The Benjamin Osborn House was a historic house off West Street in
Mount Washington, Massachusetts
Mount Washington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 160 at the 2020 census, making it the least populous town in Berkshire Coun ...
. Built about 1759, it was a modest vernacular Georgian Cape style house. It was notable as a site where
Shaker founder
Mother Ann Lee
Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers.
After nearly two decades of participation in a re ...
stayed in 1781. The house was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1987.
It was owned by the state, and located in
Mount Washington State Forest
Mount Washington State Forest is a state forest in the Mount Washington, Massachusetts. The forest conjoins with New York state and the state of Connecticut in the southern Taconic Mountains of the southwestern Berkshire region of Massachusett ...
.
Description and history
The Osborn House was located down a long, wooded (and now abandoned) drive on the east side of West Road in Mount Washington, just to the east of a more modern, abandoned house. It was a -story wood-frame structure, three bays wide, with a side-gable roof, clapboard siding, and a central chimney. Its exterior was devoid of significant stylistic elements. The interior had mainly 20th-century finishes, although the building's post and beam structure was visible. Its original two fireplaces had been replaced by a single one. The property includes an unmaintained orchard with trees estimated to be over 150 years old, and the Osborn family cemetery, located near West Street.
The house was probably built not long after Benjamin Osborn bought a large tract of land here in 1759.
[ Shaker founder ]Mother Ann Lee
Ann Lee (29 February 1736 – 8 September 1784), commonly known as Mother Ann Lee, was the founding leader of the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers.
After nearly two decades of participation in a re ...
stayed at the farmhouse during her May 1781 missionary journey to Tucconack Mountain (renamed Mount Washington, following the American victory in the American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...
). She is reported to have stayed in the area for about ten days, attracting large numbers of both sympathizers and detractors.
The house was acquired by the state in 1958, and was part of Mount Washington State Forest.[
The Osborn House, and the other nearby building, were struck by fire on December 15, 2019, as was a private residence in the vicinity. The historic Osborn House was totally destroyed, and the fires are regarded by the state Fire Marshal's office as suspect.]
See also
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References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Houses in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Mount Washington, Massachusetts