Arrowhead, also known as the Herman Melville House, is a historic house museum in
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
. It was the home of American author
Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
during his most productive years, 1850–1863. Here, Melville wrote some of his major works: the novels ''
Moby-Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...
'', ''
Pierre
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
'' (dedicated to nearby
Mount Greylock
Mount Greylock is a mountain located in the northwest corner of Massachusetts and is the highest point in the state. Its summit is in the western part of the town of Adams (near its border with Williamstown) in Berkshire County. Geologicall ...
), ''
The Confidence-Man
''The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade'', first published in New York on April Fool's Day 1857, is the ninth book and final novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book was published on the exact day of the novel's setting.
Centered on the ...
'', and ''
Israel Potter
''Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile'' is the eighth book by American writer Herman Melville, first published in serial form in '' Putnam's Monthly'' magazine between July 1854 and March 1855, and in book form by G. P. Putnam & Co. in March 1 ...
''; ''
The Piazza Tales
''The Piazza Tales'' is a collection of six short stories by American writer Herman Melville, published by Dix & Edwards in the United States in May 1856 and in Britain in June. Except for the newly written title story, "The Piazza," all of the s ...
'' (a short story collection named for Arrowhead's
porch
A porch (from Old French ''porche'', from Latin ''porticus'' "colonnade", from ''porta'' "passage") is a room or gallery located in front of an entrance of a building. A porch is placed in front of the facade of a building it commands, and form ...
); and magazine stories such as "I and My Chimney".
The house, located at 780 Holmes Road in Pittsfield, was built in the 1780s as a farmhouse and inn. It was adjacent to a property owned by Melville's uncle
Thomas
Thomas may refer to:
People
* List of people with given name Thomas
* Thomas (name)
* Thomas (surname)
* Saint Thomas (disambiguation)
* Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church
* Thomas the Ap ...
, where Melville had developed an attachment to the area through repeated visits. He purchased the property in 1850 with borrowed money and spent the next twelve years farming and writing there. Financial considerations prompted his family's return to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1863, and Melville sold the property to his brother.
The house remained in private hands until 1975, when the Berkshire County Historical Society acquired the house and a portion of the original property. The Society restored most of the house to Melville's period and operates it as a
house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a v ...
; it is open to the public during warmer months. It has been designated a
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
and is listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Construction and early history
Construction of the oldest portions of the house known as Arrowhead took place in the 1780s. Built by Captain David Bush, the wood frame and clapboard house was apparently used as an inn. The Bush family sold the property to Pittsfield doctor John Brewster in 1844, who in 1850 sold the property to the writer
Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
. The house at that time consisted of a simple rectangular structure with five window bays across and two deep, with a large central chimney. There is some evidence that the house may originally have had three stories, but at the time of the Melville purchase in 1850, it only had two and a half.
Melville in Pittsfield
![Herman Melville 1860](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/Herman_Melville_1860.jpg)
Herman Melville was born in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1819. His maternal grandparents lived in
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
, where his parents took their family in 1830 after a series of financial setbacks. His uncle Thomas Melvill owned property in Pittsfield that the family had visited a few times when Melville was younger. The first significant visit Melville made to his uncle was a brief one in August 1831. After his father died in January 1832, Melville's mother took the family to Pittsfield to escape an outbreak of
cholera
Cholera is an infection of the small intestine by some strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...
in July 1832. It is from the time of this brief stay that Melville's interest in the Berkshires developed. In 1837 he ran his uncle's farm while the latter traveled to
Illinois
Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...
to pursue business opportunities. According to Melville's cousin Priscilla, during this time his attachment to the area deepened considerably.
In the summer of 1850, Melville, his wife Lizzie, and their son Malcolm vacationed in Pittsfield. The visit to his uncle's farm was bittersweet, for his uncle had agreed to sell the property, and it would be the family's last visit there. On August 5, 1850, Melville met
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.
He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associated with that t ...
for the first time, having only recently read his short story collection ''
Mosses from an Old Manse
''Mosses from an Old Manse'' is a short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846.
Background and publication history
The collection includes several previously published short stories, and was named in honor of The Old Mans ...
''. The two were among several invited to a picnic on
Monument Mountain south of Pittsfield with a group that also included
Evert Augustus Duyckinck
Evert Augustus Duyckinck (pronounced DIE-KINK) (November 23, 1816 – August 13, 1878) was an American publisher and biographer. He was associated with the literary side of the Young America movement in New York.
Biography
He was born on Novemb ...
and
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...
Melville and Hawthorne struck up an instant friendship.
[ Attracted by the Hawthornes, and apparently unwilling to abandon the Berkshires, Melville decided on impulse to purchase the Brewster farm, which abutted his uncle's property. According to a news report of his purchase, the property "commands one of the most extensive and splended views in Berkshire." He secured a $3,000 loan from his father-in-law ]Lemuel Shaw
Lemuel Shaw (January 9, 1781 – March 30, 1861) was an American jurist who served as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (1830–1860). Prior to his appointment he also served for several years in the Massachusetts House ...
(a Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...
Chief Justice who was in Lenox for a court session at the time), received a $1,500 mortgage from Brewster, and promised to pay the rest of the $6,500 purchase price when his New York lease was sold. The sale was finalized on September 14, 1850. To raise funds, Melville sold off in the 1850s. Shaw assumed the mortgage in 1856, took title to the property in 1857,[Rogin, p. 155] and transferred it to Melville's wife in 1860.[
]
Melville at Arrowhead
Melville called his new home Arrowhead because of the arrowheads that were dug up around the property during planting season.[Delbanco, p. 125] New York publisher Evert Augustus Duyckinck
Evert Augustus Duyckinck (pronounced DIE-KINK) (November 23, 1816 – August 13, 1878) was an American publisher and biographer. He was associated with the literary side of the Young America movement in New York.
Biography
He was born on Novemb ...
wrote that its "grounds would satisfy an English nobleman—for the noble maples and elms and various seclusions and outlooks".[ In August 1850, he described his routine to Duyckinck:
It was at Arrowhead that Melville finished his novel '']Moby-Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...
''; though the work was not recognized during the author's lifetime, it has since become known as one of the greatest American literary masterpieces.[Ehrlich, Eugene and Gorton Carruth. ''The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States''. New York: Oxford University Press, 1982: 55. ] Hawthorne's influence on Melville while writing the book is significant. Melville wrote a review of ''Mosses from an Old Manse'', published by Duyckinck, and in it he believed that these stories revealed a dark side to Hawthorne, "shrouded in blackness, ten times black". ''Moby-Dick'' was dedicated to Hawthorne: "In token of my admiration for his genius, this book is inscribed to Nathaniel Hawthorne." Hawthorne, in turn, referenced Melville in his book ''A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys
''A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys'' (1851) is a children's book by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne in which he retells several Greek myths. It was followed by a sequel, ''Tanglewood Tales''.
Overview
The stories in ''A Wonder-Book for Girl ...
'': "On the higher side of Pittsfield, sits Herman Melville, shaping out the gigantic conception of his 'White Wale' while the gigantic shape of Graylock looms upon him from his study-window."
Melville incorporated domestic features of Arrowhead into several stories. The piazza (or porch), after which ''The Piazza Tales'' were named, was added to the north side of Arrowhead shortly after Melville purchased the property. Unlike the more typical Berkshires properties that located the porch facing south, Melville chose to face it toward Mount Greylock, to which he dedicated ''Pierre
Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...
''.[ Of the piazza he wrote:
In "I and My Chimney", published in '' Putnam's Monthly Magazine'' in 1856, he described Arrowhead's large chimney:
Melville lived, farmed, and wrote at Arrowhead for 13 years, receiving visitors including Hawthorne, Holmes, and Catharine Maria Sedgwick. Other well-known works that he wrote there include the novels '']Israel Potter
''Israel Potter: His Fifty Years of Exile'' is the eighth book by American writer Herman Melville, first published in serial form in '' Putnam's Monthly'' magazine between July 1854 and March 1855, and in book form by G. P. Putnam & Co. in March 1 ...
'' and ''The Confidence-Man
''The Confidence-Man: His Masquerade'', first published in New York on April Fool's Day 1857, is the ninth book and final novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book was published on the exact day of the novel's setting.
Centered on the ...
'', and the stories "Bartleby, the Scrivener
"Bartleby, the Scrivener: A Story of Wall Street" is a short story by the American writer Herman Melville, first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of ''Putnam's Magazine'' and reprinted with minor text ...
" and "Benito Cereno
''Benito Cereno'' is a novella by Herman Melville, a fictionalized account about the revolt on a Spanish slave ship captained by Don Benito Cereno, first published in three installments in '' Putnam's Monthly'' in 1855. The tale, slightly revis ...
" (which were collected in ''The Piazza Tales''). During that time, however, his writing was not providing him much income.[Gale, p. 200] In order to improve the family finances, the Melvilles moved into Pittsfield in 1862, and sold Arrowhead the following year to his brother Allan. The Melvilles then returned to New York City, where Herman eventually found work as a customs inspector.
After Herman Melville
Melville continued to visit Arrowhead occasionally during his brother's ownership of the property. Members of the Melville family owned the house until 1927. It remained in private hands until 1975, when the Berkshire County Historical Society purchased the house. In the years between Melville's ownership and the historical society acquisition, major portions of the property were sold off until only remained, although a significant amount of it remains open land; the society later acquired another . Owners after Herman Melville made substantial additions to the house, principally two ells. The piazza was removed in the 20th century, but a large window was added on the north side of the house to maintain the view of Mount Greylock. Arrowhead was declared a National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...
in 1962.
Museum
The Historical Society, after acquiring the property, worked to restore it to the condition it was in Melville's time. Numerous interior alterations were undone, windows that had been changed were restored to their original size and configuration, and the piazza was restored. The Society also restored the upstairs study in which Melville did his writing to its original state.
Arrowhead is now a non-profit historic house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
operated by the Berkshire County Historical Society, which uses a portion of the house as office space.[ The remainder is open to the public for guided tours during the warmer months of the year. It is located at 780 Holmes Road, and is open from ]Memorial Day
Memorial Day (originally known as Decoration Day) is a federal holiday in the United States for mourning the U.S. military personnel who have fought and died while serving in the United States armed forces. It is observed on the last Monda ...
to Columbus Day
Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492.
...
.
See also
* Herman Melville House, in Troy, New York, where Melville lived between 1838 and 1847
*
*List of National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts has a total of 191 National Historic Landmarks (NHLs) within its borders. This is the second highest statewide total in the United States after New York, which has more than 250. Of the Massachusetts NHLs, 57 ar ...
References
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
* Two-volume biography of Melville.
*
*
*
*
External links
Arrowhead official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melville
Biographical museums in Massachusetts
Buildings and structures in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Arrowhead
An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...
Historic house museums in Massachusetts
Houses completed in 1780
Houses in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Literary museums in the United States
Museums in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
National Historic Landmarks in Massachusetts
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Homes of American writers