William Cullen Bryant Homestead

Purchased in 1789 by Ebenezer Snell, Bryant's grandfather, the Homestead and its surrounding countryside inspired much of young Bryant's poetry such as "The Rivulet" and "To A Waterfowl." Bryant's family sold the Homestead in 1835. However, thirty years later Bryant re-purchased it as a summer retreat and converted it from a center-stair colonial to a Victorian cottage. The house collection includes colonial and Victorian pieces from the Bryant and Snell families and memorabilia collected on his extensive travels to Europe and Asia. He added an ell to the barn to store apples and pears from his orchards. Bryant's pastoral estate encompasses 195 acres, largely unchanged for more than 150 years. The maple tree allee planted by the Bryant family, the old growth forest on the Rivulet Trail, and the sugar bush used by Bryant and his brothers contain trees that are almost 200 years old.