Ashfield Plain Historic District

Ashfield Plain Historic District covers the old village center of Ashfield, Massachusetts, a hill town in the Berkshire foothills at about 1,250 feet. Laid out mainly along Main Street, the 133-acre district holds roughly 125 contributing buildings, structures and objects dating from about 1766 to 1939. Most are wood-frame houses of one to two stories, and Federal and Greek Revival designs predominate. Notable landmarks include the Town Hall, built as a meetinghouse in 1812-1814 and closely modelled on an Asher Benjamin plate, and St. John's Episcopal Church of 1827 by local builder Jonathan Lilly. The marble Belding Memorial Library of 1914 is the only stone building. The village grew around taverns, stores, an academy and a stage-route hotel, and Sanderson Academy counted Mary Lyon among its early students. Local peppermint production was once a notable industry. Later summer residents added Queen Anne and Colonial Revival touches, and the district remains largely intact.