Goodwood is a historic house in

Richmond, Massachusetts Richmond is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,407 at the 2020 census. History Present day Richmond was first settled by Mi ...

. Built c. 1792, the house is one of the best examples of late- Georgian early-

Federalist The term ''federalist'' describes several political beliefs around the world. It may also refer to the concept of parties, whose members or supporters call themselves ''Federalists''. History Europe federation In Europe, proponents of deep ...

houses in

Berkshire County, Massachusetts Berkshire County (pronounced ) is the Western Massachusetts, westernmost County (United States), county in the U.S. state, U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 129,026. Its la ...

. The property's importance is further enhanced by its association with a number of high-profile owners.

History

The first significant owner of the Goodwood property in

was one Jeremiah Pierson, who acquired the property in 1792, and sold it, with a house and outbuildings on it, five years later. In 1820, it came into the hands of Reverend Edwin Welles Dwight, a distant relative of

Yale College Yale College is the undergraduate college of Yale University. Founded in 1701, it is the original school of the university. Although other Yale schools were founded as early as 1810, all of Yale was officially known as Yale College until 1887, ...

president Timothy Dwight. Dwight was—for eighteen years—minister at the local Congregational Church, and was also notable in the foreign missionary movement, writing an account of a

South Sea islander South Sea Islanders, formerly referred to as Kanakas, are the Australian descendants of Pacific Islanders from more than 80 islandsincluding the Oceanian archipelagoes of the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Fiji, the Gilbert Islands ...

named Henry Obookiah. Dwight's memoir of Obookiah's life sparked the first missionary expedition to the Sandwich Islands (now

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

). In 1838, Dwight sold the property to geologist Stephen Reed. He gained international exposure for his descriptions of the Richmond Boulder Train, a series of

glacial erratic A glacial erratic is a glacially deposited rock (geology), rock differing from the type of country rock (geology), rock native to the area in which it rests. Erratics, which take their name from the Latin word ' ("to wander"), are carried by gla ...

s in Richmond and neighboring

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. His accounts and presentations sparked a long-running debate in the geological community on the subject of glaciation. Reed sold the property in 1850, and it went through a success of owners. The purchaser in 1896, Mrs. Henry March, gave the property the name "Goodwood", after

Goodwood House Goodwood House is a country house and estate covering in Westhampnett, Chichester, West Sussex, England and is the seat of the Duke of Richmond. The house was built in about 1600 and is a Grade I listed building. Description The house and it ...

, the seat of the

Dukes of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor dynasty, Tudor and House of Stuart, Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was ...

. Richmond was named for the third duke, who supported

American independence The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American Revolutionary War ...

in the late 18th century. In 1933, Goodwood was purchased by Raymond Leslie Buell, an influential diplomat, and one-time editor of ''Fortune'' magazine. In 1982, the house was owned by a descendant of both Buell and Reverend Dwight. The property was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1982.

Description

Goodwood is a four-square two-storey wood-frame house that incorporates both late Georgian and early Federalist features. The main feature of the front is the entry porch, featuring sidelights, Palladian windows, and a semi-circular gable window. The interior of the house is well preserved, consisting of a central hall plan with two interior chimneys. The original kitchen, the room to the back and right of the hall, retains its original cooking fireplace, but has been converted to a library, housing Dr. Buell's 2,000-volume collection. The two front drawing rooms are both elaborately decorated.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts Richmond, Massachusetts

History

Description

See also

References