RSW's Diary Comments

There is no diary entry for this painting...

A sketch of the Mary Lyon House similar to the canvas

Editor's Note:

This small painting was cut down from a much larger painting made of the Mary Lyon boarding house across the street from the artist's studio. We do not know the size of the larger painting, whether is was a 27" x 30" or a 24" x 36". Either would work and we tend to lean to the latter given the sketch of the same scene found in the artist's personal sketchbooks seen to the right which would match that aspect ratio. In the sketch, more of the barn and Putt's Hill in the distance are visible.
✽ We do not know why it was cut down.

The Mary Lyon House today, thanks to
Major Joseph Griswold who is often forgotten.
For more on this see the last section below...

Mary Lyon, born in Buckland, MA, a famous female educator and founder of Mt. Holyoke College, after helping the benefactors of Wheaton Female Seminary (today Wheaton College) start their school. The information related to when she taught in this home's third floor ballroom is unclear. We could not find any definitive dates and years, however, we suspect this is where she taught her "summer school programs" for girls while attending secondary school in nearby Ashfield. It is now an historic site and in many ways the seat of where higher education for women began.

While it is affectionately called the Mary Lyon House, it is really, the Major Joseph Griswold House. Griswold permitted Lyon to start her school in his home which would have been controversial.

From the Mary Lyon house driveway today. We
show where we believe RSW placed himself to paint.

A closer picture of the property next door. If you
enlarge this image you will see a arrow over spot.

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A postcard for the Mary Lyon House

In this historic building Mary Emma Griswold, Buckland's most famous cook during the 1930s and 1940s, ran a "bed and breakfast" sort of "retreat" for many years. Below is a brochure advertising her business.

Guests came from as far away as New York City to spend a week or a month of country living and country food. (See Abbie's story). One of her "come-ons" was "here you could drink pure spring water every day."

We also have this description but the picture is incomplete. We are working to find its original which may be the same. We do not know yet. Still, we want to point out that this description clearly indicates that the Griswold family had owned the property since it was built in 1818 thru what is now the 1940s. Mary Lyon never owned the property. It would appear that the Griswold family embraced it being "the Mary Lyon House" with great pride, particularly Mary.