Throughout history, Petersham has hosted many visitors. Among those more well-known visitors was George Eastman, founder of Kodak Co.
The story of Eastman’s connection to Petersham began when Eastman in 1889 sailed for Europe with his mother, Maria. On that trip he met and became friends with Josephine and George Dickman. George Dickman was an expert in international business and introduced him to investors for his company, according to Petersham Historian Larry Buell. Dickman soon became the London manager for Eastman’s Kodak Co. On Nov. 15, 1898, George Dickman died.
In 1909, Josephine built The Ridge home in Petersham. Eastman, who had become friends with Josephine, made several trips to visit her in Petersham. “Eastman often packed up his picnic gear with Bert and Nell Eastwood and shipped a car by rail to Schenectady, N.Y. Then they motored to Petersham, Massachusetts, home of Josephine Dickman’s “The Ridge.” The quartet continued automobiling for up to 10 days, eating breakfast at their hotels and cooking the other two meals by the roadside,” according to information from Kathy Connor, George Eastman Legacy Curator at the Eastman Museum, in Rochester, New York.
Dickman was an active part of the Mann Hill Summer Colony of the estate of Charles S. Waldo in Petersham. Mann Hill is located near Harvard Forest. “Petersham had many wealthy people from places such as New York and Boston who visited during the summer at the time, staying at both Nichewaug Inn and West Road Inn at the turn of the century. These summer residents formed several Summer Colonies, according to Buell. He said that these residents were responsible for preserving land that is now Harvard Forest, Trustees of Reservations and Audubon as well as creating the Village Improvement Society to improve the Common and Outlands. “These protections started with the people from the summer colonies,” Buell said.
Josephine was a co-founder of the Petersham Exchange, now the Petersham Craft Center, helped to create the Arcadian Club for boys, was a benefactor of the Unitarian Church, donated $2,500 in a trust fund for the Petersham School, and donated money to restore St. Peters Catholic Church, as many of the wealthy people’s workers were Catholic.
Eastman himself was not involved with philanthropic causes but Josephine influenced him to become involved, Buell said. Among his donations, according to Buell, was a 1913 donation of $5,000 to the Lowthorpe School of Landscape and Architecture in Groton, the first landscaping school for women. “I’ve seen references to the school as near Petersham, Mass.,” said Buell, adding that Eastman once stated, “The progress of the world depends entirely on education.”
In 1930, Dickman’s Ridge House was purchased by Frank Ewing, a major industrialist from Worcester. He lived in Petersham and his wife, Gladys, followed in Josephine’s footsteps by becoming involved in the community.
Carla Charter is a freelance writer from Phillipston. Her writing focuses on history with a particular interest in the history of the North Quabbin area. Contact her at cjfreelancewriter@earthlink.net.