Atkinson Tavern - West Springfield, MA
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 42° 05.469 W 072° 37.288
18T E 696708 N 4662634
The Atkinson Tavern is one of nine buildings of Storrowton Village Museum. It was moved from Prescott, MA to the Storrowton Village Museum on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition located at 1305 Memorial Ave. West Springfield, MA.
Waymark Code: WM11AP5
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 09/17/2019
Views: 1
The Atkinson Tavern once stood at Atkinson Hollow in the town of Prescott, MA, a rural and sparsely populated town that was founded in 1822 along the ridge separating the West and Middle branches of the Swift River. Prescott, along with Dana, Enfield, and Greenwich, was claimed by the state to become Quabbin Reservoir.
In 1928 Helen O. Storrow acquired the tavern when the town was ordered to be evacuated, disessembled it, brought it to the Storrowton Village Museum for reassembly. The original owner, John Atkinson, used the structure as a store, tavern and his family home.
The two story main building is eight bays wide and has two entrances. The leftmost entrance is flanked by a pair of paned windows and the rightmost entrance is flanked by a pair of panes windows. The second floor has a set of three matching windows on the left and five matching windows on the right. A chimney is located on the right side of the main building. Attached to the main building on the right is a smaller one story structure which is the main entrance to the tavern and functions as the reception area.
A wooden sign on the building is inscribed:
ATKINSON TAVERN
CIRCA 1789
PRESCOTT, MA
A large beige sign in front of the building is inscribed:
ATKINSON TAVERN
BUILDING
The Atkinson Tavern Building is a fine example of Early American architecture during
the latter years of the 18th century. John Atkinson, a Revolutionary War Veteran,
used the Prescott, MA building for living quarters, as well a for a store and tavern
When the Metropolitan District Commission aquired its location in Atkinson Hollow
for construction of the Quabbin Reservoir, the building was purchased by Helen
Storrow and moved to West Springfield to take its place in Storrowton Village. The
building is now leased by the Eastern States Exposition to individuals who operate
it as a restaurant.