About the Property
CAUTION: The top portion of the stone staircase collapsed in July 2021 and the area has been roped off due to safety concerns. PLEASE DO NOT CLIMB OR WALK ON THE RUINS.
The 513-acre Madame Sherri Forest is situated on the eastern slope of Wantastiquet Mountain, also known as Rattlesnake Mountain in Chesterfield. The property abuts the larger, 847-acre Wantastiquet State Forest. Trails on the Madame Sherri forest are linked to the larger Wantastiquet – Monadnock Trail, which stretches from the Connecticut River east to Mount Monadnock. The Anne Stokes Loop Trail leads to scenic Indian Pond, and other trails ascend Wantastiquet Mountain, with excellent views.
Visitor Use Guidelines
Please see our Visitor Use Guidelines page for a complete list of rules and regulations for Forest Society reservations.
Try an Outing on the Forest Society's Mobile App, Powered by OuterSpatial
Visitors to Forest Society reservations can now access information about land and trails easily from their mobile devices. Using the OuterSpatial platform, the Forest Society's mobile application is free and available for both iPhone and Android devices. Follow the app as cultural and natural sites virtually pop-up along the trail:
Property Details
The Madame Sherri Forest is named after a former owner, Madame Antoinette Sherri, a Paris-born theatrical costume designer who worked in New York City during the early 1900s. She and her husband built a French-inspired chateau summer house in Chesterfield that featured extensive stonework including a roman arch stairway, ornate interior, and designed landscape gardens. There they lavishly entertained their New York City friends at parties during the Roaring 1920s. Madame Sherri became famous – or infamous – for her wild parties. Her chauffeur-driven Packard, her fur coat, and her fast crowd of friends made the townsfolk talk whenever she appeared. However, in time Madame Sherri’s fortunes declined, and her castle fell to ruin and vandalism. After a long separation, she returned to the house in 1959 to find the interior badly vandalized. She left, heartbroken, never to return again. The house burned down completely in 1963. Today, ancient sugar maples surround a stone foundation and stairway, a large empty fireplace tapers to a freestanding chimney. This is all that remains of the former summer home of Madame Sherri who died in Brattleboro on October 21, 1965.
Circumstances of acquisition:
Anne Stokes, who loved this property and its theatrical legacy, purchased it shortly after Madame Sherri passed away in 1965. Over the next several years, she hosted several concerts and parties, using the foundation and stairway as a stage for elaborate sound and lighting displays. She decided to permanently protect the land in 1976, when she donated a conservation easement on 488 acres to the Forest Society. Anne Stokes generously donated the full fee ownership of Madame Sherri Forest to the Society for the Protection of NH Forests in February of 1991. Simultaneously, the Forest Society transferred the original conservation easement to the Nature Conservancy. In 2005 Anne donated an additional 25.5 acres that contains the remnants of the castle, the parking lot, and the primary trailhead to the Forest Society. Through the generosity of Anne Stokes, the unique community of plants and animals that live at the Madame Sherri Forest will be protected forever, along with the setting for the theatrical legacy and rich colorful history of Madame Sherri.
Trail Information
Anne Stokes Loop Trail
None
From the Madame Sherri Forest parking area, follow the hiking trail across a small bridge. In approximately 0.25 miles, the trail forks. Bear right at the fork and continue for another 0.4 miles on the Anne Stokes Loop Trail to the junction with the Wantastiquet Mountain Trail (heading off to the right). Continue straight on the Anne Stokes Loop Trail, passing scenic Indian Pond is on the right. The pond is framed to the west by the open ledges and talus slopes of Mine Ledge on Wantastiquet Mountain. To complete the loop, continue southeast from Indian Pond up a small hill with fine views, then downhill through a hemlock forest through Chesterfield’s Cook Town Forest. At the junction with the Daniels Mountain Loop Trail, the Anne Stokes Loop Trail curves left to the northwest, leading back to the parking area.
Wantastiquet Mountain
None
From the Madame Sherri Forest parking area, follow the hiking trail across a small bridge. In approximately 0.25 miles, the trail forks. Bear right at the fork and continue for another 0.4 miles on the Anne Stokes Loop Trail to the junction with the Wantastiquet Mountain Trail. Turn right at the trail junction, heading west toward Wantastiquet Mountain. The summit is approximately 0.8 miles from the junction with the Anne Stokes Loop Trail and affords excellent views of the Connecticut River valley, Mount Monadnock, and the distant Berkshire Mountains. Retrace your steps to return to the Madame Sherri Forest parking area.
Wantastiquet-Monadnock Trail
Various
The 50 mile Wantastiquet-Monadnock Hiking Trail (WMT) can now be hiked over its whole length from Brattleboro to Mt. Monadnock. Download maps of the trail and five section hikes.
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