East Hawley Center Historic District
Why it's listed
East Hawley Center is a small crossroads village on a flat plateau in the Berkshire Hills town of Hawley, Massachusetts. Roads radiate from a tree-shaded common toward Charlemont, Plainfield, Ashfield and Buckland. The district covers 23 acres and holds seven contributing buildings, a cemetery, a stone charcoal kiln and seven stone wall segments, mostly modest wood-frame structures dating from about 1810 to 1930. Luther Longley's farmhouse, built about 1810, is the oldest. The Longley family ran the tavern, store and post office, and by 1850 East Hawley was the leading stagecoach stop in town. A Greek Revival church and parsonage followed in the mid-1800s, along with a cemetery and blacksmith's house. William O. Bassett built an Italianate farmhouse in 1872 and a charcoal kiln in 1870. Open fields, stone walls and maple-lined roads preserve the rural setting, while newer camp buildings and a firehouse are counted as noncontributing.
Significance in brief: The district shows the rise and decline of East Hawley as the religious, commercial, transportation and institutional hub of a rural farming neighborhood. It became the leading stagecoach stop by 1850, and its church, parsonage, farmhouses, cemetery and charcoal kiln survive in an open agricultural landscape. The form also notes a high potential for historic-period archaeology.
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 92000951, listed July 24, 1992. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | East Hawley, Plainfield, Buckland and Ashfield Rds., Hawley |
|---|---|
| County | Franklin County |
| Listed | July 24, 1992 |
| Reference number | 92000951 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca. 1810-1930 |
| Architectural style | Early Republic: Federal; Mid 19th Century: Greek Revival; Late 19th and 20th Century Revivals: Italianate; no style |
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Agriculture, Transportation, Exploration/Settlement, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Mixed: the church is stabilized but unheated and lacks utilities, the Bassett House is being rehabilitated as a bed and breakfast, and the Barracks and a trailer are vacant and deteriorated. |
| Acreage | 23 |
| Coordinates | 42.56347, -72.87848 (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 92000951.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5328569
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.