Beds: 3Bath: 1sqft: 3422
Single-Family
A rare find indeed! Having exchanged owners only 3 times since its building in 1770, it is an amazingly restored classic early farmhouse whose location is one of the several contributing homes making up the National Register’s Historic District of South Williamstown–a short distance from the Town Center, home to one of America’s earliest colleges, Williams College, founded in 1793 and whose iconic buildings line the Main St. Much care has been taken to preserve its many original details–fireplaces, plaster walls, chair rails, original hardware, paneled doors and a Palladian window once over the front door but now in the rear of the upstairs hall– with copious amounts of original paperwork and photos as a testament to its transformation throughout its history.
Its valley location between two mountain ranges—The Taconics and the Berkshires—includes a breezy 2.5 acre back farm meadow with views to the western range providing the owner with enough land to snowshoe, cross country ski, and hike with adequate area for playing and picnicking in the summer months, as well as plenty of room for a barn and pasture. The original builder and owner, Moses Young, for whom the house is named, is interred in the nearby cemetery with many other early Williamstown notables. The house was called the ‘Home Place” by the generations of Young children who grew up and visited there. It was constructed with the aim to last, done with quality craftsmanship, local materials and a timeless design. It remains a ‘visible surviving document” of a new nation’s hope for prosperity.
It has three full floors of living space: the third a fully finished attic with rear facing dormer windows and cozy spaces tucked under the eaves. It has been lovingly maintained by these owners for the antique afficionado or a family that would simply love a beautiful country home with some acreage, with 3 working fireplaces. It has newly upgraded electric, reinforcement and repointing of the stone foundation, replacement of sills by well-known mason and historian, Dick Babcock of Hancock MA. The kitchen and baths have been thoughtfully updated by local master craftsman, Bryan Gurney. Recently completed is a newly designed and installed septic system, as well as a new well pump. The garage is appropriate to the period with a gambrel roof so complimentary to the main house colonial roof style, with three bays, an upper-level storage, and updated electric with newly installed French drains along the back and side of the building.
To complete this picture, the larger Williamstown community is worth mentioning with its abundance of culture and art having multiple area museums, a world class Clark Art Institute and Research Center, the winter home to the Berkshire Symphony, as well as home to the oldest summer theater festival in the country, the renowned Williamstown Theater Festival—to name just a few of the many advantages that living in a college community provides its residents year-round. In addition, outdoor recreation is foremost with a nearby Trustees of Reservations property, Field Farm, with multiple hiking and walking trails, the Williams College owned 1200 acre Hopkins Forest, as well as an active land trust which values open space and preserves land for the use of visitor and resident’s enjoyment. For downhill skiing there is Jiminy Peak within a few miles and easy access to the Appalachian Trail system, as well as the Mt. Greylock reservation.
Updated on February 22, 2021 at 10:10 am
Farm House Classic Built in 1770 with Period Details - 905 Hancock Rd, Williamstown, MA 01267, USA
