Chester Center Historic District

Last updated

Chester Center Historic District
ChesterMA CenterCongregationalChurch.jpg
The Congregational Church in Chester Center
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Chester, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°17′26″N72°55′27″W / 42.29056°N 72.92417°W / 42.29056; -72.92417
Area15 acres (6.1 ha)
Architect Henry A. Sykes
Architectural styleGreek Revival, Colonial, Federal
NRHP reference No. 88000161 [1]
Added to NRHPFebruary 25, 1988

The Chester Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic center of Chester, Massachusetts. The area was first laid out by Chester's first settlers in 1763. It remained the center of commerce and civic life in the rural agricultural community until railroads were built in other areas of the town in the 1840s. The village center declined in importance as economic activity moved to areas more readily accessible to the railroad, and the town hall was eventually moved to Chester Factories. [2] The district includes properties on Skyline Trail near the intersection of Bromley and Lyman Roads, and features Greek Revival, colonial, and Federal architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. [1]

Contents

Description and history

Chester Center is located on an upland site on a ridge separating two branches of the Westfield River, along Skyline Trail, a major north-south route through the rural community. The historic elements of the district are three houses, a district schoolhouse, the 1840 First Congregational Church, and the Chester Burying Ground, the latter having a first burial dating to 1769. The Rev. Aaron Bascomb House was also built in 1769, for the town's first settled minister; it is a typical Georgian five-bay house with a large central chimney. The Searles House is a modest 1-1/2 story Cape, built in 1787. The Dr. Anson Boies House was built in 1810 by Reverend Bascomb, whose daughter married the doctor. The district schoolhouse, built in 1798, is one of the oldest in Massachusetts. [3]

The First Congregational Church was designed and built by master builder Henry A. Sykes of Suffield, Connecticut, later an architect of Springfield.

The town of Chester was settled in 1763 and was incorporated in 1765 as Murrayfield. The site of the town center was set aside by the town's early proprietors as part of its initial land division. Its first meeting house was built sometime thereafter, eventually to be replaced by the Greek Revival First Congregational Church now standing. The town's early economy was largely agrarian, but industry developed in the area now known as Chester Factories, which had more ready access to water power, and was nearer an early (1800) turnpike. When the railroad bypassed the center in preference to Chester Factory in 1842, the village center declined in importance, and was not developed further. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Canterbury Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Connecticut, United States

The Canterbury Center Historic District is a historic district in Canterbury, Connecticut. The district is centered on the town green, located at the junction of Route 169 and Route 14. It has been the town center since 1705, and includes a fine assortment of 18th and early 19th-century architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Douglas Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Old Douglas Center Historic District encompasses the historic heart of Douglas, Massachusetts. The historic district radiates away from the town common, and is bounded by farmlands and more recent 20th-century development. There are 50 contributing resources in the 192-acre (78 ha) district. Most of the structures are residential houses in Federal and Greek Revival styles. There are a number of institutional buildings, including the 1834 Greek Revival First Congregational Church, the Craftsman-style Douglas Pastime Club building at 22 Church Street, and the c. 1770s Dudley Tavern. The town common and the adjacent Center Cemetery, laid out when the town was incorporated in 1746, are at the center of the district.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lunenburg Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Lunenburg Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic center of Lunenburg, Massachusetts. The district is centered on a stretch of Main Street which connects two triangular intersections. It includes many of the town's oldest buildings, including the c. 1724 Cushing House, and the c. 1730 Stillman Stone House. Three of the town's most significant institutional buildings were built before 1850: the town hall, the Congregational church, and the Methodist church. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shrewsbury Historic District (Shrewsbury, Massachusetts)</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Shrewsbury Historic District encompasses the historic early center of the town of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. It consists of the town common, laid out in 1721 at what are now Main and Prospect Streets, and buildings adjacent or nearby. The district was declared locally in 1972, and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Becket Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

Becket Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic early center of Becket, Massachusetts. Centered at the junction of Massachusetts Route 8 and YMCA Road, this area was the town's civic heart and a center of industry until it was eclipsed in importance by North Becket, which was served by the railroad. Most of the architecture in the district is in the Federal and Greek Revival styles popular in the late 18th to mid 19th centuries. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wendell Town Common Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Wendell Town Common Historic District encompasses the historic heart of the small town of Wendell, Massachusetts. Centered on a town common established in 1782, it includes a significant number of well preserved Greek Revival buildings. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Chester Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The North Chester Historic District is a historic district encompassing the rural village center of North Chester in the town of Chester, Massachusetts. One of the rural community's early settlement nodes, it thrived into the early 19th century around a stagecoach tavern, a few small mills, and farming, and retains buildings and archaeological remains representative of this history. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1998.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brimfield Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Brimfield Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic center of Brimfield, Massachusetts. The district is centered on the town common, and includes properties radiating out from that center on Main Street, Brookfled, Wales, Sturbridge and Warren Roads. Brimfield Center was first laid out in 1721 along a Native American trail that ran through the area, and developed over the years into what is now US Route 20, or Main Street. The district includes properties ranging from early colonial houses to the town hall, built in 1878. The center has retained some coherence because the Brimfield Fair, a major antiques market that takes place three times a year, takes up significant open space in the areas near the center. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Granville Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Granville Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic center of Granville, Massachusetts. The cluster of buildings in the village center includes the Congregational church, and a number of Federal and Greek Revival residences. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Granville Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The West Granville Historic District is a historic district encompassing the center of West Granville, Massachusetts. The village is composed mainly of buildings form the late 18th and early 19th centuries, including an 18th-century church and 1830s academy building. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Acton Centre Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Acton Center Historic District encompasses the historic heart of the once-rural, now suburban, town of Acton, Massachusetts. The district includes properties on Main Street, Wood and Woodbury Lanes, Newtown, Concord, and Nagog Hill Roads, and has been the town's civic heart since its establishment in the 1730s. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common Historic District (Reading, Massachusetts)</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Common Historic District is a historic district encompassing the civic and institutional heart of Reading, Massachusetts. The district is centered on the town common, at the intersection of Main and Salem Streets. The common has been communally owned since at least 1737, with the original burying ground to the north. In 1769 the area's first meeting house was built, giving the area a sense of identity separate from portions of Reading that would later be set off as Wakefield and North Reading. Since then the area has become a focal point for religious and civic institutions in the town.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Norwichtown</span> United States historic place

Norwichtown is a historic neighborhood in the city of Norwich, Connecticut. It is generally the area immediately north of the Yantic River between I-395 and Route 169.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amherst Village Historic District</span> Historic district in New Hampshire, United States

The Amherst Village Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Amherst, New Hampshire. Centered on the town's common, which was established about 1755, Amherst Village is one of the best examples of a late-18th to early-19th century New England village center. It is roughly bounded on the north by Foundry Street and on the south by Amherst Street, although it extends along some roads beyond both. The western boundary is roughly Davis Lane, the eastern is Mack Hill Road, Old Manchester Road, and Court House Road. The district includes the Congregational Church, built c. 1771-74, and is predominantly residential, with a large number of Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival houses. Other notable non-residential buildings include the Farmer's Bank, a Federal-style brick building built in 1806, and the Amherst Brick School, a brick Greek Revival structure that has served as the School Administrative Unit 39 offices since 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leverett Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Leverett Center Historic District is an expansive 467-acre (189 ha) historic district encompassing the historic heart of the rural community of Leverett in eastern Franklin County, Massachusetts. The district is focused on a two-mile stretch of Depot and Montague Roads, at whose center is the civic heart of the town. It includes the 1838 Greek Revival First Congregational Church, the town hall, whose present form was achieved in 1895 by raising the 1845 construction and building a first floor underneath it, and the Colonial Revival Field Memorial Library (1916). It also includes a town pound built c. 1822, and a number of 18th century residences. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Middlefield Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Middlefield Center Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Middlefield, Massachusetts. It is centered on the junction of Skyline Trail, the main north-south road, with Bell and Town Hill Roads. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Haverhill Corner Historic District</span> Historic district in New Hampshire, United States

The Haverhill Corner Historic District encompasses the early civic center of Haverhill, New Hampshire, United States. The district is focused on the junction of New Hampshire Route 10 and Court Street, which was historically a major through route. Court Street is flanked at the junction by a pair of large grassy common areas which are bounded by School Street and Route 10. Buildings, predominantly Federal in character and built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, are arrayed around these commons, and historic buildings line Route 10 and Court Street for a short distance away from the commons. Prominent buildings in the district include the 1827 Federal-style First Congregational Church, the 1840 former courthouse that now houses the public library and local historical society, and the Romanesque Revival 1897 Haverhill Academy Junior High School building. The area declined in importance after the railroad bypassed it, resulting in the gradual relocation of civic functions to the Woodsville area. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Grafton Village Historic District</span> Historic district in Vermont, United States

The Grafton Village Historic District encompasses the historic village center of the town of Grafton, Vermont. The village was developed in the early-to-mid 19th century, and has retained the character of that period better than many small communities in the state. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Poultney Historic District</span> Historic district in Vermont, United States

The East Poultney Historic District encompasses the historic center of the rural village of East Poultney, Vermont. The district is centered on the triangular green at the center of the village, and was developed mainly from the late 18th through mid-19th centuries, producing a village with strong Federal and Greek Revival architecture. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1978.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gill Center Historic District</span> Historic district in Massachusetts, United States

The Gill Center Historic District encompasses the historic 19th-century village center of Gill, Massachusetts. The district is focused on Main Road near its junction with River Road, in the central northern part of the town, and has served as the community's center since its incorporation in 1793. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999; it features a variety of mainly Greek Revival and later Victorian architecture, as well as some 20th-century Colonial Revival buildings.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. "MACRIS inventory record for Chester Center Historic District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved December 7, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Chester Center Historic District". National Archive. Retrieved February 19, 2018.