The Laurel Hill Association, founded by Mary Hopkins Goodrich in 1853, transformed the Berkshires' village of Stockbridge into a model American town. Improving the Village traces the evolution of the influential volunteer group that inspired like-minded citizens to establish hundreds of village improvement associations throughout the nation.
Founded as a Christian mission by John Sargent in 1739, Stockbridge was also home to the renowned Reverend Jonathan Edwards, who served as one of its leaders. Among other early residents were the Mohican sachem Konkapot; Elizabeth Freeman, also known as Mum Bett, an enslaved Black woman who filed suit and won her freedom under the Massachusetts state constitution; and the best-selling novelist Catharine Sedgwick. Decades later, the artist and illustrator Norman Rockwell moved to Stockbridge and immortalized the iconic view of Main Street on the 1967 cover of McCall's magazine. These individuals were drawn by the region's beauty and Stockbridge's reputation as a seat of culture and literary accomplishment. Interwoven, their stories illuminate a little explored perspective on both the history of the village and the influence of the Laurel Hill Association.
Throughout generations of growth and change, the Laurel Hill Association has remained a consistent factor in the life of Stockbridge, continuing the tradition of annual meetings, supporting community enhancement projects, and maintaining public landscapes. Improving the Village explores the founding, growth, and achievements of this important and influential catalyst for community action in landscape stewardship and conservation.
I was drawn to this topic by several factors. I was interested in how cities and towns developed before professional planning emerged in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. How did communities establish street trees, sidewalks, and park spaces? How did they organize town-wide events? And how was land for settlement initially acquired? To explore these questions, I decided to focus on a single town and tell its story. Stockbridge, Massachusetts, proved to be the perfect case study. My research uncovered a remarkable lineage of people and events that shed light on how and why village improvement took root and thrived there. The book discusses Stockbridge's history of indigenous residents, the revolutionary period, literary brilliance, gilded age splendor, parks history....plus Alice's Restaurant, Arlo Guthrie and Norman Rockwell. And Stockbridge's village improvement association is still going after 170+ years!