The Wilder Homestead facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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The Wilder Homestead
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 Location in Massachusetts
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| Location | Buckland, Massachusetts |
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| NRHP reference No. | 10001178 |
| Added to NRHP | January 24, 2011 |
The Wilder Homestead is a very old farm located in Buckland, Massachusetts. It sits on Ashfield Road, about 0.25 miles (0.40 km) south of the Upper Road junction. This special place includes three buildings, with two of them being super important to its history. Today, it's a fun museum where you can explore what life was like long ago!
Contents
Discover the Wilder Homestead!
A Home from the 1700s
The main house at the Wilder Homestead was built around 1775. It was made for Gardner Wilder, who had just moved to the area. He bought 200 acres (81 ha) of land to start his farm.
The house is a typical two-story building from the Georgian style. This means it has a classic, balanced look. The back roof of the house goes all the way down to the first floor, which is called a "saltbox" shape. Later, in the 1800s, a side part called an "ell" was added to the east side of the house.
The Old Barn and Its Changes
The barn is another important building at the homestead. Gardner Wilder also started building it around 1775. The oldest part of the barn shows how people built things back then. They used a method called "post and beam," where big wooden posts and beams were put together. You can even see axe marks on these old beams!
Over time, the barn got bigger. In 1840, a large extension was added. The beams in this new part show saw marks, meaning they were cut with saws, not axes. In the 1900s, another small building was added to the barn. This was an equipment shed, built using newer "balloon framing" methods.
A Museum Today
The Wilder family owned this homestead for a very long time, until 1981. That year, the house and 58 acres (23 ha) of land were given to the Buckland Historical Society. This group works to preserve local history.
In 1991, the Society moved an old shoe shop from the 1800s to the property. Now, the Wilder Homestead is a historic house museum. You can visit and see how people lived and worked hundreds of years ago! Because of its history, the property was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2011.
