Historic estate of Lincoln Memorial sculptor opens gardens, woodland walks
Daniel Chester French, the sculptor behind Concord’s The Minute Man and the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., arrived in the Berkshires in 1897 with his wife and daughter. He had purchased a Stockbridge farm with a view of Monument Mountain as a respite from New York summers.
Over the next few years, French transformed the property into an artist’s haven, first commissioning a sculpting studio with 26-foot-high walls. The studio still houses many of French’s pieces, including models for the Lincoln Memorial. In 1901, he replaced the farmhouse with the nine-bedroom residence, which still stands today.
Chesterwood’s buildings, including the house and studio, are currently closed and planned summer events have been rescheduled or postponed. The gardens, grounds and woodland walks are open, in a limited capacity. Timed parking passes, allowing entry to the grounds, are available for purchase online.
Chesterwood
Stockbridge
chesterwood.org
