Michelle Dempsey, Curatorial Assistant
Berkshire winters can be very cold. The first week of February brought below freezing temperatures. Here at The Mount, Edith Wharton’s Home, blankets of snow froze over, as did the little stream that meanders adjacent to the flower garden. Despite drawing in hundreds of tour-takers, dog-walkers, and refreshment-seekers each day during the Spring, Summer, and Fall, not even the bold were braving the cold to walk the grounds.
However, February also teases the start of Spring. This past week’s warmer temperatures (ranging in the balmy upper 40s to 50 degrees) brought some walkers to The Mount, jacketed up and wearing the appropriate footwear to combat the mud caused by melting snow. As I am writing, the sun is shining out my window, which overlooks the driveway in front of the Main House. The snow has mostly melted, and my cracked window invites much-needed fresh air into my workspace.
The museum might be closed to the public from January through mid-May (the grounds remain open daily for free!), but the staff members at The Mount are hard at work, catching up on various projects and preparing for the coming season.
Here’s a sneak peek into what we’ve got going on at The Mount this winter.
As is common in many house museums, our office spaces are a hodge-podge of rooms whose uses have transformed over the years to accommodate staff. My office, on the third floor in the Service Wing, was most likely the housemaids’ supply closet, fitted with a slop sink for cleaning duties. It was converted to a bathroom by the Shattucks (the family who bought The Mount from the Whartons) and now has a more modern sink. Librarian Nynke’s office was the bedroom of Wharton’s personal maid and likely included the space now taken up by the modern elevator. The office on the second floor belonging to Director of Visitor Services, Anne, was probably the cook’s office. Director of Food and Beverage, Kelsi, and Wedding Coordinator, Suze, work in one of the guest suite bathrooms on the third floor with an amazing view of the gardens below (they work where Henry James once bathed!).
Other staff members, including Executive Director Susan Wissler, work in the Gatehouse at the top of the property, which was the home of estate superintendent and head gardener Thomas Reynolds. You can read more about his story here. Work to repair the walls and floors of the Gatehouse has been keeping the facilities team busy and has displaced the staff members who work there, who are now working from home and in temporary office spaces throughout the mansion.
The Drawing Room is currently undergoing painting and some much-needed plaster repair on the walls. Its furnishings are temporarily housed in different rooms, such as the Gallery and Dining Room. The work in the Drawing Room, part of a larger refurbishment plan, aims to reconcile historic photographic evidence of the room with its uses today.
Wrapped up in tours and exhibit maintenance and various other projects during the season, the Curatorial team is using the offseason to plan future exhibits and programs, care for the collections, and do research. In March, a few staff members will be taking a road trip to New Haven, CT, to visit the Edith Wharton archives at Yale University’s Beinecke Library (where many historic photos we use for exhibits and other interpretive material are kept). Nick Hudson, who you will typically find in the Ticketbooth during the season, is currently doing research, or, in his words, “hunting down half-remembered quotes, other times creating videos. Sometimes it involves going down rabbit holes and returning with interesting, but useless, facts.”
During the height of our season, you can find Patricia Pin, Public Programs Director, and Nick Smith-Koblitz, Public Programs Coordinator, running around the property, setting up for events and working out logistics with partner organizations. They are currently busy planning the coming season, setting event dates on the calendar and working with Jen Beeson, Communications Director, on promotional materials. Stay tuned to find out what we have in store for the 30th anniversary of our Summer Lecture Series…
And lastly, the Events team is taking some well-deserved time off and scheduling walk throughs with vendors and potential couples for weddings. Both 2023 and 2024 are nearly booked, and we are already getting inquires for 2025!
