{"nrhp_refnum":"88000881","name":"Sheffield Plain Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly 1/2 mi. of US 7, S from Cook Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sheffield","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.120374000000055,"lon":-73.35540581683557,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-06-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Exploration/Settlement","Politics/Government","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 27-acre rural, linear residential historic district along U.S. Route 7 in north-central Sheffield, Massachusetts, containing 18th- and 19th-century houses, two early cemeteries and the old militia training ground. Buildings date from about 1726 to the early 20th century.","why_significant":"The district preserves the town's earliest settlement core and first town center, with land patterns that reflect the original allotment to proprietors. Its houses show vernacular Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival design and the gradual growth of a village over about two hundred years. It is judged significant at the local level under Criteria A and C.","narrative":"Sheffield Plain is a linear village strip of about twenty-seven acres along U.S. Route 7 in north-central Sheffield, Massachusetts. It was the town's first settlement core and first town center, and the pattern of closely set houses reflects the original land allotments to early proprietors. The district holds 23 contributing buildings, four sites and four objects, including the Noble-Barnum House, which incorporates a house of about 1726 believed to be the oldest surviving in Berkshire County. Capes, Georgian farmhouses, Greek Revival houses and cottages, and one bungalow show vernacular interpretations of popular styles. Two early cemeteries and the old militia training ground, the probable site of the first meetinghouse, are also included. The town's institutional focus moved south to Sheffield Center in 1760, leaving the Plain mainly residential, with most building between 1810 and 1858. Small shops once stood along the turnpike, and the former commercial buildings survive as homes. Facades remain largely unchanged, and modern intrusions are modest.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1726-1920","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival; Early Republic: Federal; Colonial: Georgian; Early 20th c.: Bungalow","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"All contributing buildings are now residences; two serve as apartment or boarding houses and four are also used as antique shops.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:02.251412-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/16/7942/63794216/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/88000881.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000881/8ccc22e8f8-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000881/8ccc22e8f8-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Crepoudutnysusa","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:24_Cook_Road_,_Sheffield_Mass._c1726_Noble_house.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">Crepoudutnysusa</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:24_Cook_Road_,_Sheffield_Mass._c1726_Noble_house.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794216","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheffield_Plain_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7492732"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/sheffield-plain-historic-district-88000881/"}