William Cullen Bryant Homestead

Built in 1783, this property was the boyhood home and later summer residence of poet and newspaper editor William Cullen Bryant (1794–1878). The property is now a National Historic Landmark and is owned by a board of trustees and operated as a house museum. Bryant is well known for his time as an editor and publisher of the New York Evening Post, as well as his meditative nature poetry, the inspiration for which can be seen throughout the 478 acres of land. This includes woodlands, meadows, hiking trails, the colonial 1870s homestead, barn, and pasture that make up the scenic landscape. Bryant wrote about a wide range of topics during his fifty-year career, including articles in support of the abolition of slavery and those advocating for Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign.

The Berkshires are the rural mountainous highlands of western Massachusetts, a vacation destination surrounded by colorful foliage, and are known for outdoor recreation. It is also known for its rich history and the childhood home of journalist, poet, and conservationist William Cullen Bryant. His historic Massachusetts homestead was built by his maternal grandfather in 1783. His grandfather, Ebenezer Snell, built the center stair and the original two-story colonial house. William moved to this Dutch farmhouse with his family in 1799. His father, Peter Bryant, expanded the house with an office, a kitchen, a wood house, and a barn behind the home. 

William Cullen Bryant started writing poetry from a young age. When his first major poem was published at the age of 13, he was already known as a prodigy. His success started early, but it came from an unpleasant childhood of highly disciplined farm chores and social isolation. He is known for his curious nature and inquisitive attitude in his poetry about nature, some of which is inspired by the forests and views of the Hampshire Hills surrounding the homestead. His poems often discussed his belief in nature as a teacher, and he was known as an outspoken conservationist and an advocate for the creation of Central Park. He attended a local college and practiced law until 1825, when he moved to New York and began his career in journalism.

Bryant's family sold the homestead property in 1835. During that time, Bryant wrote and published his views on abolition and conservation, and supported Abraham Lincoln's presidential campaign. Most notably, he worked at the New York Evening Post for almost 50 years. Bryant maintained a reputation as a well-respected man and the voice of American poetry for his time. He had a large portfolio as a published writer in journalism and poetry in many different journals and publications.  

Bryant bought back his family home in 1856 from the son of a Revolutionary War veteran, a man named Welcome Tilson. When Tilson owned the property, he relocated the office and rebuilt and expanded the barn. When Bryant repurchased the homestead, he also acquired over 450 acres of surrounding land to conserve its natural features. He had the home renovated into a three-story summer home, complete with an expanded barn to store the fruit from the 1,500 trees that comprised the orchard on the property. He added a pond, a dam, and stonewalls as well. It became his summer home while he worked in New York the rest of the year and until his death in 1878. There are many of Bryant’s renovations, possessions, and furniture visible in and around the homestead, including exotic memorabilia from his travels through Europe and Asia.

Today, 188 acres are preserved by the Trustees of Reservation. Bryant’s poetry on 19th-century land conservation influenced the founders of The Trustees. They have opened the home for guided tours to celebrate his literary legacy. Bryant blazed literary and physical paths during his time on the homestead. Bryant created many of the hiking trails on the property himself. "The Rivulet" was a reminiscent nature poem published in 1840 by Bryant that discussed the grove, spring, and violet flowers that reminded him of his childhood and what is now the Rivulet Trail along the property. This trail is a 1.3-mile loop that holds some of the tallest pine stands in the eastern United States, along with other trees that date back between 300 and 400 years. Trees along this trail are named after poets or eastern forest activists such as Mary Byrd Davis and Joan Maloof. The legacy of Bryant’s love of nature and literature is evident to visitors of the homestead, and the site includes information about his illustrious career.

William Cullen Bryant Homestead. Accessed June 20th, 2025. https://thetrustees.org/place/william-cullen-bryant-homestead/.

National Parks Service . Accessed June 20th, 2025. https://www.nps.gov/places/william-cullen-bryant-homestead.htm.

Todd, Jesse Earl. THE MAJOR THEMES OF WILLIAM CULLEN BRYANT'S POETRY. Denton, Texas. University of North Texas, 1989.

William Bryant Cullen Homestead-Town of Cummington, Accessed June 24th, 2025. https://www.cummington-ma.gov/BryantHomestead.php.

Bryant, William Cullen. The Rivulet. NY. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1840.

The Rivulet at the William Cullen Bryant Homestead. Accessed June 28th, 2025. https://www.oldgrowthforest.net/ma-the-rivulet-at-the-william-cullen-bryant-homestead.

William Cullen Bryant. Accessed June 28th, 2025. https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/william-cullen-bryant.