About NMH Future

Northfield Mount Hermon Undertakes Architecture and Landscape History Project

Northfield , Mass.— Northfield Mount Hermon School has hired the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission (PVPC) of West Springfield, Mass. to complete a cultural landscape inventory of the school’s two campuses in Northfield and Gill. The purpose of the project will be to identify and document the geographic area, the cultural and natural resources, and their connection to the historic events, significant people, and activities that have contributed to the character of the school today.

According to Bonnie Parsons, principal planner at PVPC, “The work holds the special appeal of studying the collaborative work of some of the finest architects and landscape designers of their eras, as well as local builders and contractors whose work is important in our regional history.” The PVPC will also work closely with NMH Archivist Peter Weis, a 1978 graduate of the school.

The Northfield Stewardship Committee (NSC) of the Northfield Mount Hermon Board of Trustees was formed when the school’s trustees decided in January 2004 to reduce the size of the student body and consolidate the school onto one campus. As of this September, Northfield Mount Hermon is operating on its Gill campus. The NSC was established to oversee management of the Northfield campus and plan alternative uses for its facilities, which include several legacy buildings associated with school founder Dwight L. Moody. A marketing effort was launched in April, and the school has received dozens of inquiries from educational organizations from around the Northeast.

The NSC is committed to completing this extensive inventory of the school’s cultural assets as both a documentation of the past and a planning tool for future preservation of Northfield Mount Hermon. The history project will focus on the school’s architecture and its landscape. William R. Rhodes, class of 1953 and chair of the NMH Board of Trustees, has contributed $60,000 to the project. Karen Forslund Falb, a 1959 Northfield alumna and landscape historian, and Jean Reisman, class of 1975 and vice chair of the board, have each contributed an additional $10,000. The project coordinators plan to publish the results.

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