Heath Center Historic District

Heath Center is the historic core of a rocky, hilly town in the Berkshire foothills of northern Franklin County, Massachusetts. The district centers on the town common, laid out in 1787 for the first meetinghouse, and also takes in a two-acre cemetery with stones from 1799 onward, churches, a town house, and many homes and farmsteads. Federal-style houses are the best represented, often 2½ stories with center chimneys, among them the Maxwell, Strong, Gould and Rugg houses and the Center's only brick house, built in 1804. Later Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival buildings reflect continued use of the Center. The district's story is tied to its geography. Heath peaked at about 1,200 residents around 1832, then lost nearly half its population because the high elevation limited farming, there was little waterpower, and no railroad arrived. That slow decline helped preserve much of the early fabric. The district includes 75 contributing resources.