Colonel John Ashley House

Last updated
Col. John Ashley House
Colonel John Ashley House (Sheffield, MA).JPG
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location117 Cooper Hill Rd., Sheffield, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°3′34″N73°21′23″W / 42.05944°N 73.35639°W / 42.05944; -73.35639
Area4.9 acres (2.0 ha) (original size)
35 acres (14 ha) (after boundary increase)
Built1735 (1735)
NRHP reference No. 75001915 [1]  (original)
75002172  (increase)
Significant dates
Added to NRHPFebruary 10, 1975
Boundary increaseAugust 11, 1975

The Colonel John Ashley House is a historic house museum at 117 Cooper Hill Road in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Built in 1735 by a prominent local leader, it is one of the oldest houses in southern Berkshire County. The museum is owned and operated by The Trustees of Reservations, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. [1]

Contents

Description

The Ashley House stands in a rural area of central southern Sheffield, on the south side of Cooper Hill Road, west of the village of Ashley Falls. The house stands on 35 acres (14 ha) historically associated with it but is not on its original site, having been moved 3/10 of a mile in 1930 to improve its siting relative to the road and related outbuildings. The property is adjacent to Bartholomew's Cobble, a nature preserve also owned by The Trustees of Reservations. [2]

The house is a 2+12-story wood-frame structure with a side-gable roof and central chimney. A 2+12-story cross-gabled ell extends to the rear, with a chimney. The exterior is finished with wooden clapboards. The main facade is five bays wide, with an elaborate central doorway surround. Pilasters rise to a wide entablature capped by a broken pediment. [2]

The house is typical of early 18th-century rural American architecture, with furnishings and items dating from the 18th and early 19th centuries. It is open for tours on weekends from Memorial Day through Columbus Day. [3]

History

The house was built in 1735 by John Ashley (1710-?), who moved to the area from Westfield. The house timbers were sawn using the first sawmill known to have been built in Berkshire County. Ashley was a leading citizen of the area, heading the local militia during the French and Indian War. [2] In 1773, the Sheffield Declaration, a petition against British tyranny and manifesto for individual rights, was drafted in the upstairs study of the house.

By the American Revolutionary War, Ashley was too old to participate militarily, but he was instrumental in developing the iron industry in nearby Salisbury, Connecticut for the war effort. [2]

In 1781, Elizabeth "Mum Bett" Freeman, a woman enslaved by the Ashley household, won her freedom under the new state constitution through a celebrated 1781 state court battle that marked the end of slavery in the state.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mission House (Stockbridge, Massachusetts)</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Mission House is an historic house located at 19 Main Street, Stockbridge, Massachusetts. It was built between 1741 and 1742 by a Christian missionary to the local Mahicans. It is a National Historic Landmark, designated in 1968 as a rare surviving example of a colonial mission house. It is now owned and operated as a nonprofit museum by the Trustees of Reservations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bartholomew's Cobble</span> National Natural Landmark in Massachusetts

Bartholomew's Cobble is a 329-acre (1.33 km2) National Natural Landmark, open space preserve, agricultural preserve, and bio-reserve located in southwest Massachusetts in the village of Ashley Falls abutting Canaan, Connecticut. The preserve contains more than 800 plant species, including North America's greatest diversity of ferns and the greatest overall biodiversity in Berkshire County, Massachusetts; it also contains Massachusetts' highest populations of ground nesting bobolinks. It was declared a National Natural Landmark in October 1971.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Benjamin Lincoln House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The General Benjamin Lincoln House is a National Historic Landmark at 181 North Street in Hingham, Massachusetts, United States. It was the birthplace and principal residence of Continental Army Major General Benjamin Lincoln (1733–1810), a well-respected military leader of the American Revolutionary War. The home was built in 1665 by Thomas “The Cooper” Lincoln. The last major modifications to the house were probably undertaken by General Lincoln in the late 18th century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bryant–Cushing House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Bryant–Cushing House is a historic First Period house at 768 Main Street in Norwell, Massachusetts. The oldest portion of this 2+12-story wood-frame house was built c. 1698 by Deacon Thomas Bryant. It is five bays wide and two deep, and has a large central chimney. The main entrance is centered on the front facade, and is flanked by fluted pilasters supporting a pediment. The house was in the locally prominent Cushing family for roughly two hundred years. Much of the land formerly associated with the house now forms part of the adjacent Norris Reservation, conservation land owned by The Trustees of Reservations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clark–Eames House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Clark–Eames House is a historic house located at 230 Middlefield Road in Washington, Massachusetts. Probably built around 1790, it is one of the town's few surviving 18th-century houses. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Osborn House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Benjamin Osborn House was a historic house off West Street in Mount Washington, Massachusetts. Built about 1759, it was a modest vernacular Georgian Cape style house. It was notable as a site where Shaker founder Mother Ann Lee stayed in 1781. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. It was owned by the state, and located in Mount Washington State Forest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sheffield Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Sheffield Center Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Sheffield, Massachusetts. The village extends linearly along United States Route 7, roughly between Maple Avenue and Berkshire School Road, and includes the town's major civic and religious buildings. The area's principal period of development was between 1760 and the 1890s. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1989.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Westover–Bacon–Potts Farm</span> United States historic place

The Westover–Bacon–Potts Farm is a historic farm along Massachusetts Route 41 in Egremont, Massachusetts. Built beginning in 1744 on 150 acres (61 ha) of land, it is one of the best-preserved farmsteads of the period in Berkshire County. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Until 2019, the property was owned by the Appalachian Trail Conservancy and was named the Kellogg Conservation Center. In 2019, Greenagers acquired the property "for a nominal sum" and renamed it the April Hill Conservation & Education Center.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph Hardy House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Joseph Hardy House is a historic late First Period house in Groveland, Massachusetts. Built about 1720 with plank frame construction, it is a relatively rare example of that form in the region. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Morse III House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Daniel Morse III House is a historic First Period house at 210 Farm Road in Sherborn, Massachusetts. With its oldest portion dating to about 1710, it is one of the town's oldest surviving buildings. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ammidown-Harding Farmhouse</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The Ammidown-Harding Farmhouse is a historic farm house at 83 Lebanon Hill Road in Southbridge, Massachusetts. Built sometime in the 18th century, it is one of Southbridge's few surviving houses from that time. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. It is named for two of its notable residents, Cyrus Ammidown and Elbridge Harding, both of whom served as deacons in the Baptist church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thomas Hyatt House</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Thomas Hyatt House, also known as the Cashman House, is a Colonial style house at 11 Barlow Mountain Road in Ridgefield, Connecticut. Built about 1735, it is one of the community's oldest and best-preserved houses, retaining much of its original layout and features. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josiah Bronson House</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Josiah Bronson House is a historic house on Breakneck Hill Road in Middlebury, Connecticut, built about 1738. It is one of the town's few surviving 18th-century houses, and a good example of residential architecture from that period. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Cogswell House</span> Historic house in Connecticut, United States

The Edward Cogswell House, also known as the Bliss House, is a historic house at 1429 Hopeville Road in Griswold, Connecticut. With its oldest portion estimated to date to 1740, it is one of Griswold's few 18th-century buildings. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 15, 1993.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abijah Richardson Sr. Homestead</span> Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The Abijah Richardson Sr. Homestead is a historic house at 359 Hancock Road in Dublin, New Hampshire. Built about 1795, it is one of Dublin's oldest houses, built by Abijah Richardson Sr., one of the town's early settlers and progenitor of a locally prominent family. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">William Peabody House</span> Historic house in New Hampshire, United States

The William Peabody House is a historic house on North River Road in Milford, New Hampshire. This 2+12-story wood-frame house was built c. 1740 by William Peabody, the first English settler of the Milford area, and remains a good example of Georgian residential architecture despite a 1973 fire. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nichols House (East Barre, Vermont)</span> Historic house in Vermont, United States

The Nichols House is a historic house at the junction of Little John and Waterman Roads, south of the East Barre village of the town of Barre, Vermont. Built in 1799, it is one of the Barre area's oldest surviving buildings, built by one of the town's first settlers. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hitchcock-Schwarzmann Mill</span> United States historic place

The Hitchcock-Schwarzmann Mill was a historic industrial building at the junction of Foote and Vineyard Roads in Burlington, Connecticut. Built about 1781 and repeatedly enlarged and altered, it was the town's only surviving 18th-century mill building. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, and has subsequently been demolished.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John and Ruth Rose House</span> Historic house in Massachusetts, United States

The John and Ruth Rose House is a historic house at 944 Main Road in Granville, Massachusetts. It was built about 1742 by John Rose, one of the first colonial settlers of the area, and is a good example of rural Georgian architecture. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General John and Mary Fellows Farmstead</span> United States historic place

The General John and Mary Fellows Farmstead is a historic farm property at 1601 Barnum Road in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Its farmhouse, dating to the 1760s, was home to American Revolutionary War general John Fellows. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "NRHP nomination for Colonel John Ashley House". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2016-11-18.
  3. "Ashley House". The Trustees of Reservations. Retrieved 2021-06-28.