454 Main Street, Great Barrington, MA
Named after Lord Barrington, an English aristocrat, the town was an important center of government and commerce during revolutionary times. In 1761, it was designated the shire town, or county seat of Berkshire county by the colonial government. The preservation of Great Barrington’s rich heritage has helped make this town the very special place it is today.
“Indiola Place” at 454 Main St, has been a part of this history for the past 170 years. Since 1851, this English Gothic revival mansion has stood majestically just outside the center of town, in an area many consider to be the gateway to Southern Berkshire County. Located at the corner of Main Street and Maple Avenue, the stone structure was built for use as a residence by doctor Clarkson T. Collins, a general practitioner who operated Berkshire Chalet, a nearby sanitarium for tuberculosis patients.
Built in 1851
The stone mansion is constructed of blue dolomite stone quarried from St. Peter
Rumor has it...
The mansion once served as a way station on the Underground Railroad that ferried slaves to freedom
Historic Registry
Massachusetts state register of historic places since 1998
English Gothic Revival
The mansion is 5719 sq ft, with 3 floors, sitting on 1.26 acres of rolling grass
HISTORIC TIMELINE
"Indiola Place" Constructed
Dr. Clarkson T. Collins, prominent doctor and one of the first gynecologists in the country, migrated to Great Barrington from New York in 1850 due to ill health. He commissioned the construction of the Mansion, called Indiola Place and lived here until his death in 1881.
First Church Of Christ Scientist
The Christian Science Society, formed with just nine members in 1917, purchased the structure eight years later from Dr Collins, where it would remain a church for the next 90 years before relocating
McTeigue & McClelland Jewelers
McTeigue & McCelland Jewelers of Great Barrington, a maker of high-end estate jewelry that was looking to expand, and wanted to do so in a building whose look and feel represented the products that it creates. Known locally as "The jewelry Castle"
Great Barrington Dispensary
After the jewelry store closed, the owners sought a new tenant that would want to preserve it's long and storied history and continue it's elegant state. One of the only cannabis dispensaries in the country to reside in a nationally registered historic property... Great Barrington Dispensary was borne. The current owners and stewards now sometimes call it, "The Cannabis Castle".