Brookside Manor
a labor of love…
Brookside Manor History
Restoring a nearly 200 year old home, farm, and private dam.
Schwartz Dam
In approximately 1687, the Schwartz dam was built by major John Pynchon, one of the settlers of Suffield. Originally the dam and spillway consisted of stone masonry and were utilized by mills located on each bank.
Brookside Manor
The old mansion on Boston Neck was built in 1820s and over the last century, the house has been rightfully named “Brookside”. The oldest part was built in about 1828 by Parkes Loomis, a Suffield tobacco businessman, as a standard two-chimney “Colonial” house. His daughter later married Philip Wadsworth of Hartford, who became successful in business in Chicago. Years later, the Wadsworth’s daughter Emily married Charles Schwartz in Chicago.
In about 1888, they made considerable renovations inside and expanded the home extravagantly. A few generations past, and sometime in the 1960s, the Schwartz family left the house. For over 10 years the house sat empty resulting in 8,000 sq ft of problems: falling ceilings, poorly heated rooms, and water damage.
In 1971, Mitchell and Dolly Bryll purchased the home, not for the house but for the land. Mitchell worked tirelessly in the fields to raise countless herds of award-winning cattle, specifically polled Herefords. His focus on farming meant very little time to manage and repair the home. The family made small repairs and closed off many rooms of the house for decades. As the years passed, the list of problems seemed to get longer and longer.
In 2019, four of Mitchell and Dolly’s grandchildren acquired the farm. The four cousins are DIYing their way to bringing back the farm and Brookside.
All of the farm progress and home restoration has been documented on Instagram and Facebook!
Brookside 2021
Brookside 2022
Brookside 2009
Brookside 2019, when the restoration began.