Robert Frost Stone House Museum Re-opening

On Thursday, May 3 from 4 to 6 PM, the public is invited to celebrate the re-opening of the Robert Frost Stone House Museum, which was acquired by Bennington College last December as a gift from the Friends of Robert Frost, in recognition of the College’s long and lauded literary history.

The house is located at 121 Historic Route 7A, Shaftsbury, VT 05262, two miles from the Bennington College campus.

This is the public’s first opportunity to see the Frost Stone House and the seven-acre grounds under its new stewardship and to learn about the College’s future plans for the iconic historic site. In addition to preserving the House for the public, Bennington will be using it as a platform for cross-disciplinary inquiry - for example, exploring the relationship between word and image, or landscape and narrative - and incorporating it into its acclaimed literature and writing programming.

“The Robert Frost Stone House Museum one of the most important historic properties among our region’s many cultural attractions,” said Mariko Silver, president of Bennington College. “We are honored to take it forward and further enrich our region and state with exciting new programs that explore Robert Frost, poetry, the arts, and the spirit of place.”

“I am delighted to celebrate with the Bennington College community the beginning of this new chapter in the history of the Frost Stone House,” said Peter Gilbert, Vermont Humanities Council Executive Director and Robert Frost’s literary executor.  “After fifteen years as a seasonal museum, the house becoming part of Bennington College is a wonderful development and an ideal and appropriate use for the property.  It will be exciting to see how the College uses the House to advance the cause of poetry and the humanities in the years to come.”

“We’ve been able to involve students, Frost scholars, and community members in every aspect of the museum reboot,” Museum Director Megan Mayhew Bergman said. “I see the Stone House Museum as an interdisciplinary space where anyone can come to learn more about Frost, poetry, or place-based art-making. I can’t wait to share the work we’ve done.”

The May 3 event will include:

• Access to the house and grounds (weather permitting)
• folk music by Jacqui Alpine ’17
• tastings of a special brew developed by Brown’s Brewing Company in honor of the occasion, Nothing Gold Can Stay
• In the Red Barn, welcome and brief remarks beginning at 4:30 pm from:
  • Mariko Silver, President of Bennington College;
  • Peter Gilbert, Executive Director of the Vermont Humanities Council and Robert Frost's literary executor;
  • Mark Wundlerlich, poet and director of the Bennington Writing Seminars; and
  • Megan Mayhew Bergman, author and director of the Robert Frost Stone House Museum
• Research and new work by Bennington College students, which engages with Frost poetry and the house, grounds, and archives
• A lecture entitled “Robert Frost and the Language of Rural Authenticity” by scholar, essayist, and critic Stephen Metcalf from 5:00-6:00 pm

Frost House members and supporters are invited to attend a special preview gathering and toast just before the opening, at 3:30PM. Memberships will support all Frost House programs, including poetry readings, workshops, music, and outreach to local public schools. Click here to become a member.

RSVPs are appreciated but not required (802 447 6200).