Griswold, Maj. Joseph, House
About this property
The Maj. Joseph Griswold House, also sometimes referred to as the Mary Lyon House, is a historic house on Upper Street in Buckland, Massachusetts. Built in 1818, it is one of the region's finest examples of residential Federal period architecture. It is further notable for its association with pioneering women's educator Mary Lyon, who operated a school here before establishing Mount Holyoke College. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. The Major Joseph Griswold House is located on the western edge of the village center of Buckland, set on a knoll high above the north side of Upper Street. It is a 2+1⁄2-story brick building, with a gabled roof, and a long wood-frame ell extending to the rear. There are four chimneys, two set in each sidewall. The brick of the front facade is laid in Flemish bond, and the window openings are trimmed with marble. The main facade is five bays wide, with the entrance at the center, framed by slender pilasters and a half-round fanlight. The side gable ends each have a pair of windows, with a fanlight near the peak of the gable. These windows provide illumination to a large ballroom space occupying the attic level. The house was built in 1818 for Major Joseph Griswold, who was the son of an American Revolutionary War soldier. The Federal-style house, designed by Asher Benjamin is a large brick structure, three stories tall, with four chimneys. The house was a center of the town's social scene, with Griswold opening the third floor ballroom for public events. Between 1824 and 1829, Griswold allowed Buckland native Mary Lyon to establish a school for women in that space. She used it until 1829, and thereafter began to seek larger facilities to meet demand. This resulted in the 1837 establishment of what is now Mount Holyoke College. National Register of Historic Places listings in Franklin County, Massachusetts
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Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).
Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
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Questions about this property
When was Griswold, Maj. Joseph, House listed on the National Register?
Griswold, Maj. Joseph, House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 23, 1972.
What type of historic resource is Griswold, Maj. Joseph, House?
Griswold, Maj. Joseph, House is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.
What is the period of significance for Griswold, Maj. Joseph, House?
The period of significance for Griswold, Maj. Joseph, House is recorded as the industrial era.
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