Wellspring House

06/30/2025

Thank you to all who were able to stop by the estate sale at Wellspring House last weekend - it was a tremendous success!

We're posting here photos of a few items that didn't sell (and a FREE king mattress - u haul!). Let me know if you're interested and we can talk price. We're eager for these things to find a good home. If you're not in W MA, we can also figure out a way to get you the item. You can DM Wellspring House or email me at: sarahbrowningwriter at yahoo dot com.

1. A set of two engravings by Franz Xavier Habermann from 1778, imaginary scenes of Boston, originally designed to be projected on a wall by a magic lantern. The pictures of the engravings propped in an armchair give a better sense of their color. I'm also including the sign I posted for the sale, which quotes the description from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which includes these prints in their collections. These were in the back hall by the meditation room at WH.

2. "Couple," a lithograph by Harold Altman, American (1924-2003). I'll post a link to the artist's website in the first comment. This piece hung over the fireplace at WH for many years. It's in excellent condition.

3. 19th century glass-fronted cabinet, American. Original glass. The crown needs a modest repair. The table it sits on is not a match.

4. Prints of stained glass at Chartres Cathedral - there are 2 but I only seem to have gotten a picture of one. They hung in our parents' bedroom so you may not have seen them. Excellent condition.

5. FREE - King mattress. Excellent condition.

Thank you all and sending much love,
Sarah

06/19/2025

Dear Friends of Wellspring House,

REMINDER: Massive estate/yard sale at Wellspring House this weekend, June 21-22, 9 am - 5 pm both days. We're not putting the house on the market, but need to raise some funds to maintain it, as all of Preston's pension goes to his care.

Rugs, antique and modern furniture, art, Guatemalan fabric, collectibles, china, books and more books. Plus a big free pile!

If you're in the area, please stop by! Snag a piece of literary history! And any help spreading the word would be much appreciated.

Many thanks!
Sarah Browning

11/30/2024

Friends of Wellspring House and Preston Browning, this is Preston's daughter, Sarah, again, with an update. Dad is now settled long-term at CareOne in the Florence section of Northampton. If you're local or visiting the area he would love a visit! And letters and cards are always appreciated. Address below. THANK YOU!!

(A note: If you visit, please take Dad's words about the place with a grain of salt. Now 95 1/2, he is starting to show some signs of pre-dementia, which includes some mild paranoia. You can reassure him that his daughters are looking out for him!)

Preston Browning, Jr.
CareOne, Room 212
548 Elm Street
Northampton, MA 01060

Photos are of Dad 10 years ago and Ashfield Lake in winter.

10/26/2024

Friends, this is Sarah Browning, one of Preston's daughters, posting to say that he's gone to a rehab center nearby to try to build up strength. At 95, he'd started to get confused and weak and we couldn't keep him in the house with the level of care that has worked well for the past couple of years.

If you'd like to write him a note or card, I know he'd love to hear from you. Here's the address:

Preston Browning
CareOne, Room 300
548 Elm Street
Florence, MA 01060

Good vibes and wishes also appreciated. I'll pass them on.

Thank you! ❤️

Photos are of the yard at Wellspring House this morning, with late fall colors.

05/25/2022

Friends, we thought the position of care giver had been filled, but it didn't work out. So, we're posting again in the hopes of finding an individual or couple who would like to live at Wellspring House and care for the co-founder/co-director, Preston Browning. Preston's health is reasonably good, so no specialized medical care experience is necessary. Please spread the word. Thank you! https://wellspringhouseretreat.wordpress.com/responsibilities/

LIVE-IN PERSONAL CARE ASSISTANT IN QUIET, GORGEOUS SETTING UPDATE: As of May 25, 2022, we have reopened the search. Please spread the word. Thank you! Live-in Personal Care Assistant – indivi…

04/01/2022

Friends,
We're again looking for a live-in caregiver for Wellspring House's cofounder-codirector, Preston Browning, to begin July, 2022. Please share the job posting with anyone you think might be interested. Many thanks!! https://wellspringhouseretreat.wordpress.com/resident-assistant-search/

We are grateful to Joe Gutierrez for their wonderful care for the past year of Preston Browning, director of the former Wellspring House retreat. Joe is moving on this summer. We wish them all the …

05/10/2021

Dear Wellspring House Community,
We have extended our deadline for applications to our Live-in Care Assistant here at Wellspring House.

Details about this new residential position can be found here. Please help us find just the right person by spreading the word! Or consider applying yourself. Applications are now due May 24, 2021, and the start date for this contracted position is June 21. (Learn more here: https://wellspringhouseretreat.com/apply-for-a-residency/how-to-apply/).

Questions about the opportunity can be sent to John, via our Wellspring House email address, wellspringhouseretreat@gmail.com.

Thank you all for your continued support and care. Wellspring House would have been an empty space if it weren’t for all the creativity you brought with you during your stays. These rooms still shimmer with the magic you brought to them, and it is that shimmering power we’d like to now celebrate as our time as a residency retreat comes to a close.

Many Thanks,
The Wellspring House Staff

Seeking a live-in care assistant to provide support for the 92-year-old co-founder and director of the former Wellspring House writers retreat in Ashfield, MA, Preston Browning, Jr. The position al…

04/10/2021

Dear Wellspring House Community,

As always, we hope this update finds you healthy, safe, and in good spirits. With a new year already in full swing and with spring clearly upon us, we wanted to reach out to share news of two sizable changes here at Wellspring House.

After twenty-two years as an artists and writers residency retreat, we have decided that it is time to close Wellspring House for good. This was a tough decision for all of us, but given continued concerns over the pandemic and evolving necessities with our director’s care, it has become clear that this is the right decision and the right time to make this important transition. Your stays at Wellspring House have been magical and so necessary -- for the wonder of the space itself, for continuously motivating Preston and his late wife Ann, and for the good of the culture at large. So much beauty has bloomed here!

Our second change involves staffing at Wellspring House. We are ending the Writer-in-Residence program, with enormous gratitude to the most recent Writers-in-Residence, John Howard and Aubrey Crosby, for two wonderful years. Preston will continue to reside on location and we are looking to hire someone to live on-site and assist with his care. Details about this new residential position can be found here. Please help us find just the right person by spreading the word! Or consider applying yourself. Applications are due May 1, 2021, and the start date for this contracted position is June 21. (Learn more here: https://wellspringhouseretreat.com/position-description).

Questions about the opportunity can be sent to John, via our Wellspring House email address, wellspringhouseretreat@gmail.com.

To celebrate the last twenty-two years of creative community here at Wellspring House, we welcome you to send testimonials, both written and photographic (if available), that we might share with our community on social media. Those celebratory notes can be sent along to our email address when available. Please also note: we hope to have a closing celebration for Wellspring House in late June, around the time of Preston’s ninety-second birthday. If at all possible, we would love to have a safe, socially-distanced outdoors event on the lawn. So please stay tuned for continued updates about that possible event.

Thank you all for your continued support and care. Wellspring House would have been an empty space if it weren’t for all the creativity you brought with you during your stays. These rooms still shimmer with the magic you brought to them, and it is that shimmering power we’d like to now celebrate as our time as a residency retreat comes to a close.

Many Thanks,

The Wellspring House Staff

As of April 9, 2021, we are ending the Writer-in-Residence program which began in 2018. With enormous gratitude, we thank our most recent Writers-in-Residence, John Howard and Aubrey Crosby, for tw…

03/15/2021

It's been a while since we've posted. We're still temporarily closed, but we wanted to share this great workshop coming soon:

Justice & Joy: Writing Powerful Political Poems, sponsored by Writers in Progress. Saturday, April 3, 9:30 am-12:30 pm EST.

Size limits workshops to 8 or 9 so the groups will be intimate with plenty of time for reading, writing, and discussion. Cost is $75.

Read more and register here: https://writersinprogress.com/justice-and-joy-with-sarah-browning/?mc_cid=c2009731b3&mc_eid=7d0f0f89e7&fbclid=IwAR2DDcMQG5dXg0oeuHnNGHNX6OQROwsY6oxJ1XprGvaO9-hjbHE-idoctfI

Justice & Joy: Writing Powerful Political Poems, with Sarah Browning In times of extremity and peril, when so many communities are under daily attack and the future of our very home, this plane…

08/26/2020

Please forgive our Website technical difficulties. Our website is currently down, but we hope to get it back up and running soon! Sorry for any inconvenience.

07/16/2020

We have a plethora of Wellspring Postcards and nobody to give them to! Who can we cheer up? DM us your mailing address and let us send you some Wellspring correspondence

07/14/2020

Wellspring house is looking for a used printer and an old-fashioned cider press! If you know of anything, we're willing to pay. Send us a message :)