Step back into time with our Spring Cleaning with the Skinner Servants tour on April 21st, 2024. Enjoy a knowledgeable stroll through two mansion floors while being escorted by one of the former housemaids. This special ticketed event will educate guests on the lives of the servants and workers who helped maintain and keep the household running back in the day. While being guided around the house, guests will encounter the family nurse, housekeeper, chauffeurs, butlers, and private secretary, whose tales are documented in the Skinner Family archive. Their stories and accounts will illuminate the daily life of the residents of the former home during a distinctive period in Holyoke’s history. Explore the servants’ perspectives towards the family they worked for and understand the daily tasks they were entrusted with.
Our house tours at Wistariahurst offer a unique and unforgettable journey for its guests, and the Spring Cleaning with the Skinner Servants tour will surely delight all who attend. Two tours are available at 12:30 pm and 1:30 pm. General admission is $18, but admission for people with museum memberships is $15. Guests are sure to enjoy this enriching walk as they journey back in time to explore the house and the perspective of labor from the workers’ point of view. Don’t delay; grab your tickets today!
For 12:30 pm tour registration
For 1:30 pm tour registration
Named after the wisteria vine that flowers in May, Wistariahurst was home to two generations of the Skinner family who loved to garden. Begun by Sarah Skinner in the late 19th Century and then transformed by her daughter Belle Skinner in the early 20th, the grounds and gardens have always been an integral part of the life and activities at Wistariahurst.
Wistariahurst is the former home of William Skinner, a prominent silk manufacturer and was built in 1874.
Gardens and Grounds
The gardens and grounds at Wistariahurst are maintained for your enjoyment. The public is welcome dawn until dusk. Feel free to bring a book, a picnic, or walk to see what is in bloom. We ask that everyone refrain from sports with projectiles (frisbee, baseball, etc.) for the protection of our historic windows.
The gardens are free and can be accessed via the Cabot St. Lions entrance (through the wrought iron gate) and via our Beech St. driveways (path is between the two buildings).
