Commission votes to declare hop house historic

Historical Commission · Meeting of March 13, 2026

Berlin Historical Commission declared a rare Sawyer Hill Road hop house a historic asset and lost a member to resignation. The commission voted unanimously to formally recognize the structure at 136 Sawyer Hill Road as "a rare and valuable historic asset" after a Deerfield museum curator told the group it may be the only documented hop house image in Massachusetts, tied to the state's Mass 250 tourism initiative. Member Lucy Ayers announced her resignation effective immediately, leaving the three-member board, which includes Chair June Miller, Clerk Eleanor Bergen and member Barry Eager, with two vacancies.

The commission also approved an $8.65 budget correction for office supplies and scheduled a March 20 site visit to a roughly 1840 barn at 248 Pleasant Street, where owners Larry Pradell and Roger Lowe are weighing demolition for an accessory dwelling unit.

In the full story:

• The Full Story
• [00:49:22] — June Miller, Chair
• [01:05:55] — June Miller, Chair
• [01:00:10] — Barry Eager, member
• Why It Matters
• Key Motions & Votes
• Source
• Berlin's community access TV: Historical Commission meeting, March 13, 2026
• The complete report: 848 words

Source: the Historical Commission meeting of March 13, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.

Checked against the record: before publication this article was automatically compared with the meeting transcript. It was corrected where it differed.