Wheeler Family Farmstead
Also known as: Capt. Truman Wheeler House
Why it's listed
Wheeler Family Farmstead occupies 1.5 acres on the southern edge of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, along U.S. Route 7. Once part of a 130-acre farm, it now holds a wood-frame house and seven farm buildings and structures, including a workshop, hay barn, cow house, heifer house, silo, animal shed and carriage house. The house grew in stages from a small Dutch-style post-and-beam room, possibly built around 1733, to a two-room center-chimney plan added between 1764 and 1771, and was later raised to two stories and extended with a rear ell. Its mix of Dutch and English framing reflects cultural exchange along the disputed New York-Massachusetts border. Truman Wheeler, a merchant who arrived from Connecticut in 1764, bought the property in 1771, and five generations of his family farmed here. The farmland was sold for commercial development, and the historic buildings passed to the Great Barrington Historical Society in 2007, which operates them as a museum.
Significance in brief: The house combines Dutch and English framing methods, a regional trait from the New York-Massachusetts border area, and shows a long sequence of construction stages from the 18th to the early 20th century. The surviving outbuildings illustrate changing farm practice over time. The property also documents the Wheeler family, whose progenitor Truman Wheeler was one of the town's first merchants.
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 11000614, listed September 6, 2011. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 817 S. Main St., Great Barrington |
|---|---|
| County | Berkshire County |
| Listed | September 6, 2011 |
| Reference number | 11000614 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architectural style | Colonial: Dutch Colonial and Postmedieval English |
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Exploration/Settlement, Agriculture, Military |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Now a museum, owned by the Great Barrington Historical Society since 2007; the wagon house attached to the house is under restoration and the house exterior has been restored to its early 20th-century appearance. |
| Acreage | 1.5 |
| Coordinates | 42.17797, -73.36207 (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 11000614.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q16903183
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.