Puneet Varma (Editor)

Dwight Henderson House

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Built
  
1759

Architectural style
  
Historical

Opened
  
1759

Added to NRHP
  
26 March 1976

Architect
  
Allen, Daniel

NRHP Reference #
  
76000237

Area
  
2,024 m²

Dwight-Henderson House

Location
  
Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Part of
  
Taconic and West Avenues Historic District (#98000680)

Similar
  
Mission House, Beartown State Forest, Catamount Ski Area, Lake Buel, Wellfleet Drive‑In Theater

The Dwight-Henderson House is a historic house at 390 Main Street in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is the second oldest house in Great Barrington, built in 1759 for Joseph Dwight, a brigadier in the colonial militia, by local builder Daniel Allen. The saltbox home was originally built into a slope, and had three stories on the front and one in the rear. The house as been moved twice, but remains within 200 feet (61 m) of its original site. The second move, the foundation that formed the wall for the original first floor, so it now presents only two stories in front.

The house is notable for several historical associations. In addition to General Dwight, who was also town moderator and selectman, and a county judge, the houses notable guests include British General John Burgoyne, who surrendered his army after the Battles of Saratoga in 1777, and spent several days here while en route to the Boston area as a prisoner. It is also the house where poet and newspaper editor William Cullen Bryant was married; he was a guest of the owner, Allen Henderson.

Since then, the house has seen a variety of uses. It served for a time as housing for the nearby Berkshire Motor Inn, and now houses professional offices. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and included as a contributing property to the Taconic and West Avenues Historic District in 1998.

References

Dwight-Henderson House Wikipedia