Old Curtisville Historic District
Also known as: Interlacken; See Also:Citizens Hall
Why it's listed
Old Curtisville, also known as Interlaken, is a rural village district northwest of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, spread over 170 acres along Route 183 and Willard Hill Road. It contains 53 structures, mostly two-story Federal and Greek Revival houses, plus the sites of about 20 mills and other buildings. Notable buildings include the 1870 French Second Empire Citizens Hall, the 1826 brick Congregational Church, Burrall's Store and Post Office, and the 1833 Curtisville Inn with its Greek fretwork detail. The village grew around seven small mills, with a chair factory, foundry, distillery and other works in the late 1820s and 1830s. The railroad bypassed it, so growth slowed and the setting stayed largely intact. After the Civil War the Pagenstacher mill, the first wood-pulp paper mill in America, operated here briefly. Stone dams, raceways and a stone bridge survive. The artist Ammi Philips once lived in the district.
Significance in brief: The district is significant as a relatively unchanged 19th-century rural community with a fine grouping of Federal and Greek Revival buildings. It also contains sites of mills important to the early industrial development of the area, including the first wood-pulp paper mill in America.
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 76000250, listed October 29, 1976. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | N of Stockbridge on MA 183, Stockbridge |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire County |
| Listed | October 29, 1976 |
| Reference number | 76000250 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | 1800-1899 |
| Architect / builder | Most houses are said to have been built by the same unnamed master builder. |
| Architectural style | Federal and Greek Revival, with French Second Empire (Citizens Hall) |
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied; mostly private residences plus religious, educational and commercial uses. Citizens Hall has been restored; none of the old mills stands, though dams, raceways and a stone bridge remain. |
| Acreage | 170 |
| Coordinates | 42.31563, -73.33206 (NPS GIS) |
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.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 76000250.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7083805
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.