Mr. Ripley’s Utopia - SOLD OUT

Utopian Settlements Series
Program 2

Brook Farm, the utopian community established by George and Sophia Ripley in West Roxbury, lasted only from 1841 to 1847, but it became the country’s most celebrated experiment in Transcendentalism as a social movement. By opening the benefits of education and the profits of labor to all, the Brook Farm Association sought to prepare a society of liberal, intelligent, and cultivated men and women, whose relations with each other would permit a simple and wholesome life, apart from the competitive pressures found beyond the boundaries of the Farm. 

Peter Drummey, the Historical Society’s Stephen T. Riley Librarian (and a volunteer during the archaeological investigation of Brook Farm), will lead a discussion of what Brook Farmers attempted, what they accomplished, and why they failed as well as describing the manuscript records of the Association held by MHS.  This talk will be followed by a DCR tour of Brook Farm, led by DCR staff. We will explore the quiet woodlands and wetlands that inspired the likes of Nathaniel Hawthorne and George Ripley. 

Utopian Settlements Series

New Englanders have a long tradition of separating from society and trying to create a more perfect world. From the founding of the Massachusetts Bay Colony, Yankees have dreamed of a better world and tried to make it real. This series will explore the history of three utopian settlements that started in our backyard. The final program in the series, Fruitlands with Jan Turnquist, will take place on Wednesday, 27 May. We are thankful to the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) for its support of this series.