{"nrhp_refnum":"92001553","name":"Cushman Village Historic District","other_names":["North Amherst City"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by E. Leverett Rd. and Pine, Henry, Bridge and State Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Amherst","county":"Hampshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.41664800000004,"lon":-72.50896779512195,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1992-11-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small 18th and 19th century mill village in Amherst, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, along the Mill River northeast of Amherst Center, covering about 86 acres with 63 contributing and 39 noncontributing resources.","why_significant":"The district is significant for its architecture, its industry and its social history. It preserves a modest, conservative workers' village of mostly Greek Revival houses shaped by paper, strawboard and leatherboard mills owned by the Cushman and Roberts families. The arrival of the railroad in 1866 supported the mills and the village.","narrative":"Cushman Village is a compact mill settlement in northeast Amherst, Massachusetts, set along the Mill River below the Holyoke Range. Its houses are mostly modest wood-frame cottages and gable-front residences, with Greek Revival the dominant style, lasting into the 1880s. Two small Georgian-era cottages from about 1760 and 1770 are the oldest buildings. Small barns, garages and poultry sheds recall the link between farming and manufacturing. The village grew around mills that made wrapping paper, strawboard and leatherboard, run chiefly by the Cushman and Roberts families, who inventively used broom corn stalks and scrap leather. The railroad reached the village in 1866 and carried raw materials and finished goods. No mill buildings remain, but a dam, penstock, wheelhouse and foundations survive beside the river. Vacant lots and generous side yards add to the feel of a small workers' village. The district was listed for its architecture and its industrial history, with a period of significance from about 1760 to 1940.","period_of_significance":"ca. 1760-1940","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Colonial: Georgian; Mid 19th Century: Greek Revival; Late Victorian: High Victorian Gothic","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"No mill buildings survive, but remains of a dam, penstock, wheelhouse and paper mill foundations are along the river. The village is described as retaining its integrity. One mill owner's house is noted as badly deteriorating.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.088342-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/61/7954/63795461/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/92001553.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001553/de130757ae-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/92001553/de130757ae-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 4.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cushman_Market_and_Cafe,_Cushman_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cushman_Market_and_Cafe,_Cushman_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795461","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cushman_Village_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5196219"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampshire-county/cushman-village-historic-district-92001553/"}