The Northfield Chateau, also variously known as Chalet Schell and Birnam House, was a large mansion on Highland Avenue in

Northfield, Massachusetts Northfield is a New England town, town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Northfield was first settled in 1673. The population was 2,866 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts ...

. It no longer exists. The chateau was designed by noted architect

Bruce Price Bruce Price (December 12, 1845 – May 29, 1903) was an American architect and an innovator in the Shingle Style. The stark geometry and compact massing of his cottages in Tuxedo Park, New York, influenced Modernist architects, including F ...

(of the

Château Frontenac The Fairmont Le Château Frontenac, commonly referred to as the Château Frontenac, is a historic hotel in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The hotel is situated in Old Quebec, within the historic district's Upper Town, on the southern side of Place d ...

) for Francis Robert Schell, a New York capitalist attracted by his interest in

Dwight Lyman Moody Dwight Lyman Moody (February 5, 1837 – December 26, 1899), also known as D. L. Moody, was an American Evangelism, evangelist and publisher connected with Keswickianism, who founded the Moody Church, Northfield School and Mount Hermon Scho ...

's work at the nearby

Northfield Seminary Northfield Mount Hermon School, often called NMH, is a co-educational preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association. Present day NMH offers nearly 200 courses, including AP and ...

and Mount Hermon School. It was completed in 1903 on grounds of . The building was loosely patterned upon a French chateau but fanciful in style, with 99 rooms in a compact, three-story structure ornamented with prominent turrets. Contrary to popular rumors that Mrs. Schell despised the Chateau and refused to live in it, the Schells summered at their beautiful home for 25 years. It was only after the death of her beloved husband in 1928 that Mrs. Schell refused to set foot in the house again, insisting when she stayed at the Northfield Hotel during future summers that she have a room not overlooking the grand house that had been her husband's pride and joy. A server at the Inn overheard her once responding to another guest's compliments of her former home with "I hate it; I never go there." After Mr. Schell's death, the mansion fell into disrepair and was eventually sold to the Northfield School for Girls which also owned the Northfield Hotel. They intended to use it as a meeting place and novelty hotel annex; however, it was never practical for hotel use and in the end was demolished in 1963. Until that time, it was used by the Northfield School for Girls as the location of their prom. That is why the prom at

Northfield Mount Hermon School Northfield Mount Hermon School, often called NMH, is a co-educational preparatory school in Gill, Massachusetts, in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association. Present day NMH offers nearly 200 courses, including AP and ...

to this day is called The Chat. For a brief time, the basement of the chateau was also used as a youth hostel--one of America's first, begun by Monroe and Isabel Smith. The Tinney Family of

Belcourt Castle Belcourt is a former summer cottage designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Construction was begun in 1891 and completed in 1894, and it was intended to b ...

rescued many pieces from the chateau before its destruction, notably the mirrors which now are in their banquet hall.

References

Northfield Mount Hermon School history

Northfield Mount Hermon School photographs

Historic American Buildings Survey

{{Coord, 42, 42, 10.31, N, 72, 26, 47.40, W, display=title Houses completed in 1903 Buildings and structures demolished in 1963 Defunct hotels in the United States Demolished buildings and structures in Massachusetts Houses in Franklin County, Massachusetts Bruce Price buildings Gilded Age mansions