Misplaced Pages

Lower Historic District
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Wm. Milliken House, 1796 Washington Mtn. Rd.
Show map of MassachusettsShow map of the United States
Location	Washington Mtn. Rd., Washington, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°20′24″N 73°7′4″W / 42.34000°N 73.11778°W / 42.34000; -73.11778
Area	130 acres (53 ha)
Architectural style	Colonial, Federal
MPS	Washington MRA
NRHP reference No.	86002141
Added to NRHP	September 12, 1986

Lower Historic District is a historic district on Washington Mountain Road in Washington, Massachusetts. The district encompasses four homesteads built between 1765 and 1803, including the town's oldest house. The houses are clustered along a stretch of Washington Mountain Road near the town line with Becket, and represent one of its first places of settlement. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Description and history

Land grants in the area that is now the town of Washington were first made in 1763. One of the first ten grants was made to William Milliken, who built the house at 1796 Washington Mountain Road not long afterward. Between then and the early 19th century, Milliken was joined by three other settlers in the immediate area, which is set on a terrace on the southeastern slope of Washington Mountain (elevation 1,600 feet (490 m)). This dispersed rural development was typical of the region in the period, but has in many instances been lost due to infill development. In this area, the soil was never very good for agriculture, and the properties changed hands numerous times. The area also lacked resources for industrial development, and was bypassed by the railroads, all of which were factors that effectively precluded later development.

The district extends along Washington Mountain Road, north from the town line with Becket. Its principal surviving built resources are four houses, of which the Milliken house is the only one that predates American independence. The other three were built in the late 18th or early 19th century, and are examples of vernacular Federal period architecture. All are of wood-frame construction, with clapboarded exteriors; one is 1+1⁄2 stories in height, while the other three are 2+1⁄2 stories. There is also a 19th-century barn associated with one of the houses.

See also

• Upper Historic District (Washington, Massachusetts), which encompasses the old town center
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Berkshire County, Massachusetts

References

1. ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
2. ^ "NRHP nomination for Lower Historic District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved December 3, 2013.

v t e U.S. National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Topics	Contributing property Keeper of the Register Historic district History of the National Register of Historic Places National Park Service Property types
Lists by county	Barnstable Berkshire Bristol Dukes Essex Franklin Hampden Hampshire Middlesex Nantucket Norfolk Plymouth Suffolk Worcester (northern)
Lists by city	Barnstable County Barnstable Harwich Bristol County Fall River New Bedford Taunton Essex County Andover Gloucester Ipswich Lawrence Lynn Methuen Salem Hampden County Springfield Middlesex County Arlington Cambridge Concord Framingham Lexington Lowell Marlborough Medford Newton Reading Sherborn Somerville Stoneham Wakefield Waltham Weston Winchester Norfolk County Brookline Milton Quincy Suffolk County Boston northern southern Worcester County Southbridge Uxbridge Worcester eastern northwestern southwestern
Other lists	Bridges Cape Cod National Seashore National Historic Landmarks Boston
Category National Register of Historic Places portal United States portal

• Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
• National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
• Washington, Massachusetts