{"nrhp_refnum":"72000131","name":"Freight Yard Historic District","other_names":["Troy and Greenfield Railroad Depot and Freight Area"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"W of the Hadley Overpass and SW of the Hoosac River","address_restricted":false,"city":"North Adams","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.688470159000076,"lon":-73.11447481499994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1972-06-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A railroad freight yard district in North Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, centered on a cobblestone courtyard and the Boston and Maine Freighthouse, which was first built in 1864 for the Troy and Greenfield Railroad. It covers about 5.5 acres.","why_significant":"The district is of primarily local significance because the railroad it served was crucial to the growth of North Adams, with some regional significance through its link to the Hoosac Tunnel. It was the eastern terminus of the Troy and Greenfield Railroad between 1859 and 1875. It is the only surviving part of North Adams' historic railroad yards, stations, roundhouses and freight facilities.","narrative":"Freight Yard Historic District is a 5.5-acre railroad complex in North Adams, Massachusetts, reached by a 300-foot driveway into a large cobblestone courtyard. Around it stand a 270-foot freighthouse, three three-storey clapboard buildings, a coal shed, and a long barn-like storage building beside a working iron crane. The freighthouse dates to 1864, when it served as freight house and first passenger depot for the Troy and Greenfield Railroad. From 1859 to 1875 the site was that railroad's eastern terminus west of Hoosac Mountain, and traffic grew as the Hoosac Tunnel was built and then opened. The yard reflected the rapid industrial growth of North Adams, which gained cheaper freight rates and rail links to Boston and the West. A 1882 train wreck here injured 35 tunnel workers and led to the founding of North Adams Hospital in 1884. Urban renewal and private development have removed the city's other railroad yards, leaving this district as the remaining example.","period_of_significance":"19th Century","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":[],"status_note":"Condition is listed as fair. Some parts of the clapboard buildings are still used commercially, the coal shed is used for storage, and the yard continued as a commercial, freight and storage area through the twentieth century.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.684203-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/7943/63794354/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/72000131.pdf"},"photo":null,"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794354","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freight_Yard_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5501369"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/freight-yard-historic-district-72000131/"}