Madison Green is the

town green A village green is a common open area within a village or other settlement. Historically, a village green was common grassland with a pond for watering cattle and other stock, often at the edge of a rural settlement, used for gathering cattle ...

of the

New England town The town is the basic unit of Local government in the United States, local government and local division of state authority in the six New England states. Most other U.S. states lack a direct counterpart to the New England town. New England towns ...

of Madison, Connecticut. The green is the centerpiece of the Madison Green Historic District,Madison Historic District Commission
and is located just west of the commercial strip of Madison on United States Route 1. The green is bounded on the south by US 1, Meeting House Lane on the east and north, and Copse Road on the west. Surrounding the green are several buildings, most prominent being the First Congregational Church (built in 1838). Other buildings around the green include Memorial Hall (1896), a community meeting building (c. 1884), Academy Elementary School (1884), and Lee Academy (1821), as well as many historic houses. In the southeast corner are three war memorials. They include a large boulder with a bronze plaque honoring veterans who fought in World War One, a large grey cut stone with a bronze plaque remembering those who fought in World War Two, Korea and Vietnam, and a smaller boulder with a bronze plaque remembering the Revolutionary War. A flagpole is located in the center. Across the Boston Post Road is a row of 18th- and 19th-century houses. The oldest house in Madison, the

Deacon John Grave House The Deacon John Grave House, located at 581 Boston Post Road in Madison, Connecticut, is a saltbox house that was built by Deacon John Grave in 1681. The Grave family lived in the house for 300 years. The Deacon John Grave Foundation was form ...

(1681), is just east of the green. The green was established in 1705, when the area became the site of a

meeting house A meeting house (meetinghouse, meeting-house) is a building where religious and sometimes public meetings take place. Terminology Nonconformist Protestant denominations distinguish between a * church, which is a body of people who believe in Chr ...

for the newly authorized East Guilford parish (the area then being part of

Guilford Guildford is a town in Surrey, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Guildford, the Diocese of Guildford and the Parliamentary constituency of Guildford. Guildford, Guilford, or Gildford may also refer to: Places Australia * Guildfor ...

). From this beginning it grew as a village center, which became the town center when Madison was incorporated in 1826. The historic 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 1982 and includes the green and

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Madison, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New Haven County, Connecticut New England town greens Historic districts in New Haven County, Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut

See also

References