Monument Square Historic District | |
Location | Leominster, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | 42°31′37″N71°45′37″W / 42.52694°N 71.76028°W Coordinates: 42°31′37″N71°45′37″W / 42.52694°N 71.76028°W |
Architect | Multiple |
Architectural style | Mid 19th Century Revival, Late 19th And 20th Century Revivals, Late Victorian |
NRHP reference # | [1] |
Added to NRHP | July 8, 1982 |
The Monument Square Historic District is a historic district on Main and Water Streets, and Grove Avenue in Leominster, Massachusetts. The district includes Leominster's traditional town common or square, which is known as "Leomister Square" or "the Common."
Leominster is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the second-largest city in Worcester County, with a population of 40,759 at the 2010 census. Leominster is located north of Worcester and west of Boston. Both Route 2 and Route 12 pass through Leominster. Interstate 190, Route 13, and Route 117 all have starting/ending points in Leominster. Leominster is bounded by Fitchburg and Lunenburg to the north, Lancaster to the east, Sterling and Princeton to the south, and Westminster to the west.
Leominster's common is the site of several monuments, including: a monument marking the site of the town's second meeting house from 1775-1824 (which was replaced by the first town house), a Native American mortar (moved to the site in 1880), several veterans' memorials, and a firefighters' memorial. The Leominster Historical Society headquarters is adjacent to the square.
In 1743 the common was chosen as the site of the "First Church" meeting house in Leominster. At that time, an active church congregation was required for a town to gain a charter from the Massachusetts government. Originally a Congregationalist (Puritan) congregation, First Church's members later adopted a Unitarian theology in the early 19th century, causing the traditional Reformed (Calvinist) members to leave the building and found what is now Pilgrim Congregational Church, also located on the common. The First Church congregation was funded with state tax revenue until 1835, when Massachusetts separated its churches from state funding. [2]
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement named for its belief that the God in Christianity is one person, as opposed to the Trinity which in many other branches of Christianity defines God as three persons in one being: the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Unitarian Christians, therefore, believe that Jesus was inspired by God in his moral teachings, and he is a savior, but he was not a deity or God incarnate. Unitarianism does not constitute one single Christian denomination, but rather refers to a collection of both extant and extinct Christian groups, whether historically related to each other or not, which share a common theological concept of the oneness nature of God.
The historic district also contains many 19th-century buildings, and the area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1982. The city hall and various churches and businesses are adjacent to the square.
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) designated in Worcester County, Massachusetts. The locations of NRHP properties and districts for which the latitude and longitude coordinates are included below, may be seen in a map.
East Freetown is one of two villages in the town of Freetown, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. Added to the town in 1747, East Freetown was originally an outpost settlement of Tiverton, Rhode Island, then a part of Massachusetts. It rests on the shore of Long Pond.
The Old South Meeting House is a historic Congregational church building located at the corner of Milk and Washington Streets in the Downtown Crossing area of Boston, Massachusetts, built in 1729. It gained fame as the organizing point for the Boston Tea Party on December 16, 1773. Five thousand or more colonists gathered at the Meeting House, the largest building in Boston at the time.
Pilgrim Congregational Church is an historic Congregational Church at 45 Broadway in Taunton, Massachusetts. The Ronamesque stone church was designed by architect Richard Upjohn and built in 1852. The congregation was established by a doctrinal division of the First Parish Church. The church was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on July 5, 1984.
The Barre Common District is a historic district encompassing the town common of Barre, Massachusetts, and immediately adjacent historic buildings. It is bounded roughly by South, Exchange, Main, Pleasant, Broad, School and Grove Streets. The Barre common was laid out in 1792, and has been a focus of the town's civic life ever since, and is flanked by a number of high-quality Greek Revival buildings, as well as those in other styles. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.
Still River Baptist Church is the home of the Harvard Historical Society. It is an historic Gothic Revival-style meeting house located at 213 Still River Road in Harvard, Massachusetts. The building houses the Harvard Historical Society's museum and archival collections.
The Brookfield Common Historic District encompasses a historically significant portion of the town center of Brookfield, Massachusetts. It is focused on the town common, which extends south from Main Street to Lincoln Street, and includes a dense cluster of houses on roads to its east, as well as properties on Main Street and the Post Road. The district includes more than 100 properties, including the Colonial Revival Town Hall, Banister Memorial Hall, and Romanesque Revival Congregation Church. The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1990.
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.
The Gardner Uptown Historic District is a historic district encompassing the former civic heart of Gardner, Massachusetts. The 65-acre (26 ha) area includes the old town common, an early cemetery, and a modest number of non-residential buildings among a larger number of houses. The area was the center of civic life from the incorporation of Gardner in 1785 until municipal functions were moved to West Gardner beginning in the late 1920s. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999.
The Belchertown Center Historic District is a historic district which encompasses the historic village center of Belchertown, Massachusetts. Centered on Belchertown's 1,200-foot (370 m) common, the district includes 55 contributing properties along South Main Street, Maple Street, and a few adjacent streets. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
The First Congregational Church is an historic church located at 1 Church Street in Stoneham, Massachusetts. Built in 1840, it is a fine local example of Greek Revival architecture, and is a landmark in the town center. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 13, 1984. The church is affiliated with the United Church of Christ; the current pastor is the Rev. Meredith Allen.
First Parish Church in Plymouth is a historic Unitarian Universalist church at the base of Burial Hill on the town square off Leyden Street in Plymouth, Massachusetts. The congregation was founded in 1620 by the Pilgrims in Plymouth. The current building was constructed in 1899.
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.
Acworth Congregational Church is a historic church at the end of the town common in Acworth, New Hampshire. The white clapboarded church was built in 1821, with alterations at several points in the 19th century. Its design is clearly inspired by the Congregation Church of Templeton, Massachusetts, although attribution of this church's design to Elias Carter, the architect of the Templeton church, is disputed. The structure is basically rectangular, with a projecting entry section that has its own triangular pediment and pilasters, matching those at the corners of the main block. A four-stage tower rises above the main facade. The church's interior decoration is mainly the result of a redecoration in the 1880s. The building is now maintained by a local non-profit organization.
Hartwell and Richardson was a Boston, Massachusetts architectural firm established in 1881, by Henry Walker Hartwell (1833–1919) and William Cummings Richardson (1854–1935). The firm contributed significantly to the current building stock and architecture of the greater Boston area. Many of its buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Pilgrim Congregational Church is a historic congregation of the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Constructed in the 1890s for a congregation founded in the 1850s, it was named a historic site in the 1970s.
Stephen Carpenter Earle was an architect who designed a number of buildings in Massachusetts and Connecticut that were built in the late 19th century, with many in Worcester, Massachusetts. He trained in the office of Calvert Vaux in New York City. He worked for a time in partnership with James E. Fuller, under the firm "Earle & Fuller". In 1891, he formed a partnership with Vermont architect Clellan W. Fisher under the name "Earle & Fisher".
The East Parish Meeting House, also known as the Fourth Parish Meeting House, is a historic church and meeting house at 150 Middle Road on the rural east side of Haverhill, Massachusetts. The 1-1/2 story wood frame Greek Revival building was built in 1838, replacing a previous meeting house that was built on the site in 1744. The Meeting House was used for regular services until 1906, when its congregation merged with the nearby Riverside Memorial Church. The East Parish Meeting House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. The building is now owned by a neighborhood association.
The Plymouth Historic District encompasses a cluster of five civic buildings and the town common of Plymouth, New Hampshire. The buildings are arrayed on the west side of Plymouth's town common, laid out not long after the town's settlement in 1763. The 2-acre (0.81 ha) district includes the town hall/court house, the Pemigewasset National Bank building, and the US Post Office building, as well as the Old Grafton County Courthouse. The Plymouth Congregation Church also falls within the district bounds, but is not considered contributing. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986.
The First Congregational Parish Historic District encompasses the oldest church building in Truro, Massachusetts and adjacent historic resources. The congregation was established in 1711, and is now occupying its third church, a Federal/Greek Revival building erected in 1827. The tower houses a bell cast by Paul Revere. Adjacent to the church and part of its setting is the Congregational Cemetery, whose earliest recorded burial is in 1810, and has been associated with the church since its construction. The cemetery contains a memorial erected in 1841, commemorating the loss of 57 Truro residents and seven ships in a gale on October 3. 1841.
The Congregational Church in Exeter was gathered in 1638 by Rev. John Wheelwright following his expulsion from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. The current congregation is a merger of the former First Parish and Second Parish of Exeter. Second Parish split from First Parish in the 1700s during the Great Awakening over theological differences. The two congregations then reunited in the early 20th century. During the split Phillips Exeter Academy was founded by John Phillips and other members of the Second Parish. The current Phillips Exeter Academy chapel now occupies the building of the former Second Parish.