Wheeler-House

Welcome to the Truman Wheeler House

The future home, museum and education research center of the

Great Barrington Historical Society.

In 2007, after a 30-year search, the Great Barrington Historical Society found its future headquarters, museum and education research center in the Truman Wheeler Farmstead on South Main Street in Great Barrington, purchasing it just days before the complex was scheduled for demolition.

The Wheeler Family Farmstead possesses historic and architectural significance as a property representing the full range of the agricultural history of the Town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It also tells the story of the family that established the farm in the mid-18th century, when this far western town was first settled, and worked the land for five generations and over 200 years.

At its peak, the Wheeler Family Farm contained 130 acres extending west from the nearby Housatonic River and west across Route 7, then known as the Sheffield Road. Today, it consists of the main house and a complex of seven 18th- and 19th-century farm buildings that have accumulated there since 1764 or earlier, and 1.5 acres.

Despite its appearance, the Board of Directors of the Great Barrington Historical Society saw it as an architectural gem worthy of preservation, and have committed themselves to its restoration and potential use as a cultural attraction, education and research center and community-meeting place.

Over the last four years, GBHS has raised sufficient funds in grants and donations to undertake major restoration of the main house, and to temporarily shore up some of the outbuildings and barns until additional money can be raised.

In 2011, the Truman Wheeler House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places, re-affirming the site’s important heritage on a local and national level.

With restoration well underway on the House, the Society has begun to open its doors to guests on Sundays during the summer season. We welcome you to stop by to check on our progress and to learn more about this important piece of our local history.

Learn More about Captain Truman Wheeler & the Wheeler Family

Take a Virtual Tour of the Truman Wheeler Farmstead