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Friday Front Porch Feature: A Colonial Home Fit for Founders

The property sits on a hill above the center of Monterey, not far from Lake Garfield. 

MONTEREY, Mass. — Are you looking for a historic home in the hills that perhaps a local founding family used to live in? Then look no further, this is the house for you.

Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are discussing a colonial house at 6 Tyringham Road.

The 4,188-square-foot home dates to 1780, with additions built over the last 250 years that include an indoor pool and two-car portico. This house was once home to the Bidwells, the founders of Monterey. William and Jessie Bidwell had operated the estate, Ledgehurst, as a summer resort and inn in the early 1900s.

The house has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and a study/bonus room, and comes with a dishwasher, refrigerator, range, washer and dryer. There's also a three-bay detached garage and two-bay garage on the 1.10 acres. It is only a short walk to the town beach on Lake Garfield or to the town center and the library, town hall and post office.

The asking price is $675,000.

We spoke to Christian Deckert and John Burns with William Pitt Sotheby's International Realty, the agents for the property.

What do you think makes this property stand out in the current market?

Deckert, Burns: There are many historic homes for sale, but this property has the significance of being the home of the Bidwell family, founders of the town of Monterey. It was a former boarding house and has been home to countless stories and traditions of yesteryear. There aren't many historic offerings with an indoor pool, multiple outbuildings and the main home offering this much size and opportunity for restoration.

Do you know any unique stories about the home or its history? 

Deckert, Burns: Former boarding house, and current owners are a racing family with a heritage of winning (I hope they did!)

How would you describe the feel or atmosphere of this home?

Deckert, Burns: The feel is like stepping back in time but still retains conveniences for modern living. Of course, a buyer would like to update some things, but the home has been adored for generations and could continue to be enjoyed without too much legwork. The atmosphere lends to wanting to gather with loved ones and friends. Kick back by the pool and entertain.

Are there any unique or custom elements?

Deckert, Burns: Plenty of unique elements! The primary bedroom balcony overlooking the pool, an indoor firepit in the pool hall, steel I-beam construction and walls of floor-to-ceiling windows to create the feeling of being outdoors.

Are there any standout design features and/or recent renovations?

Deckert, Burns: Standout design features are the way the current owners seamlessly blended the pool house addition to the historic home. 

There are also many period details in the home such as antique moldings, fireplace, stove, etc. 

What would you say to a buyer trying to imagine their life in this space?

Deckert, Burns: Discerning buyers can realize the potential without having to sacrifice living in the home for an extended period of time. The home is large enough that you can live in one portion while reimagining another. 

Imagine living in a historically significant home, offering walk to town, Lake Garfield, multiple garaged outbuildings, and brimming with period details and classic New England charm.

Buyers will love the abundance of storage and endless possibilities!

What was your first impression when you walked into this home?

Deckert, Burns: My first impression was jaw dropping! Never have I seen a home in the Berkshires showcasing what this property has to offer. A rare blend of location, history, potential to reimagine, and quality craftsmanship.

This home has been standing proud for a long time, and the right person can ensure that it will for generations to come. 

You can find out more about this house on its listing.

*Front Porch Feature brings you an exclusive to some of the houses listed on our real estate page every week. Here we take a bit of a deeper dive into a certain house for sale and ask questions so you don't have to.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice or an offer to sell. If you're interested in having your property featured, please contact our sales department at sales@boxcarmedia.com.

Becket Looks to Wind Power for Energy Savings

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:17AM / Tuesday, October 20, 2026

The single turbine is a low maintenance and has a 50-year life. The town went with wind power after finding a solar installation would be too difficult. 

BECKET, Mass. — The town unveiled a wind turbine Monday that will reduce electricity costs and show the benefits of renewable energy produced by wind.

Residents, town and state officials gathered outside the Town Hall for the ribbon cutting on a project first conceived nearly a dozen years ago.

The wind turbine stands 100-feet tall next to Town Hall and is from Oklahoma manufacturer Bergey Wind Power. It has a 50-year life and is a direct-drive permanent-magnet design, meaning it has no gearbox, making it low maintenance.

According to Garth Klimchuk, chair of the Becket Energy Committee, the town started discussions about a wind turbine in 2014. The turbine is expected to generate about 36,000 kilowatt-hours. Klimchuk said Town Hall uses about 24,000 kilowatt-hours, with excess power expected to go to the Highway Department. This is expected to save $9,000 annually from the electricity cost.

"This turbine is just going to be such a good thing for the town. It is really incredible. Zero-cost electricity. Zero cost to the town. Carbon free. Just a huge, huge milestone for us," he said.

The town received a grant from the state Department of Energy Resources totaling $139,500. The remaining funding for the project will come from a direct-pay investment tax credit under the federal Inflation Reduction Act. If the town does not receive the funding, voters at the annual town allocated $100,000 just in case, but Klimchuk said the town will only need about $60,000 to $70,000 if necessary.

"It's going to help the community. Hopefully, it'll lower our tax bills. And as we look at everything going around around the world right now, energy volatility has been with us for a long time. It's going to stay with us for a long time," said state Sen. Paul Mark. "So any move we can make as a community, whether as Becket specifically, as Berkshire County as a whole, but anything we can do to bring some of the reliability into our own hands, to produce a bit on our own, and just guarantee that in a renewable, safe way moving into the future, I think is going to pay off dividends."

The town has spent more than a decade reducing municipal energy consumption in a variety of ways including HVAC upgrades and LED street light conversions, bringing it to a Level 2 Green Community status.

While solar had been considered, interconnection constraints and limited grant opportunities made it harder to achieve. But the high elevation of Town Hall and a Small Wind Site evaluation done in 2023 and 2024 found the site was perfect for a turbine with favorably high winds.

State Rep. Leigh Davis praised the project as an example of a small town addressing a larger energy challenge through persistence and collaboration. She stressed that the single turbine represents a practical step toward reducing reliance on fossil fuels and said Becket's effort could serve as a model for communities across the commonwealth. 

"You hear about all these kind of big wind farms and solar farms and all these ways that we're gonna you know create green energy, but at the same time what we're not being sensitive to the landscape, and what I appreciate about this is that this is it's a single turbine, but it represents so much more," she said. "You're right. It's really adding to the ability for this town to contribute to green energy and to bringing our reliance on gasoline fuels back down to solving big problems."

Mark Rabinsky, deputy director of DOER's Green Communities Division, said the state supports municipalities with technical assistance and grants, and that reducing municipal energy costs can leave more resources for other local priorities. He presented the turbine as an example of state support working alongside local knowledge and decision-making. 

"I think that this is a really a great example of what green communities can do," he said. "I'm obviously a really big fan of the green communities program, but I think that connection between the state, what we're doing at the state, and that local level, and relying on the local knowledge here with Becket is a true testament to what we're doing."

Select Board Chair William Elovirta thanked everyone for being here and shared his memories of first coming tp Becket in 1946 before utility electricity arrived. His family and neighbors used small 32-volt generating plants and batteries. He recalled utility workers installing poles and wires by hand around 1947.