for a little while," he said. "I make Windsor chairs from scratch, and this is an effort to have a little bit more of a public-facing space, where people can see the chairs, talk about options, talking about commissions.

"I also am using it as a space to teach workshops, which for the last 10 years or so I've been trying to do out of my own personal workshop at home."

Jack graduated in 2008 from State University of New York at Purchase, and later met woodworker Curtis Buchanan, who inspired him.

"Right after I finished there, I was feeling a little lost. I wasn't sure how to make the next steps and afford a workspace. And the machine tooling that I was used to using in school." he said, "Right after I graduated, I crossed paths with a guy named Curtis Buchanan, and he was demonstrating making really refined Windsor chairs with not much more than some some flea market tools, and I saw that as a great, low overhead way to keep working with wood."

Jack moved into his workshop last month with help from his wife. He is renting the space from the owners of Magic Flute, who he says have been wonderful to work with.

"My wife actually noticed the 'for rent' sign out by the road, and she made the initial call to just see if we get some more information," he said. "It wasn't on my radar, because it felt like kind of a big leap, and sometimes that's how it's been in my life, where I just need other people to believe in me more than I do to, you know, really pull the trigger."

Jack does commissions and while most of his work is Windsor chairs, he also builds desks and tables, and does spoon carving. 

Windsor chairs are different because of the way their backs are attached into the seat instead of being a continuous leg and back frame.

"A lot of the designs that I make are on the traditional side, but I do some contemporary stuff as well. And so usually the legs are turned on a lathe and they have sort of a fancy baluster look to them, or they could be much more simple," he said. "But the solid seat that separates the undercarriage from the backrest and the arms and stuff is sort of one of the defining characteristics of a Windsor."

He hopes to help people learn the craft and says it's rewarding to see the finished product. In the future, he also hopes to host other instructors and add more designs for the workshop.

"The prime impact for the workshops is to give close instruction to people that are interested in working wood with hand tools or developing a new skill. Or seeing what's possible with proper guidance," Jack said. "Chairs are often considered some of the more difficult or complex woodworking endeavors, and maybe less so Windsor chairs, but there is a lot that goes into them, and being able to kind of demystify that, or guide people through the process is quite rewarding."

People can sign up for classes on his website; some classes are over a couple and others a couple of weekends.

"I offer a three-day class for, a much, much more simple, like perch, kind of stool, where most of the parts are kind of pre-made, and students can focus on the joinery that goes into it and the carving of the seat, again, all with hand tools. And then students will leave with their own chair," he said.

"The longer classes run similarly, although there's quite a bit more labor that goes into those. So I provide all the turned parts, legs and stretchers and posts and things, but students will do all the joinery and all the seat carving the assembly. And they'll split and shave and shape their own spindles, and any of the bent parts that go into the chair."

His gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m to 2 p.m., and Monday and Tuesday by appointment.