{"nrhp_refnum":"86000260","name":"Stafford Hill Memorial","other_names":["Stafford Hill Monument"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Stafford Hill Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cheshire","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.57457632100005,"lon":-73.11583712499998,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1986-02-14","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Exploration/Settlement"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 25-foot-diameter, 25-foot-tall cylindrical fieldstone memorial tower on Stafford Hill in Cheshire, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, built in 1927 and designed by Newton C. Bond.","why_significant":"It commemorates Colonel Joab Stafford, surveyor, first settler of New Providence (now Cheshire) and militia commander at the Battle of Bennington in 1777. It stands on the site of Cheshire's first settlement and holds his relocated grave. The nomination finds local significance under criterion B, with exceptions C (grave of a historical figure) and F (commemorative property).","narrative":"Rising from an open, grassy lot near the crest of Stafford Hill in Cheshire, this round fieldstone tower was dedicated on July 4, 1927. It is 25 feet across and 25 feet tall, with eight arched entries at its base, a flat roof and a flagpole. Newton C. Bond of North Adams designed it, and the McGrath Building Company of Adams built it. Inside, a concrete crypt holds the remains and tombstone of Colonel Joab Stafford, moved there in 1927 from a small cemetery on Windsor Road. Stafford surveyed the New Providence plantation, which later became Cheshire, and settled on the site, where he kept a house, store, tavern and post office. In 1777 he led local volunteers, the Silver Greys, into the Battle of Bennington. The Berkshire Chapter of the Sons of the American Revolution raised funds for the memorial and gave it to the Town of Cheshire in 1974. It honors the town's pioneer settler and Revolutionary War hero.","period_of_significance":"1927","architect_builder":"Eugene B. Bowern/Newton C. Bond (the description also names the McGrath Building Company of Adams as builder)","architectural_style":null,"criteria":["B"],"status_note":"Condition is marked excellent and good. The property is town-owned and used as a park, and the form checks unoccupied. All five original bronze plaques have been removed from the interior.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:57.94853-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/54/7941/63794154/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/86000260.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000260/7d4ce558c5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/86000260/7d4ce558c5-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Pointbank","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STAFFORD_MEMORIAL-TOWER.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Pointbank</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:STAFFORD_MEMORIAL-TOWER.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794154","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stafford_Hill_Memorial","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7596630"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/stafford-hill-memorial-86000260/"}