Honoring Women’s History Month in the Berkshires

And here I take my stand

Women’s History Month invites us–nay begs us–to look beyond the national headlines and into the communities where change truly takes root. Here in the Berkshires, the story of women’s leadership, courage, and creativity is woven into our landscapes, our institutions, and our cultural legacy.

For visitors and newcomers to the region, these women are not footnotes in textbooks—they are part of the lived history you can still experience. From historic homes and museums to literary landmarks and scenic retreats, the region offers meaningful places to connect with the women who carved their way against so many odds.

The Ashley House

Elizabeth Freeman: Freedom Claimed in the Berkshires

Elizabeth Freeman, known as Mum Bett, was enslaved in the home of Colonel John Ashley in Sheffield, Massachusetts. In 1781, inspired by the newly ratified Massachusetts Constitution’s declaration that “all men are born free and equal,” Freeman sued for her freedom in what became the landmark case Brom and Bett v. Ashley.

She won. 

Her victory effectively contributed to ending the abominable institution of slavery in Massachusetts—decades before the Civil War. Freeman went on to work in the household of attorney Theodore Sedgwick, live as a free woman, and become a respected member of the community. She is buried in the Sedgwick family plot in Stockbridge, an honor reflecting the esteem in which she was, and still is, held.

To understand Freeman’s story, visitors can tour the Ashley House, where she was enslaved and where her courageous decision to seek freedom began.

The site offers interpretation of colonial life, slavery in New England, and Freeman’s groundbreaking legal challenge. Walking its grounds provides essential context for understanding how Berkshire history intersects with the larger story of liberty. In 2022, a larger-than-life bronze monument of Freeman was unveiled in the center of Sheffield on the town green and is part of the Upper Housatonic Valley African American Heritage trail.

In Freeman’s own uncompromising words, “Any time, any time while I was a slave, if one minute’s freedom had been offered to me, and I had been told I must die at the end of that minute, I would have taken it, just to stand one minute on god’ airth a free woman–I would.”

Susan B. Anthony: The Berkshire Roots of a National Movement

Long before the ratification of the 19th Amendment, a young teacher living in the Berkshires began developing the convictions that would change the nation.

Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906) is best known for her lifelong, tireless leadership in the women’s suffrage movement. She campaigned relentlessly for a constitutional amendment granting women the right to vote, co-founding the National Woman Suffrage Association with Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Their partnership was legendary—Stanton once remarked, “I forged the thunderbolts; she fired them,” capturing the dynamic between Stanton’s powerful writing and Anthony’s formidable organizing and oratory.

Anthony’s activism began earlier in abolition and temperance work. In 1872, she  made national headlines when she was arrested for voting in a presidential election—an intentional act of civil disobedience meant to challenge unjust laws. She refused to pay the fine, turning her trial into a spectacle that galvanized public debate.

Although she died in 1906, she lived to see momentum build. In 1920, the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment—often called the “Susan B. Anthony Amendment”—enshrined women’s right to vote in the U.S. Constitution. It would be many decades, protests, and legal battles later that Asian, African American, Latinx, Native American, and other women of color would also gain electoral equality. 

What many visitors may not know is that Anthony’s formative years were spent in the Berkshires. Her family home in Adams is now the Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum and also recently unveiled a sculpture in her honor.

Here, you can walk through the rooms where her early ideas were shaped and explore exhibits that trace her evolution from Berkshire schoolteacher to national icon. The museum offers an intimate look at the personal convictions and disciplined upbringing that fueled a lifetime of activism.

The Mount, credit Susan Herzfeld

Edith Wharton: Literary Woman

The Berkshires have long been a haven for writers seeking intellectual community and creative freedom. And perhaps a hiding place from judging, Gilded Age eyes.

Edith Wharton was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize For fiction for her novel The Age of Innocence (1920). Wharton made her home at The Mount in Lenox. Although she is most often associated with New York high society, it was here in the Berkshires that Wharton designed her estate and wrote some of her most enduring works including Ethan Frome, which was inspired by a 1904 headline about a near-fatal sledding accident in Lenox. 

A visit to The Mount offers more than literary history—it’s a continuous exploration of a woman who asserted forward-thinking authority, not only in fiction but in architecture, design, and cultural commentary.

Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio

Suzy Frelinghuysen: Modernism in the Hills

Estelle “Suzy” Frelinghuysen was a groundbreaking abstract painter and operatic singer whose work bridged modern art and performance. Associated with the American Abstract Artists group, Frelinghuysen brought modernist energy to the region while maintaining an international artistic presence. Her work is represented in major museum collections, including at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, yet she maintained deep ties to the Berkshires.

Today, visitors can experience her legacy at Frelinghuysen Morris House & Studio, the Bauhaus-inspired home and studio that Frelinghuysen shared with her husband, abstract artist George L.K. Morris, in Lenox. The site offers tours of their preserved modernist interiors and rotating exhibitions that connect regional art to broader 20th-century movements.

Women’s History Month is not only about looking back—it’s about recognizing the continuum of courage that defines the women of today: from arts organizations and preservation projects to unwavering activism and entrepreneurship. When you visit the Berkshires, you are stepping into a landscape shaped by reformers, writers, educators, and organizers—women who challenged convention and expanded opportunity. 

Because history is still unfolding…

Historic Women Trailblazers of Massachusetts

Learn about more than 70 remarkable women whose contributions to the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world are recognized as trailblazers and have strong ties to Massachusetts. This list from the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism is comprised of suffragists, social activists, abolotionists, culinary experts, teachers, politicians, scientists, athletes, artists, poets, and more!

Learn more about Women’s History Month.

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