Pittsfield MA Archives - Literary Massachusetts

Herman Melville’s Arrowhead

Literary MA Research — Fri, 07 Jan 2022 16:56:02 +0000

Arrowhead, also known as the Herman Melville House, is a historic house museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It was the home of American author Herman Melville during his most productive years, 1850–1863.

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Berkshire Athenaeum

Literary MA Research — Thu, 02 Dec 2021 18:38:33 +0000

PITTSFIELD, MA.

In 1861, Thomas Allen—a Pittsfield native who made a fortune in St. Louis, Missouri, managing and financing the railroad west—donated $50,000 to his hometown for the construction of a library and exhibit area which would “promote culture, refinement, classical learning, and the study of practical science.” Thomas Plunkett and Calvin Martin, prominent Pittsfield businessmen, then secured land on Bank Row.

The Trustees of the Berkshire Athenaeum were incorporated on March 24, 1871, “for the purpose of establishing and maintaining, in the town of Pittsfield, an institution to aid in promoting education, culture, and refinement, and diffusing knowledge by means of a library, reading rooms, lectures, museums, and cabinets of art, and of historical curiosities.” With Allen’s contribution, the Athenaeum was completed and has been Pittsfield’s public library ever since.

The Berkshire Athenaeum opened at its original Bank Row location in 1876, at a time when it was not unusual for libraries to be called “athenaeums,” a Latin word meaning “a place of learning.”

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Herman Melville’s Home

Literary MA Research — Fri, 05 Nov 2021 08:49:31 +0000

About Herman Melville’s Home

Arrowhead is the headquarters of the Berkshire County Historical Society. The house and farm were the home of Herman Melville from 1850 to 1863. While living in Berkshire County, Melville nurtured several close friendships with literary colleagues and fellow authors. It is also where he wrote the seminal novel Moby-Dick and other works of short fiction. The time spent at Arrowhead is known as the most productive period of his life.

A visit today brings guests back to the 19th century to see and experience life as the Melville family knew it. Carefully restored (an ongoing process), Arrowhead is not only a National Historic Landmark dedicated to the author but also to the history of Berkshire County.

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