<p> The historic 17th century Barn House in Chilmark, famously home to an avant-garde communal colony of Vineyard artists, writers and intellectuals, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, the Massachusetts Historical Commission has announced. The compound is the first place in Chilmark to be named to the national historic register, and joins other Vineyard landmarks such as the Gay Head Cliffs, the village of Edgartown, the Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs and the five Island lighthouses.</p>
The historic 17th century Barn House in Chilmark, famously home to an avant-garde communal colony of Vineyard artists, writers and intellectuals, has been added to the National Register of Historic Places, the Massachusetts Historical Commission has announced. The compound is the first place in Chilmark to be named to the national historic register, and joins other Vineyard landmarks such as the Gay Head Cliffs, the village of Edgartown, the Flying Horses Carousel in Oak Bluffs and the five Island lighthouses.
The South Road house dates back to 1690 and is nestled in the heart of agrarian Chilmark on 43 acres of rolling hills, overlooking Lucy Vincent Beach. Formerly known as the Skiff-Mayhew-Vincent house, Barn House was home to a number of patron Vineyard families, and later in the early 1900s became a retreat for writers, artists and social activists. Journalist and political commentator Walter Lippmann, poet Sylvia Plath, painter Thomas Hart Benton, and American Civil Liberties Union founder Roger Baldwin were all summer visitors there. In 1919 a group of friends bought the property and formed a communal colony that still thrives today.
Structures on the property include a small, shingled former farmhouse dating to 1690 and one of the oldest buildings on the Vineyard, a barn built in 1786 and several small cabins from the first part of the 20th century, each named after the families who built them.
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I was "chore boy" during June
Tom Roberts DeKalb. IlI was "chore boy" during June of 1959, but an appendectomy late in June required me to leave this post and Martha's Vineyard.
After more than half a century, I retain many fond memories of Barn House and its June occupants, particularity Mrs. Warren and Mrs. Halpren (sp?).
Tom Roberts
I was the "Chore Girl" the
Susan McGuigan Stange CTI was the "Chore Girl" the summer of 1988 (I think?) and it was the best summer job I ever had! What great memories of getting the beds ready for the next occupants, helping tbe cook with meals, day breaks spent at Lucy Vincent beach and evenings exploring Vineyard nightlife with the "Chore Boy" (who was a girl) and the Cook (high school classmate who got me the job!) Always loved the concept and community of Barnhouse and will always remember the experience!
Great post! I grew up in
Phil Mahoney Rosholt, WisconsinGreat post! I grew up in Westfield, MA and was the "Chore Boy" for 3 Summers .... '64,'65 and '66. The interaction with the guests and their kids was great. Loved the South Beach and the path through the bog, learned to sail on Menemsha Pond and even got into some racing, heard James Taylor perform at the Unicorn in Oak Bluffs before he was famous and got to spend some time talking to Thomas Hart Benton since he was a dinner guest a couple times a Summer for the 3 years I was there. Wonderful memories of this place.
I went to Barn House for
Frank Hotchkiss Santa Barbara CAI went to Barn House for several summers with my step-father, Dick King, my brother and my mother. Dick's father, Stanley King, president of Amherst College in the 1930s, had been one of the founders of Barn House, as I was told. I loved it. It was sort of libertarian -- an eclectic collection of Boston Brahmins and other New England folk. There was no electricity in the coops (as in former chicken coops) in which most people stayed. So it was kerosene lanterns at night.
After dinner everyone got up and did the dishes in the Barn, sometimes singing and otherwise carousing in the Barn, where we all ate communal style. I remember Thomas Hart Benton coming one night. I had no idea who he was.
I learned to fly one summer while staying at Barn House (1958, I believe).
You reached South Beach through a 20-minute walk through "The Bog", a generally slushy and mosquitoey place which led to wonderful if brisk surf. There were no surf boards, I don't believe -- it was all body surfing.
One morning Dick took us all to have a cook-out breakfast with Roger Baldwin on his place nearby, with blueberry pancakes over an open fire. I had no idea Roger Baldwin was such a significant figure in the creation of the ACLU. He was just delightful company to a young boy. We all had a lovely time.
Barn House was a rarity, and I only hope its libertarian spirit of fun hasn't succumbed to the political attention the Vineyard has subsequently won.
I enjoyed reading your post
Phil Mahoney Rosholt, WisconsinI enjoyed reading your post from an earlier time. I grew up in Westfield, MA and was the "Chore Boy" for 3 Summers .... '64,'65 and '66. Like you, I didn't fully appreciate who some of these people were at the time. Roger Baldwin was a dinner guest on a few occasions but by then was quite frail. On the other hand, Thomas Hart Benton was full of life and was one of my favorite dinner guests. The political scientist and presidential biographer, James MacGregor Burns came for 2 weeks every Summer and impressed me as a very humble and decent man. I'll never forget the afternoon I was returning from the South Beach when right in the middle of the darkest part of the bog another person was approaching from the opposite direction. He had wire-rimmed glasses and his hair was combed straight back .... our Sec. of Defense, McNamara! He was alone (no Secret Service). I stopped and let him proceed across the 2x10 plank and said "afternoon". I'm not sure he had permission to use the path from the Barnhouse crew given their political persuasion but I wasn't in a position to question the matter. Anyway, made for a good story. I certainly have great memories of this place and am glad that it still lives on.
Having just returned from
Janet Cohen Cherry Hill, New JerseyHaving just returned from another wonderful vacation at Barn House as the guest of my sister and brother-in-law, I was curious to see what had been written about this unique property. Those who have worked at or visited Barn House will be pleased to know that the chores and singing while dish washing are still a venerable part of your time there. Two days of rain created opportunities for lively and interesting discussions among the guests a few of whom had been members for over 50 years. Betsy, the chef for the past several years is a wonderful asset as is her husband. I hope to be able to return once again for what is definitely the most relaxing, yet stimulating vacation one can have.
I was "Chore Boy"summer of
John Morris Waldoboro, MaineI was "Chore Boy"summer of 1961. Isobel Stevens, who taught history at Woodstock Country School in Vermont, recruited me in my senior year. Anne Hopkins, who taught at Shady Hill, was my boss. Her parents, while "getting on",were, I understood, original incorporators. The swamp was pretty nasty, the beach beautiful. One of the daily chores was to take the Barn House motorbike, once breakfast was cleared, around to farmstands at Menemsha and Edgartown to buy the specific lettuces required for the day's salad. Always looked forward to the trip and "release." On Sunday,the order was to crank a six-quart freezer for the after lunch ice cream. Enjoyed the occasional, and sometimes worldly, conversations.
I was a chore boy for the
Jon Wildrick West Deptford NJI was a chore boy for the summers of 1970 and 71 and remained on the property through the end of 1972 and left in January of 1973. I also have very fond memories of the quests who were some of America’s elite yet were down to earth folksy people. Roger Baldwin was a favorite of mine and I actually drove him around the island on my off time. While no one mentioned it the beach across from Barnhouse was called Jungle beach and it was the nude beach on the island.
As granddaughter of one of
Margaret Lee Monroe, CTAs granddaughter of one of the founding members, Margaret Cushman Warren, I spent many a wonderful summer at Barn House, sometimes staying in the Warren Coop, and at others in one of the other "coops". What incredible memories - the musty aroma of the barn, the smell of mothballs that kept woolen blankets safe from moths, the odor of kerosene lanterns, the daily chore of carrying our chamber pots up to the central bathhouse, taking turns showering in the outside shower, or utilizing the indoor tub, the aroma of the bars of yellow soap with which we scrubbed daily to prevent poison ivy. Children at that time dined on the back porch of the house, and only adults were allowed in the barn for meals and for cocktail hour. Once my grandmother was no longer an active participant, my Mom, who was married to my grandmother's son, William Warren, and I were permitted to go to Barnhouse preseason on Grandma's membership, and later, on my Aunt Edith's membership. As children arrived in our family, my mom and I would take my sisters' and my kids to Barnhouse, and we'd all have a wonderful time opening the house and Barn for the future guests. We scrubbed and painted chairs, swept the barn, cleaned the kitchens - and then headed off over the moors to the beach, or Gay Head, or Menemsha. So many happy memories shared with Mom. And now her grandchildren share those memories. Barnhouse was her most favorite place in the world. Whenever I've been to the Vineyard since then, I've stopped at Barnhouse, where wonderful gracious people would allow me to walk around and see the place once again. I thank them, and hope that I'll be permitted to do so on another visit.
I was Cook for 4 summers in
Melissa M. MichiganI was Cook for 4 summers in the 1980’s. The beauty, spirit, people and history of BH are fond memories. Congratulations to Chilmark Associates and Barn House for this venerable designation!
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