Colonel John Ashley House
Encyclopedia
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National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark is a building, site, structure, object, or district, that is officially recognized by the United States government for its historical significance...
located on Cooper Hill Road, Sheffield, Massachusetts
Sheffield, Massachusetts
Not to be confused with the city of Sheffield in the UK, or Sheffield, Vermont.Sheffield is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 3,257 at the 2010 census. Sheffield is home to...
(in a local village sometimes known as Ashley Falls). It currently exists as a non-profit museum operated by The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members...
, open to the public for an admission fee.
In 1773 the Sheffield Declaration
Sheffield Declaration
The Sheffield Declaration, also known as the Sheffield Resolves, was a Colonial American petition against British tyranny and manifesto for individual rights, drawn up as a series of resolves approved by the Town of Sheffield, Massachusetts, on January 12, 1773 and printed in The Massachusetts Spy,...
, a petition against British tyranny and manifesto for individual rights, was drafted in the upstairs study of the house. Less than a decade later, the Ashleys' slave, Elizabeth "Mum Bett" Freeman
Mum Bett
Bett sought the counsel of Theodore Sedgwick, an abolition-minded lawyer, to help her sue for freedom in court. She told him, "I heard that paper read yesterday, that says, all men are created equal, and that every man has a right to freedom...
won her freedom under the new state constitution through a celebrated 1781 Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
state court battle. The case helped to end slavery in Massachusetts.
The house is typical of early 18th century rural American architecture, with furnishings and items dating from the 18th and early 19th centuries.
The house is open for tours on weekends from Memorial Day through Columbus Day.