Fisher-Richardson House
Approximate location: the National Park Service places this pin arbitrarily within the property, not at a surveyed point (stated accuracy ±12 m).
Why it's listed
This long, rectangular house on Willow Street in Mansfield, Massachusetts, sits under a shingled gambrel roof with weatherboard walls. Its eastern half was built between 1743 and 1751 by Ebenezer Wellman, and a western addition around 1800 nearly doubled its size. The two sections use different timber framing systems, including the vertical plank method common in southeastern Massachusetts and a square plan in the addition. Later occupied by the Fisher and Richardson families, the house deteriorated badly and was condemned in the late 1920s. The town accepted it as a gift and restored it in 1930 as its Tercentenary commemoration, replacing rotted sills, planks and posts, partly with salvaged old materials. Traditionally regarded as the town's oldest building, it now serves as a museum run by the Mansfield Historical Society. Its architecture and its role in early twentieth-century commemoration of town founders account for its listing.
Significance in brief: Each section of the house shows building and planning methods distinctive to its period, giving a clear contrast within one building. It also documents the living arrangements of two rural families, the Fishers and Richardsons, who lived there into the twentieth century. It was restored in 1930 as the town's Massachusetts Tercentenary commemoration and is traditionally identified as Mansfield's oldest building.
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 98000096, listed February 11, 1998. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 354 Willow St., Mansfield |
|---|---|
| County | Bristol County |
| Listed | February 11, 1998 |
| Reference number | 98000096 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | 1743-1947 |
| Architectural style | Colonial; Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Architecture, Conservation, Education, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the town since 1930 and operated as a museum by the Mansfield Historical Society; restored and partly reconstructed in 1930. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.01051, -71.22777 (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 98000096.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5454749
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.