Church Street Historic District is a
historic district
A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal protection from c ...
roughly on Church Street between Park Ave. and Highland St. in
Ware, Massachusetts. This mainly residential area includes some of Ware's finest late 19th century houses and a well-preserved collection of Greek Revival houses.
The area was developed primarily in response to the growth of industry to the south.
The district was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
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 or "great artistic v ...
in 1983.
Description and history
The town of Ware was established in the mid-18th century, with
its town center several miles to the west. The falls of the
Ware River
The Ware River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 river in central Massachusetts. It has two forks, its West Branch, which begins in Hubbardston, Massa ...
(south of this district) were an early site of industrial activity, but did not experience significant growth until the 19th century. Large-scale development of the falls for textile production began in 1821, and including the platting of streets that make up what is now the town's commercial center. Church Street was a major road leading north from this area, and its southern end was developed with churches and single-family residences. As a result, the southern end of this district has a variety of housing which is mainly Greek Revival in character, that was built before about 1850.
[
The upper stretch of Church Street remained largely agricultural until the 1880s, with four farmhouses surviving from that time. Ware's economic prosperity in the late 19th century prompted the construction of an array of fine Queen Anne Victorian houses, many of which include particularly well-preserved carriage houses. A number of Colonial Revival houses were added as infill construction in the early 20th century. The old Ware High School building was built in 1893, and Grenville Park was laid out in 1907 based on the design principles of ]Frederick Law Olmsted
Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the USA. Olmsted was famous for co- ...
. The park is, at , the largest component of the district, extend to and across the Ware River.[
]
See also
*
* List of mill towns in Massachusetts
* Adams
* Amesbury
* Athol
* Attleboro
* Chicopee
* Clinton
* Dalton
* Dedham
* Fall River
* Fitchburg
* Framingham
* Gardner
* Grafton
* Greenfield
* Haverhill
* Holyoke
* Hopedale
* Hudson
* Lawrence
* Lowell
* Ludlow
* Lyn ...
References
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
Ware, Massachusetts
Historic districts in Hampshire County, Massachusetts
National Register of Historic Places in Hampshire County, Massachusetts
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts