Berkshire Manor
This Federal style residence, boasting twin chimneys, a funeral door, dentils and a fanlight window over the front door it was built by a physician, William Buel, known for his experimental work in perfecting a vaccine for smallpox. Under potentially devastating financial penalty if he failed to follow the law and dictates of the selectmen, Buel signed a 500 pound surety bond in 1793, permitting him to open the town’s first small pox inoculation hospital. Only three years later he also led a successful fight against yellow fever in Sheffield, a contagious disease caused by a virus carried by the common mosquito. Built on The Sheffield Plain, it was moved to its present site sometime in the 19th century.