Conway Center Historic District

Last updated
Conway Center Historic District
Conway Town Hall.JPG
Conway Town Hall
USA Massachusetts location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location Conway, Massachusetts
Coordinates 42°30′31″N72°41′50″W / 42.50861°N 72.69722°W / 42.50861; -72.69722 Coordinates: 42°30′31″N72°41′50″W / 42.50861°N 72.69722°W / 42.50861; -72.69722
Area24 acres (9.7 ha)
Built1830
Architectural styleFederal, Greek Revival
NRHP reference No. 99001043 [1]
Added to NRHPSeptember 10, 1999

The Conway Center Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Conway, Massachusetts. The district is focused on Main Street, a section of Massachusetts Route 116 that connects two major road intersections on either side of the South River. It includes properties on Main Street, Elm Street, and Academy Hill Road, and is generally representative of the growth of the community between about 1830 and 1930. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. [1]

Contents

Description and history

The town of Conway was settled in the 1760s and incorporated in 1767. The town's meetinghouse and early taverns were located in the area of the South River, along the main east-west road (which ran north of present Massachusetts Route 116). The area saw increased economic activity with the advent of industrialization in the 19th century, which took place in Conway primarily a short way to the west of the center in Burkeville. The main road was relocated southward in 1832, from which time the present town center began to take shape. The lack of railroad access to the area hurt the town's textile mills in the later 19th century, whose decline a belated introduction of a streetcar rail failed to stem. [2]

Many of the structures in Conway Center are houses, which are predominantly of 19th century wood frame construction, although there are a number of Colonial Revival structures from the early 20th century. Forty percent of the building stock was built during the boom years of the 1840s and 1850s, and is mainly Greek Revival in character. Prominent buildings include the 1895-6 Queen Anne style Masonic Hall, and the 1901 Classical Revival Field Memorial Library. The district also includes the bridge carrying Main Street over the river (built 1925, concrete), and a traffic island at the western end of the district (where Main Street meets River Street, Baptist Hill Road, and Shelburne Hill Road) which contains a water fountain erected by the Woman's Christian Temperance Union in 1905. [2]

See also

Related Research Articles

Ashburnham Center Historic District United States historic place

The Ashburnham Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the core of the village center of Ashburnham, Massachusetts in the United States. It is a well-preserved industrial village that experienced its most significant period of growth in the mid-19th century. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.

East Blackstone Village Historic District United States historic place

The East Blackstone Village Historic District is a historic district roughly along Elm Street at the junction with Summer Street in eastern Blackstone, Massachusetts. It encompasses a small 19th-century mill village center that developed along what was once a major roadway connecting Worcester with Providence, Rhode Island. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1995.

Hotchkissville Historic District United States historic place

The Hotchkissville Historic District is a historic district in the town of Hotchkissville, Connecticut adjacent to Woodbury, Connecticut that was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1995. It encompasses most of the historic village of Hotchkissville, which is centered at the junction of Washington and Weekeepeemee Roads. The village began as a dispersed rural agricultural community, but developed in the 19th century with the arrival of industry, primarily the manufacture of textiles. Despite this, the village has retained a significantly rural character, and includes a broad cross-section of 18th- and 19th-century architectural styles. Notable residents include the Wols family.

Harvard Center Historic District United States historic place

The Harvard Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the traditional village center of Harvard, Massachusetts, USA. The district is centered on the town common, a triangular grassy space bounded by Elm Street, Still River Road, and Ayer Road. The common is ringed by residences, civic and religious buildings, and a small commercial area. The common was laid out when the town was founded in 1732, and has grown, mainly in periods of growth at the late 18th and late 19th/early 20th centuries. Most of the village's buildings post-date 1831. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1997.

Ashfield Plain Historic District United States historic place

The Ashfield Plain Historic District is a historic district roughly, along Main and South Streets and adjacent parts of Buckland and Norton Hill Roads in Ashfield, Massachusetts. It encompasses the village center of the town, which has acted as a civic and commercial center since the late 18th century. Its architectural heritage dates back to that time, but is now dominated by buildings from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.

Burkeville Covered Bridge United States historic place

The Burkeville Covered Bridge is a historic covered bridge, carrying Main Poland Road over the South River in Conway, Massachusetts. Probably built in 1870, it is a regionally rare example of a multiple kingrod bridge with iron tensioning verticals, and one of a few 19th century covered bridges to survive in Massachusetts. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1988.

Colrain Center Historic District United States historic place

The Colrain Center Historic District encompasses the historic center of Colrain, Massachusetts, a rural hill town in north-western Franklin County. The 30-acre (12 ha) district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.

Sunderland Center Historic District United States historic place

The Sunderland Center Historic District encompasses the historic center of the farming town of Sunderland, Massachusetts, on the plains of the Connecticut River. The multi-acre district runs along North and South Main Street, roughly from Old Amherst Road to North Silver Lane, and includes Bridge Street and the Sunderland Bridge across the river. The properties in the district largely still follow the plan of the town when it was first laid out in 1714. The predominant architectural style in the district is Greek Revival, but there are fine examples of Georgian and Federalist architecture, as well as a number of late 19th and early 20th century architectural styles. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.

Williamsburg Center Historic District United States historic place

The Williamsburg Center Historic District is a historic district on Massachusetts Route 9 in Williamsburg, Massachusetts. It encompasses the traditional center of the town, which was settled in the 18th century and grew to prosperity in the mid-19th century. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.

Huntington Village Historic District United States historic place

The Huntington Village Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Huntington, Massachusetts, USA. The village lies on the west branch of the Westfield River, at the junction of US Route 20 and Massachusetts Route 112. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. The village is the most densely populated part of Huntington, and has been its commercial and civic heart since the early 19th century. It has been divided by the river because its unifying feature, a location where bridges stood since 1810, no longer has one, and the modern replacement bridge built after a 1938 flood just south of the center, does not readily combine the developed areas on either side.

Russell Center Historic District United States historic place

The Russell Center Historic District is a historic district encompassing the historic village center of Russell, Massachusetts. It is centered at the junction of Main Street and Lincoln Avenue, and is bordered by the Westfield River to the east, and the rising foothills of The Berkshires to the west. The village's 19th century development was spurred by the railroad and sustained by local papermaking businesses. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996, and was named as one of the 1,000 places to visit in Massachusetts by the Great Places in Massachusetts Commission.

River Road–Cross Street Historic District United States historic place

The River Road–Cross Street Historic District is a rural agricultural historic district in Topsfield, Massachusetts. It is representative of Topsfield's development first as an agricultural community, and later as place for rural retreats. The district, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005, is roughly bounded by River Road, Rowley Bridge Road, Cross Street, Hill Street, and Salem Road, and also includes properties facing Prospect Street and Bradstreet Lane. Much of the district was consolidated under the ownership of William Appleton Coolidge in the 20th century, and bequeathed to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with restrictions to preserve its rural character. MIT sold the donated properties in 2000.

Winchester Center Historic District United States historic place

The Winchester Center Historic District encompasses the commercial and civic heart of Winchester, Massachusetts. It is roughly bounded Mt. Vernon and Washington Streets, Waterfield Road, Church and Main Streets. The district includes a number of Romanesque Revival buildings, including Winchester Town Hall and the Winchester Savings Bank building on Mount Vernon Street. Noted architects who contributed to the district include Robert Coit and Asa Fletcher. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.

Taftsville Historic District United States historic place

The Taftsville Historic District encompasses a historic 19th-century industrial village that is mostly in Woodstock, Vermont. Flanking the Ottauquechee River and extending up Happy Valley Road, the area developed around a metal tool factory established by members of the Taft family in 1793. Important elements from its early history include the Taftsville Store, built by the Taft family in 1840, and the Taftsville Covered Bridge, built in 1836. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

West Chesterfield Historic District United States historic place

The West Chesterfield Historic District is a historic district that encompasses the 19th century industrial and residential heritage of the village of West Chesterfield in the town of Chesterfield, Massachusetts. Centered at the junction of Main Road and Ireland Street, it was one of the town's main industrial sites for many years. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Head of the River Historic District United States historic place

The Head of the River Historic District is a historic district encompassing a village area at the head of navigation of the Acushnet River, which separates Acushnet and New Bedford, Massachusetts. The village is centered at the junction of Tarkin Hill Road, River Road, and Mill Road in New Bedford, and Main Street in Acushnet. The area went through two significant periods of development: the first was in the late 18th and early 19th century, and the second was in the early 20th century. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Town Center Historic District United States historic place

The Town Center Historic District encompasses the historic village center of South Hampton, New Hampshire. Centered around the Barnard Green, the town common, on New Hampshire Route 107A, it includes architectural reminders of the town's growth and change over time. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.

Dennysville Historic District United States historic place

The Dennysville Historic District encompasses the historic town center of Dennysville, Maine. Located near the southern end of the large rural community, its architecture covers more than 100 years of community history, from the early 19th to early 20th centuries. The district extends along Main Street between Maine State Route 86 and Bunker Hill Road, on the west bank of the Dennys River. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.

Watertown Center Historic District United States historic place

The Watertown Center Historic District encompasses the historic village center of Watertown, Connecticut. It exhibits architectural and historic changes from the early 1700s into the 20th century. It is roughly bounded by Main, Warren, North, Woodbury, Woodruff, and Academy Hill Roads, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2001.

Cove Street Historic District United States historic place

The Cove Street Historic District encompasses a small 19th-century neighborhood area of Duxbury, Massachusetts. Located along Cove Street north of the town center, it was developed in the early 19th century to provide housing for workers in nearby shipyards. The architecture of the district includes a variety of single-family housing styles common to the region and time period. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2019.

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. 1 2 "NRHP nomination for Conway Center Historic District". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2013-12-20.