Field Farm (Williamstown, Massachusetts)

Field Farm is a 316-acre (1.28 km²) nature preserve and farm in Williamstown, Massachusetts, managed by the Trustees of Reservations. There are 4.5 miles (7.2 km) of hiking trails on the reservation, which pass by swamp land, a pond, and the "Caves Lot" which features underground channels that water had cut into the limestone there.^[1] An International Style house, built in 1948 by Edwin Goodell, is operated as a bed and breakfast inn.^[2] Also on the site is The Folly, a small guest house designed by Ulrich Franzen in 1966. The Folly is currently open for guided tours. The property also contains a sculpture garden.

The property was donated to the Trustees in 1984^[3]^[4] by Eleanore Bloedel, the widow of Lawrence Bloedel. Lawrence Bloedel was the librarian of Williams College and a son of businessman Julius Bloedel. Bloedel was a noted art collector. Upon his death, his collection of 300 artworks was bequeathed to the Whitney Museum of American Art and to the Williams College Museum of Art.^[5] Some of the artworks donated to Williams are on display at Field Farm, on loan to The Trustees.

References

^ Burk, John S. (2021). Massachusetts trail guide : AMC's comprehensive guide to hiking trails in Massachusetts, from the Berkshires to Cape Cod (11th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts. p. 52. ISBN 978-1-62842-130-9.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^ "The Guest House at Field Farm". The Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ Gardner, Mark (27 April 2015). "Trustees Mavericks: Lawrence Bloedel". The Herald News. Retrieved 29 May 2016.
^ "Field Farm History". The Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
^ Mathews, Nancy (2001). American Dreams: American Art to 1950 in the Williams College Museum of Art. New York: Hudson Hills Press. p. 116. ISBN 9781555952105.