Wednesday June 29, 10am-12:30pm
Van service available down to Stockbridge, leaving at 9am & returning by 2:30pm at latest
This 2.5 hour private guided hike is a 2.5 mile linear walk from Chesterwood to Downtown Stockbridge on country roads and Main St. This walk will share a narrative about the region which illuminates some historical and present day perspectives about Stockbridge and the Berkshires at-large. We will be guided by a Berkshire Camino leader who will encourage us to set an intention, walk with curiosity and participate in a ritual to let burdens go.
- Outing sponsored by Williams College, with very limited spots. We will start a waitlist once we have reached the cap.
- Open to all spouses & partners of Williams employees, as well as any kids who can do the walking.
- Terrain accessibility: nearly flat with slight undulation and one very small incline through a short wooded section.
- Please register for a spot as soon as you can via this Google form.
- Inclement weather: if it is pouring we will reschedule.
More details:
-Start on grounds of Chesterwood, historic home and studio of iconic 19th/20th century sculptor Daniel Chester French who created the Lincoln Memorial. Gain perspective about the Gilded Age and Industrial Age as it unfolded in the Berkshires from post-Civil War through the early 20th Century.
-Continue toward downtown Stockbridge on tree-covered country roads as we gain perspective about Indiantown, the name given to this area before it was called Stockbridge. Learn about the Indigenous People, now known as the Stockbridge-Munsee Community who lived in this region before being forcefully relocated from the area in the late 1700’s.
-Meander through the Stockbridge Cemetery and visit the Sedgwick family plot and the gravesite of Elizabeth ‘Mumbet’ Freeman, the first enslaved Black woman in Massachusetts who sued for and won her emancipation in 1781 setting the stage for slavery to be outlawed in the Massachusetts Constitution.
-Finish walk in downtown Stockbridge where you can grab a bite to eat, check out the town, and check out historic Red Lion Inn. Van back to Williams will leave by 1:45 at the very latest, depending on rider needs.