Enjoy the beautiful Berkshires at our charming bed & breakfast!
About BROOK FARM INN
Escape to a historic B&B
in the Berkshires
Brook Farm Inn invites you to experience a peaceful retreat nestled among trees and tranquil gardens, just steps from Lenox's historic downtown. Our charming Victorian inn blends timeless character with modern comforts, creating an ideal getaway.
Awaken to a chef-prepared breakfast featuring fresh, seasonal ingredients, then embark on a day exploring the Berkshires. Relax or read in our serene gardens, hike the stunning trails of Pleasant Valley Wildlife Sanctuary, or immerse yourself in world-class performances at Tanglewood, the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
Unwind in one of our fifteen thoughtfully appointed guest rooms, including a carriage house with two ADA-accessible units as well as a spacious two-room suite. Enjoy cozy common areas, a library filled with poetry and literature, and the beauty of our grounds and woodlands. All rooms feature private bathrooms and individually controlled air conditioning and heat.
Each season at Brook Farm Inn offers something special – brilliant fall foliage, world-class theater and museums, exhilarating skiing and hiking, or summer afternoons by our outdoor plunge pool. Whether you’re here for adventure or relaxation, Brook Farm Inn is your perfect Berkshires retreat
House History
Originally known as "The Burton Harrison House," the Brook Farm Inn was originally constructed about a quarter mile away from its current location as a rental cottage for a large mansion called "The Hive." Both houses were part of an estate that stretched from Kemble Road to Old Stockbridge Road and were built in 1882 for a German-born pianist, Frederick William Rackeman, and his wife, Elizabeth Dwight Sedwick Rackeman.
The first tenants were Burton N. Harrison and Constance Cary Harrison, a couple in their forties and originally from Richmond, Virginia. Burton had been a lawyer, politician, and private secretary to Jefferson Davis, President of the Confederate States of America. At the end of the Civil War, Burton was captured by the Union Army along with Davis and imprisoned at Fort Delaware. He was released in 1866, settled in New York City, and was admitted to the bar. Feeling himself established, in November 1867, he married his Richmond sweetheart, writer Constance Cary.
Despite Burton's support of the Confederacy, the couple became prominent members of New York society and, like many of their contemporaries, fled the city in the summer to entertain friends in the Berkshires. Among the Harrisons' prominent guests were friends Emma Lazarus, Andrew and Louise Carnegie, and Oliver Wendell Holmes. Constance was a popular novelist and playwright, and enlisted visitors to act out her plays in the library. In 1883, Constance chaired a fundraising art exhibition to raise money for the pedestal of the Statue of Liberty, upon which would be inscribed Emma Lazarus's poem, The New Colossus, in 1901.
At the turn of the century, the estate, including both The Hive and the Burton Harrison home, was sold to John E. Alexandre. Alexandre razed The Hive and replaced it with Spring Lawn Mansion. In 1903, he gifted the rental cottage to his butler, James Whittenham. A short time later, Whittenham bought land on Hawthorne Street and moved the house down the hill to where it sits today.
In 1914, Whittenham sold the home to Charles Bleyman, an upholsterer, for $2800. The property changed hands many times until 1949 when it was purchased by Lena and Max Rosenberg, who turned it into an inn called The Shadowood. The inn's menu, expertly created by Lena, became a local legend. In a newspaper article from the 1950s touting Tanglewood and the Berkshires, Mrs. Rosenberg was described as the "virtuoso of the kitchen...unquestionably the Beethoven of the Blintz." A rare card from that era offers rooms at the weekly rate of $55, or $10 per day.
In the 1970s, Shadowood Inn was purchased by Ruth Backes, a descendant of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who was himself involved in the original Brook Farm, a utopian community founded in West Roxbury, Massachusetts, in the 1840s. To honor that history, Backes renamed the inn Brook Farm Inn.
Brook Farm Inn continues to thrive, thanks to several innkeepers over the years, including Frank and Mary Newton, Ann and Joe Miller, Betty and Bob Jacob, and Phil and Linda Halpern. The Jacobs opened a new chapter in the literary history of the house, using their strong interest in literature and poetry. They developed an extensive library collection and invited high-caliber writers to stay at the inn and offer readings. Pulitzer Prize-winning poets Philip Levine, Galway Kinnell, Stephen Dunn, and Robert Creeley have all visited the inn and shared their work here.
Brook Farm Inn's current owners are Pittsfield native Maureen Daury-Corcoran and her landscaper husband, Joe Corcoran. Maureen worked at various Berkshire inns in high school and college, developing a love for the hospitality industry. She met Joe in Syracuse, New York, where they attended the university. They married in 1994 and lived in New Hampshire and the Boston area, (where Maureen attended the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts!) before relocating back to the Berkshires to start a family. While raising their four children, Joe added Dr. Lahey's Garden Center to his landscaping business, and Maureen catered and taught culinary arts classes. In 2021, the couple purchased Brook Farm Inn, fulfilling a lifelong dream of innkeeping, and are proud to own Lenox's top-rated hotel on Tripadvisor!
