West Village Historic District
Why it's listed
West Village is a historic district of about 465 acres in Princeton, Massachusetts, just west of the town center. It grew around a six-corner crossroads where Allen Hill, Goodnow, Hubbardston and Radford Roads meet. By 1825 the crossroads held houses, a tavern, a store, a school and artisans' shops. From about 1860 to 1900 it served as a summer resort area with a hotel and many boardinghouses, and from the 1890s to the 1930s it drew summer cottages and country estates. The district contains 81 contributing resources, including 65 buildings, among them Cape Cod cottages, Federal houses, Greek Revival dwellings, Second Empire and Italianate buildings, and Colonial Revival and Shingle Style houses. Large barns, fieldstone walls, hayfields and farm lanes preserve the agricultural setting. One farm on Hubbardston Road is still worked for hay. The district was recognized for its architecture and for the way its buildings and landscape record successive phases of the village's development.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · catalog entry. Generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29).
| Period of significance | Ends in 1959; the start date is not given in the text provided |
|---|---|
| Styles | Colonial, Federal, Greek Revival, Second Empire, Italianate, Shingle Style, Colonial Revival, Bungalow, Ranch, Cape Cod Cottage |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture, Agriculture |
| Acreage | 465 |
| Boundary source | NPS cultural-resource GIS polygon |
| Full listing page | West Village Historic District (property record) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.