{"nrhp_refnum":"87001758","name":"Osborn, Benjamin, House","other_names":["Mother Ann Lee House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"West St., E on private Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mt. Washington","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.11724300350005,"lon":-73.46953745951134,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-10-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Exploration/Settlement","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small one-story, gable-roofed colonial house with a central chimney, set in a meadow on a 93-acre lot reached by a private road off West Street in Mount Washington, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It was built around 1759 by Benjamin Osborn, and a small burying ground is included.","why_significant":"It is the oldest standing structure in Mount Washington and a rare surviving example of the small homesteads built by early hill-town settlers. Its two-room plan varies from the usual three-room center-chimney form. The Osborn family also welcomed Shaker evangelists on their first New England tour in 1781, making the house a base for an early Shaker outpost.","narrative":"Set in a meadow at 1,550 feet in the Berkshire hills, this modest one-story house with a gable roof and central chimney was built around 1759 by Benjamin Osborn on a 93-acre lot. It is the oldest standing structure in Mount Washington and a scarce survivor of the small homesteads that early colonial settlers built in the hill towns. Its three-bay facade and two-room plan, recalling the older hall-and-parlor arrangement, differ from the usual larger center-chimney houses. Osborn was an early settler and one of the town's proprietors. In 1781 his family hosted Shaker followers of Ann Lee at the start of their New England tour, and the house became the focus of a short-lived Shaker outpost. Changes around 1906 and 1950 altered the interior and exterior finishes. A small burying ground nearby, the town's oldest, with stones from 1772, is also included. The state acquired the property between 1958 and 1961 for the state forest.","period_of_significance":"1750-70","architect_builder":"Benjamin Osborn (builder/original owner)","architectural_style":"New England Colonial","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Owned by the state Department of Environmental Management as part of Mount Washington State Forest; current function listed as work in progress.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.619771-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/7942/63794284/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87001758.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001758/e0829f5874-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001758/e0829f5874-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MountWashingtonMA_BenjaminOsbornHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:MountWashingtonMA_BenjaminOsbornHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794284","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Osborn_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4889083"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/osborn-benjamin-house-87001758/"}