Clark-Eames House
Why it's listed
Built between about 1782 and 1797 on Middlefield Road in Washington, Massachusetts, this Federal-style cottage is one of the few late 18th-century houses still standing in the town. It is one and a half stories tall and five bays wide, with a center chimney set forward of the ridge. The center entrance is sheltered by a spindled and bracketed gable-roofed portico added in the late 19th century. Other decoration is restrained: simple window frames with shallow lintels, corner boards and a raking cornice. For much of the 19th century the house was the seat of a farm of about 70 acres, and it now sits on a lot of under two acres in a rural setting. It is used as a vacation residence. The property was listed as an intact example of Federal-period building and as evidence of Washington's scattered pattern of settlement, which persisted long after other hill towns developed village centers. It retains its original design, materials and setting.
Significance in brief: It is one of the few surviving late 18th-century dwellings in Washington and a well-preserved example of a modest Federal cottage. It documents the town's dispersed, isolated settlement pattern. Its shift from farm to vacation home reflects the growing recreational use of the town.
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) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 86002139, listed September 12, 1986. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Middlefield Rd., Washington |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire County |
| Listed | September 12, 1986 |
| Reference number | 86002139 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Federal cottage |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Condition described as excellent; presently used as a vacation residence in a rural setting. |
| Acreage | 2 |
| Coordinates | 42.34336, -73.07493 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 86002139.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5127123
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.