THE GILBERT FARMSTEAD (C. 1794)

Built by brothers Levi and Peletiah Gilbert in 1794, the Gilbert Farmstead stood in West Brookfield, Massachusetts until 1927. It has the distinction of being the first building reconstructed at Storrowton Village. Its construction is typical of farmhouses of the time, with hand-hewn timbers, wrought iron nails and hardware, and wide plank wooden floors. A large chimney occupies the center of the house and fireplaces warm four of the rooms inside. Visitors commonly point out raised panel woodworking details, the scallop-shelf corner cabinet in the parlor, and family-owned artifacts original to the house. The kitchen is a long room with ample space to do household chores, such as laundry, butter making, baking and preparing food for winter storage. Volunteers still work at its oversized hearth today and the room overlooks the herb garden, which was planted for Helen Storrow as a gift by the Girl Scouts of New England in 1935. The original granite sink that once occupied the kitchen of the Atkinson Tavern is still functional and used during cooking demonstrations.