Sheffield Plain Historic District

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.