{"nrhp_refnum":"94000544","name":"Williamstown Rail Yard and Station Historic District","other_names":["Williamstown Depot"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Jct. of Cole Ave. and N. Hoosac Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Williamstown","county":"Berkshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.719587500000074,"lon":-73.18985133629633,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1994-06-03","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Transportation"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A four-acre railroad district on the north bank of the Hoosic River in Williamstown, Massachusetts, containing an 1898 stone passenger station, a freight house believed built in 1879, and two concrete coal elevator complexes from 1914 to 1931.","why_significant":"The district holds the only surviving railroad station in northern Berkshire County and the last remains of what was once an active rail yard and division point. The freight house reflects 19th-century rail activity, and the coal silos reflect continued 20th-century use. The nomination finds local significance under architecture and transportation.","narrative":"Along the Hoosic River north of Williamstown's center, a small rail yard preserves the physical record of the town's railroad era. The district includes a low stone passenger station built in 1898 after an earlier wooden depot burned, with Richardsonian Romanesque features such as rock-faced ashlar, heavy lintels, a slate roof and a sunburst gable window. Nearby are a wood-frame freight house believed to date from 1879 and two sets of concrete coal silos built between 1914 and 1931, apparently by the Gifford-Wood Company. Williamstown became a division point for the line in 1888, and the yard shaped the town's growth. Passenger service ended in 1958, and the coal elevators saw use until the 1970s. These are the only rail-related structures left in Williamstown, and the station is the only one remaining in northern Berkshire County. The district was listed for its architecture and its role in local transportation history.","period_of_significance":"1898-1944","architect_builder":"Gifford-Wood Company","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Romanesque (station); no style (other resources)","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The passenger station is used as an office and storehouse by a local moving company and is in good condition. The freight house is unused but in good condition, and the coal elevators are no longer in commercial use.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.769467-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/40/7943/63794340/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/94000544.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000544/78a2bc9913-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/94000544/78a2bc9913-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Unknown authorUnknown author","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Williamstown_station_postcard.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Unknown authorUnknown author</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Williamstown_station_postcard.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794340","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Williamstown_Rail_Yard_and_Station_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q8021308"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/berkshire-county/williamstown-rail-yard-and-station-historic-district-94000544/"}