Jacob Thompson House

The Jacob Thompson House is located a short way north of Monson's town center, at the southwest corner of Main and Thompson Streets. It stands near the corner, in front of land formerly associated with it that now forms Hillside Cemetery. The main block of the house is a 2+1⁄2-story wood-frame construction, with a side-gable roof and end chimneys incorporated into brick end walls. The front facade is five bays wide, with a symmetrical arrangement of sash windows around the center entrance. The entrance has a fine Federal style surround, with sidelight windows and an original period half-oval transom window. The interior is arranged in a traditional center hall manner, with single rooms on either side of the center hall, where the stairs to the second floor are located. A 1+1⁄2-story ell extends to the rear, housing additional rooms.[2]

The house was probably built sometime between 1811 and 1813, when Jacob Thompson, a native of nearby Holland, Massachusetts, moved to the town. Thompson, who had owned a gunpowder mill in Holland, was primarily active as a farmer and lawyer in Monson, acquiring a substantial amount of land. Much of the land directly associated with the house was sold by his son Addison for use as a cemetery, and it is believed that the house itself came into the hands of the cemetery after his death in 1884. The town sold the house to the local historical society in 1998, which has restored it for use as a house museum.[2]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Hampden County, Massachusetts

• Monson Historical Society Landmarks