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June 2025

We’re starting a seasonal newsletter and how better to start than with our founder, in celebration of her birthday!

Built by women, for women!

That’s how Ann Stokes described Welcome Hill Studios.  She not only acknowledged the collective effort of the women who constructed the studios, but also captured the boldness of creating a space intentionally designed for women.  Welcome Hill Studios is one of Ann’s most tangible legacies.  But Ann’s impact extends beyond this place and is rooted in creativity, activism, land steward-ship, and community building.

Ann was born, in Moorestown, New Jersey, on June 9, 1931, the daughter of Lydia Babbott and S. Emlen Stokes. She was the great-granddaughter of Charles Pratt, a pioneer in the U.S. petroleum industry and founder of the Pratt Institute of Art in New York City. Raised in the Quaker tradition, she attended Moorestown Friends School. In the summer after graduation Ann joined an American Friends Service work camp in rural Mexico.  In her journals Ann describes this time as eye opening; when she first encountered artists and people wanting to discuss their feelings and the beauty of life.  It is also where Ann realized she loved women. When finishing the work camp Ann and a friend bought bicycles with the intent to ride them back to Massachusetts. They made it to Texas but had great adventures along the way; being featured in many local papers.

Ann attended Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.  The school was known for its progressive and experimental approach to education, emphasizing self-directed learning, social responsibility, and the integration of practical work into the academic experience. This educational philosophy resonated with Ann’s Quaker values and further shaped her lifelong dedication to social justice, environmental stewardship, and the arts.  Ann continued her connection to Goddard throughout her lifetime, serving as a trustee, and making sizable donations; including a tennis court; Ann being an avid tennis player herself.

While living in Philadelphia, Ann purchased the 124-acre property on Welcome Hill Road in 1959.  Her house was designed by the architect, Jouko Arimo, and was constructed over three years, using stones from existing stone walls and reclaimed barn boards.  Ann could be a private person, spending her days writing poems, filling journals, and working on the trails. But she could also live large!

In 1965 Ann purchased a nearby property from local legend, Madame Sherri. The 500-acre lot included the remnants of a former “castle”. In keeping with the history of the place, Ann hosted several elaborate parties.  With the help of her friends, she transformed the remaining foundation of Madame Sherri’s home into a platform for a large banquet and hosted “The Feast of the Wild Boar”.  The event included a performance by Nina Simone.  By 1976, Ann granted a conservation easement on 488 acres of the land, and in the 1990s, she donated the entire property to the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. This area is now known as the Madame Sherri Forest, featuring the popular Ann Stokes Loop trail, dedicated to her in 1998.  Ann’s commitment to environmental conservation left a lasting legacy; a preserved forest enjoyed by countless visitors.

Beyond her environmental stewardship, Ann was fiercely political and cared deeply about many issues; namely civil rights, gender equality, and gay rights.  Ann’s house was often a hub for gatherings; to support political candidates or compile the Lezzie-Fair newsletters.  Ann wrote thousands of impassioned letters to The New York Times, The Washington Post, and several local newspapers expressing her views on social equality and advocating progressive causes.  She generously gave to organ-izations working to end conflict, protect animals, and support the arts.  She was instrumental in the creating the AIDS Project in Brattleboro, Vermont, as well as the formation of the local newspaper, The Commons.  Ann’s deep connection to Quaker values influenced her lifelong commitment to social justice and community engagement. She ran for Sheriff in West Chesterfield (getting 44 votes!) and attended many protests, even getting arrested at the Seabrook Nuclear Power Plant. 

Ann had a deep interest in spiritual life and was a very active member of the Putney Friends Meeting House.  She took great inspiration from the beauty of nature, writing many poems and essays about the natural world around her. Creating Welcome Hill Studios allowed Ann to share that connection with so many women and provide a place of solace in perpetuity.  In November of 2016 Ann passed away.  There is a Quaker proverb, “Let your life speak.”  Ann’s life was a clear testimony of her beliefs in social justice, the divinity of nature, and the profoundness of artistic creation.

If you’re interested in sharing your experience at Welcome Hill for one of our upcoming seasonal newsletters please get in touch at elissa@welcomehillstudios.org