Because It Was Built in 1780

Recently I've been having some fun poking around the web, doing research on the Inn's history. My most recent focus has been on Miss Caroline Katherine Carey, who purchased the Inn (then called The Butternut Cottage) in 1905.

While I wouldn't go so far as to call Ms. Carey famous, she certainly wasn't obscure. In fact, if you search the New York Times Archives she is mentioned several times, often in conjunction with horse shows or social events. Kate Carey was very well known for her passion for horses expertise in all things equestrian. After reading through a few articles, it's easy to see that there was even a bit of equestrian rivalry between Ms. Carey and Mr. William Sloane (I'm proud to say that it looks like Ms. Carey had the upper hand).

Interestingly, Kate Carey never married. In fact, one NYT article mentions how (aside from her brother) she had never even had a man on the leading seat of her four-in-hand. She and her mother were in the real estate business together and the two earned their fortune that way.

I assume it was because of her love and devotion to her mother (and perhaps a bit of a feminist streak) that she helped establish the Old Ladies' Home in Lenox and the Berkshire County Home for Aged Women in Pittsfield. During her lifetime, Ms. Carey donated $500,000 to the Berkshire County Home for Aged Women. Adjusted for inflation, that's over 10 million dollars! Talk about philanthropy! Amazingly, the Berkshire County Home for Aged Women is still in operation today and is one of the longest-running nursing homes in American history.

As a nerdy history buff (who considered careers in dramaturge and history education), I absolutely love how saturated this house is with history. The next step in my nerdy quest for information is to visit the Lenox Public Library where I hope to find something incredible like a record of Ms. Carey's building permits (were they needed back then?), or maybe even some newspaper clippings from the time. So, [unless you're terribly bored by this sort of thing] stick around for updates!

With Love,
~Brande N.