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Date: 6/27/2022
BELCHERTOWN — Nearly 200 years ago, the Dwights were among the most prominent and wealthy families in Belchertown. Today, the house they lived in is a town treasure and a place visitors can time travel, stepping into the 19th century.
“It’s set up as though the Dwight family was still living there and it was sometime between 1840 and 1880,” said Randi Shenkman, vice president of the Museum’s Board of Trustees.
In the early 1800’s, there were two Dwight brothers. One was a farmer, the other owned a tavern and an inn. Both amassed great wealth and were among the town’s glitterati. The Dwights lived well in Belchertown, one generation after another. In fact, Jonathan Dwight was so enamored of this pastoral setting, he built a home on Maple Street in 1827.
“Jonathan Dwight wanted to build a showcase house. It was the only house made of beautiful carefully chosen stones for his daughter’s wedding present,” said Shenkman.
Eventually, all the Dwights moved out of Belchertown and the home became a museum in 1922, showcasing a moment in time for Belchertown and America.
“We’re showing people how an affluent family of their socioeconomic status would have lived. It’s not a working-class family’s home. But it’s not a mega rich home either. Almost everything that’s in the house was either owned, made, or owned and made by people in Belchertown,” said Shenkman.
Because all the Dwights moved out of Belchertown, there was no one left in the family to inherit the house. That’s when one of the relatives began thinking about her family’s legacy.
“She didn’t want to see the house destroyed because she thought it was so beautiful. It was an important part of Belchertown’s history so she reached out to the Historical Association and offered them money to buy the house under the condition it would be maintained into perpetuity as a museum,” said Shenkman.
The Stone House is now one of three buildings situated on what has become a compound of sorts. The town’s last remaining schoolhouse was moved there, so was the original building that housed the Belchertown Sentinel, a weekly community newspaper that continues publishing to this day.
Shenkman is also a museum docent, taking visitors on tours of the home scheduled for every Saturday in the summer.
“It’s very important that people understand their place in history and how they got to life the way it is because it grounds them and gives them a sense of identity. It helps people understand the continuity of life, society and history,” she said.
The museum is planning an ice cream social with live music to celebrate its centennial. Organizers have yet to set a date, but Shenkman thinks the social will be sometime in August. There will also be a lecture series running from October through April.
Information about these events can be found at www.facebook.com/TheBelchertownStoneHouseMuseum or www.stonehousemuseum.org.