Herman Melville's Arrowhead

10/18/2026

First Run for the Revolution! Beautiful day!! ☀️🍂🍁

10/11/2026

We have a few more spots open, so if you want to come and write with us in Herman Millville‘s home, please sign up now!

Berkshire Writers Series 2026-2027 Each year, the Berkshire County Historical Society offer a multi-session, multi-genre writing series for writers of all levels and areas of interest. The series is … Continue reading "2026-2027 Berkshire Writers Series"

10/09/2026

Before the leaves fall and the winter sets in come and visit and see our beautiful pollinators and the beautiful foliage, and of course the house!

10/09/2026

In 1915, the Berkshire Eagle’s Kelton B. Miller (1860-1941) leased a space on the North Street Bridge at Eagle Street (now Sottile Park) from the Boston & Albany Railroad and placed his daily news bulletin board in operation. Locals would congregate around the outdoor news outlet to learn of breaking news, war updates, election returns, sports scores, fire locations, and holiday greetings. At one point, evolving technology saw the bulletin board become a 27” television surrounded by dials indicating temperature, wind direction, barometric pressure, and wind velocity. On October 9, 1952, photographer William F. Plouffe (1915-1999) captured the public’s interest in the Eagle’s new, revolutionary, all-electronic bulletin board. The news machine was ten times faster than its predecessor and reproduced maps, pictures, and drawings. It was the world’s largest electronic bulletin board, manufactured by the Alden Products Company of Brockton, Mass, and gave new meaning to the term “social media.”

Images:

Photograph by William F. Plouffe (1915-1999) on October 9, 1952.

The Berkshire Eagle, December 17, 1957.

Postcard, early 20th century. The view is approximately from where the bulletin board was located, looking east towards the Eagle Building.

10/05/2026

Join us tomorrow! On Tuesday, October 6th at 5:30 pm, the Berkshire County Historical Society at Herman Melville's Arrowhead and the Bidwell House Museum will continue to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Knox Trail, co-hosting a screening with filmmaker Jonathan Barkan.

Learn more here: https://berkshirehistory.org/event/h-knox-on-the-knox-trail/

In 1973, emerging professional photographer and media producer Jonathan Barkan was contracted by the Massachusetts Bicentennial Commission. His assignment – create a multi-projector traveling slide show to inspire a statewide reenactment and tell the story of Revolutionary War hero Henry Knox and his plan to retrieve and haul cannons from Fort Ticonderoga, New York, to Boston, Massachusetts. This historic event linked the entire Commonwealth from west to east and led directly to the first major military victory of the War for Independence–Evacuation Day.

The original media program has been modernized for twenty-first century audiences as a state-of-the-art video. It is enlivened by additional imagery and retains a re-creation with period cannon, draft horses, and oxen that was filmed at the Jug End Resort in South Egremont. Mr. Barkan will screen the video and briefly share his personal experiences and production challenges… both then and now.

Note that the program will be held at the event space in Arrowhead's historic barn. The forecast tomorrow doesn't look the warmest, so you might want to wear an extra layer!

10/03/2026

We’re still open for tours and views!

09/28/2026

A survivor of the shipwreck that inspired the novel Moby Dick had a theory about how a s***m whale could destroy a vessel many times its size – 200 years later, he's been proved right.

09/27/2026

Thank you for all who came to the Pittsfield Cemetery for “Shades of the Revolution”
And thanks to all the wonderful players! 

09/26/2026

Shades of the Revolution is cancelled tonight due to the forecast! 🌧️💨💦

09/24/2026

There are three more magical performances! Come join us in the cemetery!