104 Acres in Ashfield, MA - $5,250,000
What makes us fall in love with a place? Is it the feeling of luxury and security that comes from absolute privacy and the combination of the best building traditions and techniques of three centuries: early 19th-century Neoclassical architecture, the 1920s European estate style, and the structure and systems of the 21st? Is it the view of sunrise and moonrise over the east field laced with wildflowers, the morning mist and first frost dissipating as the day advances, the doe and fawns that graze in the field or drink from the stream, or the way the house harmonizes perfectly with its landscape? Is it the anticipation of hosting friends and family, hearing their laughter, sharing their joy? Is it the feeling that this place has a history and a presence that connects you to something beautiful, soulful, and lasting?
Prepare to fall in love.
SUMMARY & INTRODUCTION:
Privately set on 104 acres ...
Privately set on 104 acres surrounded by hundreds of acres of protected land and located just two miles outside a charming country village, this expansive property offers generous spaces for entertaining and cozy spots for relaxation, quiet conversation and daydreaming.
Meticulously restored and revamped by its current owners--a poet and a Grammy Award winning musician--the compound encompasses a main residence comprising five bedrooms, five baths, and nearly 11,000 square feet, an expansive three-level barn, a two-story finished post and beam barn with kitchenette and half bath, a stone cottage, and a 1920s-era three-bay garage, each with radiant heat and well-appointed interior, suitable for myriad hobbies and pastimes, whether they be antique cars, gardening, or horses.
All of the buildings have been renovated over the past 15 years with painstaking skill and care, which involved rebuilding as necessary or desired, insulation, new electrical, heating, and plumbing systems, structural and cosmetic work, new kitchen and baths, a new foundation and concrete flooring in the big barn, radiant heat in each of the outbuildings, and a good deal more. The outbuildings add an additional 6,000 square feet to the property's total heated space.
The Bullitt estate is equipped with high-speed Internet, which is tied to the comprehensive Hackworth Security system. Updated in 2023, this system efficiently ties together all of the buildings, with the exception of the small, unheated livestock barn. The security cameras in the buildings and on the driveway can be accessed via iPhone or computer anytime from anywhere.
PROPERTY HISTORY:
A storied property with a long and compelling history, the Bullitt Estate comprises a circa 1811 Federal farmhouse to which a European-style great room and additional living quarters were added in the 1920s. The generous front porch and pergola rimming the east facade link these sections on the exterior, while a renovated mid-1800s 40x80-foot three-story barn and garage a new 22x44-foot two-story post-and-beam carriage house, a 1920s-era three car garage, a new stone cottage with beamed interior and fireplace, and a small post and beam livestock barn with pasture, formerly accommodating a small flock of sheep, complete the compound.
Originally built by a local farming family, the house was purchased in the early 1920s by William Bullitt, the U.S. Ambassador to Russia and France, who used it as a summer retreat.
Bullitt's ?rst wife, Ernesta Drinker, the niece of artist Cecilia Beaux, was the subject of several of her aunt's paintings and sketches. Ernesta converted the home's attached barn into a European style great room with soaring ceilings, massive beams, plaster walls, stained glass, ?oor-to-ceiling windows, and hand-planed wood paneling sourced from the Ashley House in Historic Deer?eld. The great room's piece-de-resistance is a pair of wall-sized landscape paintings, recently restored by specialists at the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown and outfitted with massive custom-crafted mahogany frames: these are integral to the house and its history and will remain with the property when it is sold.
Adjoining the north end of the great room, Ernesta created additional living quarters with a separate entrance. These comprise a wood-paneled 'tavern' room with antique brick ?ooring, a European-style master bedroom with fireplace and ensuite bathroom which echoes the great room's soaring ceiling and beams, two additional bedrooms, a kitchenette, two full baths, four ?replaces and ample closets. Like other areas of the residence, the space offers exquisite views of protected ?elds and hills.
Bullitt's second wife, Louise Bryant, was a reporter and writer who covered the Bolshevik revolution, during which time she was married to fellow journalist John Reed; in a 1981 feature film about them, Louise was played by Diane Keaton. Louise was also said to have been the lover of playwright Eugene O'Neill who visited the estate. Poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, along with other writers, artists, and politicians of the day also frequented the estate.
William and Louise had one child, a daughter named Anne. After Louise's death in 1936, Bullitt and Anne continued to visit the property every summer until his death in the late 1960s.
Anne subsequently undertook important structural work on the main house and gifted 265 acres of the existing estate to Trustees of Reservations, thereby forming the Bullitt property's current 104 acres. Beyond the 265 acres is the 173-acre Chapel Brook reservation. Taken together, the 438 acres of conserved open land and forests surrounding the estate provide unparalleled protection and privacy, as well as miles of walking trails and access to Chapel Falls Brook and Pony Mountain.
Consequently, the Bullitt Estate is a place where one can truly be immersed in nature. In summer, there is the scent of honeysuckle, pine, and wild raspberry blossoms drifting on the breeze; in spring, the sound of peepers in the pond and the parade of baby deer, turkey, bear, and geese that follow their mothers through the field, as well as the delight of butterflies and honeybees, bluebirds, cardinals, grosbeaks, hummingbirds, finches, wood thrush, phoebes, sparrows, warblers, swallows, ravens, and the hawks that soar overhead. In autumn's chill, there are warming fires in the fireplaces, the scent of woodsmoke, the ghostly sound of the Great Horned Owl from deep in the woods, and the sight of brilliant orange, yellow, and red foliage from every window. In winter, a blanket of snow, a layer of white on the big pines, and the joy on moonlit nights of sledding from the barn over the hill to the far edge of the east field.
PROPERTY DETAILS:
Located across from protected land, the Bullitt Estate's 900-foot driveway, bordered by restored hand-laid stone walls, affords unparalleled privacy and creates a classic approach to the main house, which commands a rise overlooking a field and hills to the east, with century-old maples as its sentinels. Behind and next to the house, established perennial gardens, additional restored stone walls, and fruit trees complete the bucolic scene.
Purchased in 2008 by singer-songwriter Ray LaMontagne and his wife, poet Sarah Sousa, the residence, set on 104 acres and comprising nearly 11,000 square feet, was restored between 2009-2012 by the talented craftsmen of The Weather Hill Company, based in Charlotte, Vermont.
Meeting building codes and specifications, the owners installed new electrical, plumbing, heating systems, new insulation in every building, radiant heat in each of the outbuildings and two new septic systems. Chimneys were rebuilt and all 12 fireplaces were restored using historic brick. The hot water heating system in the residence utilizes Buderis boilers and Runtal baseboard and wall units, while a combination of central air and mini-splits cool the air as needed. Water is provided by a drilled well; and to preserve the property's rural sensibility all power lines were buried.
The Original 1811 Federal Farmhouse:
Working from historic photographs, the antique farmhouse was carefully restored and updated with meticulous attention to every window, door, piece of woodwork and trim that could possibly be saved. The walls are hand-plastered while new and replaced millwork is hand-planed. Every aspect of the restoration was designed to be consonant with the history of the house.
The farmhouse features a traditional wraparound porch with balusters and screened area composed of African mahogany; original twelve-over-twelve windows; two formal front sitting rooms with fireplaces; a library with cedar shelving, fireplace and Dutch door; an English-country-house-style morning room with plastered fireplace Dutch and French doors; and sunny dining room open to a comfortable country kitchen, equipped with custom cabinetry, an Aga range and a Bertazoni stove, copper farmhouse sink, and island with maple countertop and stainless steel prep sink. Upstairs are a master bedroom with fireplace and ensuite bath; a well-appointed guest bedroom with fireplace, and two additional bedrooms served by a full bath and ample closet space.
The Great Room:
On the home's east side, a long brick facade, softened by a gracious new pergola, defines the 23x50-foot great room, which boasts 26-foot ceilings, floor to ceiling cedar bookshelves accessed by a rolling library ladder, 14-foot-tall ?replace mantel, hand-planed wooden paneling, and four 14-foot-high divided-light windows overlooking the east ?eld and taking full advantage of sunrise and moonrise views over the ?eld and hills.
The great room has been used as a recording studio since 2010 when Ray LaMontagne recorded "God Willing and the Creek Don't Rise" here. The album won a Grammy Award for Album of the Year. Over the past decade, the singer-songwriter has recorded four of his subsequent albums in the space.
The Out Buildings:
All outbuildings have new, modern internet devices and security linked to the main house.
Occupying a pride-of-place position place next to the main house, the three- story, 40x80-foot, 19th-century agricultural barn was raised and placed on a full new foundation with new concrete radiant-heated floor. This allowed for a 3,200-square-foot clear-span garage with radiant heat and bathroom on its ground level. For the antique auto collector and car enthusiast, shop space with a two-story lift-bay was also added; alternatively, this could be used as a woodworking shop. Garage doors are WiFi-linked and can be opened or closed from anywhere via Internet. The barn's majestic cupola was fully restored in 2021, retaining the original antique horse and carriage weathervane.
The 1,900-square-foot two-story post-and-beam carriage house was constructed on site in 2012. Super insulated and with radiant heat, it features a large first floor with kitchenette and half-bath, and a full second-floor. The space is ideal for a guest house, art studio or entertaining.
The one-room stone cottage, also built in 2012, features masonry and post-and-beam construction, radiant heat, a massive ?replace, and lovely wood ceilings reclaimed from a silo that once stood beside the large barn. The owners have used this space as an art studio and for entertaining.
The three-bay garage, built in the 1920s, was fully restored and insulated in 2009 and also features radiant heat.
An unheated 16x24-foot post-and-beam livestock barn and paddock were built on site in 2020 to house a small flock of sheep. The barn has non-freeze water spigot, and a heated automatic water trough for animals that winter there.
LOCATION:
Centrally located in the foothills of the Berkshires, Ashfield is a peaceful and diverse community, home to an eclectic enclave of artists, writers, craftsmen, professionals and farmers. The town boasts a bustling weekend farmers' market from May through October on the town green, the annual Ashfield Fall Fest, the internationally renowned Double Edge Theater, swimming for residents at Ashfield Lake, an active library, a quirky New England hardware store that sells ice cream and gifts as well as home improvement necessities, and a town-owned co-operative with restaurant and community space in the works. The community, though small, is active and vibrant offering workshops and groups on everything from creative writing and crafts to pollinator gardens, peppermint distillation, and language skills. The charming village is located approximately two hours from Boston and three from New York City, an hour from Bradley International Airport, 25-30 minutes from Smith College in Northampton and the three colleges of Amherst, 40-50 minutes from Williamstown, Lenox, North Adams, and Brattleboro, Vermont, and 15-20 minutes from Deerfield Academy in Historic Deerfield and the lovely Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls.
