House of Julian Alden Weir, Weir Farm National Historical Park

WEIR HOUSE TOUR SCHEDULE

Tours of the Weir House are conducted Wednesdays through Sundays starting at 11 AM. The last tour is at 3 PM. For a current schedule of tour times, check the National Park Service’s official Operating Hours and Seasons web page for Weir Farm National Historical Park.

WEIR HOUSE TOUR DETAILS

A guided tour is the only way to see the interior of the Weir House. While free, there is a limit of twelve people per tour group. Spots are taken on a first come, first served basis on the day of the tour. There is no need to register, so just show up at the house a few minutes before a tour starts. During the week there is not much of a demand, but on a nice spring, summer, or fall weekend it may be more difficult to get on the next available tour. From my experience, the earlier you arrive at a park, the lighter then crowds.

Back of the Weir House at Weir Farm National Historical Park

In the early 1880s, Julian Alden Weir was looking for property in New York’s Adirondack Mountains when an art dealer friend of his, Erwin Davis, offered him a farm in Branchville, Connecticut, for a painting he owned plus ten dollars. After a visit in 1882, Weir took the deal and acquired the 153-acre farm, which included most of the buildings standing today. The core of the house itself dates back to around 1780, but Weir doubled the square footage with additions to the structure in 1900, and continued with renovations and minor expansions up until 1911.

In 1883, Weir married Anna Baker and the couple began spending time at his new Branchville farm and the Baker home in Windham, Connecticut. They eventually had four children: three daughters and a son who died shortly after turning one year old. Anna herself died in 1892 after giving birth to Cora, the couple’s third daughter. Weir remarried Anna’s sister, Ella, a year later.

West side of the Weir House at Weir Farm National Historical Park

The Weir House became a popular retreat for J. Alden’s artist friends—Albert Pinkham Ryder, John Singer Sargent, and John Henry Twachtman, to name a few—and many critically acclaimed artworks were painted at the farm. Original artworks hang on the wall of one of the more popular guest rooms.

Guest room in the Weir House with original artworks on the wall, Weir Farm National Historical Park

The final alteration to the Weir House during J. Alden’s lifetime was the expansion of the dining room in 1911. This was done by the architectural firm of the then-deceased Stanford White, a good friend and frequent visitor to the farm. White had designed some of the earlier additions, and it is he who painted the epigram, “Here will rest and call content our home,” over the southern entranceway. White, a member of high society who was known for seducing young women, was murdered in 1906 by millionaire Harry Thaw over an earlier affair White had with his wife, Evelyn Nesbit. Deemed the “Trial of the Century,” White’s character was torn to pieces by the press, while Thaw was largely seen as a defender of womanhood. The jury was deadlocked for the initial trial in 1907, and at the conclusion of a second trial in January 1908, Thaw was found not guilty on grounds of insanity and sentenced to life in a mental hospital until well. He was eventually deemed sane and released in 1915. Popular belief was that he paid off the right people. The murder is the subject of the 1955 film The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing, which starred Joan Collins as Nesbit, Ray Milland as White, and Farley Granger as Thaw. Marilyn Monroe was originally cast as Nesbit, but was replaced over a contract dispute.

The Weir House dining room with a Bavarian Staghorn Chandelier, Weir Farm National Historical Park

Nearly all of the furniture is original, for when Weir died in 1919, Ella and his daughter Dorothy continued living in the house and kept using the existing furniture. The only things that are not original are items such as the carpets and wallpaper, though what you see today are exact reproductions of the originals (the original carpets are being stored by the National Park Service, and the worn wallpaper was removed and replaced with the reproduction paper).

Living room of the Weir House, Weir Farm National Historical Park

Other than adding a couple of bathrooms and electricity, Ella and Dorothy did not make many alterations that expanded the physical footprint of the house. When Ella died in 1930, Dorothy inherited the property, and she and her new husband, artist Mahonri Young (they married in 1931), lived there until their deaths, Dorothy’s in 1947 and Mahonri’s in 1957. Dorothy gave the property south of Pelham Lane to her sister Cora and her husband Charles Burlingham, for whom the Burlingham House Visitor Center takes its name.

Writing desk in the Weir House at Weir Farm National Historical Park

When Young died, his good friends Sperry and Doris Andrews purchased two acres of the farm that included the house, the Weir and Young art studios, and the other surrounding outbuildings. Being artists themselves, the Andrews wanted to preserve the Weir House as much as possible and therefore kept the furniture intact and refrained from making any alterations to the structure unless absolutely necessary.

Library in the Weir House, Weir Farm National Historical Park

While Weir Farm National Historical Park opened in 1990, only the Burlingham property was officially accessible to visitors. The Andrews’ land was also included but with the caveat that they could live out their lives in the Weir House—Doris died in 2003 and Sperry in 2005. It took the National Park Service nine years after Sperry’s death to restore the house, and it is now furnished and decorated as it would have been in 1940.

Living room of the Weir House, Weir Farm National Historical Park

In addition to the house, the Weir and Young studios are open to visitors, and you are welcome to walk the grounds of the farm. The studios are not part of the Weir House Tour, but there is usually a park Ranger or knowledgeable volunteer on duty to show you around and answer any questions you might have.

Weir and Young studios at Weir Farm National Historical Park

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