In Person – The Early History of Wonderwell and the Family that Built and Loved It

Presented by Megan Carnarius and sponsored in partnership with the Springfield Historical Society

We can only seat a certain number of people in our hall, and when that maximum is reached, registration automatically closes. You are also welcome to participate online by registering with this link. 

6:30 pm ET at Wonderwell Mountain Refuge, 253 Philbrick Hill Rd., Springfield. Doors will open at 5:30 pm ET for 20-minute tours of parts of the house.

In 1911, Nell and Joseph Stoddard built a grand summer house and barn in the beautiful and rural Springfield, New Hampshire. The property featured an open meadow with views of surrounding forest and mountains and a well with great-tasting water that never ran dry, and the home became known as Wonderwell. A community of friends and family gathered here and enjoyed fellowship with meals, parties and dancing mixed with countryside relaxation. They also did poetry readings, created plays and held musical performances – imagine two baby grand pianos playing a duet with music wafting on summer breezes.

Wonderwell was built during a remarkable period of transition – from horse to car, oil lamps to electricity, and mail to telephones. This presentation about Wonderwell highlights the family’s time with this property, with historic photos, artifacts, and stories. The house moved into other hands in 1933, and was sold to the new owners with all of the original furnishings, which remained part of the home through the mid ’80’s. After serving as a summer family home, the house was transformed into a bed and breakfast and then a foster home, and was purchased in 2011 on its 100-year anniversary by Natural Dharma Fellowship, who renamed it Wonderwell Mountain Refuge.

The presenter, Megan Carnarius, is the great-granddaughter of Nell and Joseph Stoddard. She spent her childhood making pilgrimages to the property and listening to stories about the early years of Wonderwell. As the keeper of the photos and artifacts, she took time during the fall and winter of 2020 to put a book together to capture the history for the current stewards of the house. She will be visiting Wonderwell to provide a Contemplative Caregivers Retreat and is honored to be asked to present for the Springfield Historical Society in partnership with Natural Dharma Fellowship and Wonderwell Mountain Refuge. Megan will have her book available for purchase at  the event with a portion of the proceeds donated to Wonderwell’s Capital Fund.

Megan’s talk will be recorded and will be available after the presentation. More information about accessing the recording will follow.

Megan and several of her colleagues from the Alchemy of Aging Project will also be teaching the Contemplative Caregivers retreat at Wonderwell Nov. 11-13. Both residential and online components are available.

Mask Requirements: Masks must be worn in all public areas of the building, including the meditation hall. The only exception is the event speaker when they can maintain a six-foot distance from participants.