The Milton Centre Historic District encompasses the traditional civic heart of

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

. The district is located on Canton Avenue between Readsdale Road and Thacher and Highland Streets, and includes municipal buildings, churches, and residences, most built in the 18th or 19th century. 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 1988.

Description and history

Milton Centre is located on a prominence known local as Academy Hill. The town was settled in 1633 as part of Dorchester, and was separately incorporated in 1662. Its first meetinghouse was built on Milton Hill, but Academy Hill was selected in 1727 (after many years of controversy) as the site of the town's third meetinghouse. The fourth meetinghouse, built in 1788, is now the First Parish Church, and is the oldest surviving building in the center. The town's economic activity was focused along the

Neponset River The Neponset River is a river in eastern Massachusetts in the United States. Its headwaters are at the Neponset Reservoir in Foxborough, near Gillette Stadium. From there, the Neponset meanders generally northeast for about to its mouth at ...

, and the town center remained relatively rural until the 19th century, when

Milton Academy Milton Academy (also known as Milton) is a highly selective, coeducational, independent preparatory, boarding and day school in Milton, Massachusetts consisting of a grade 9–12 Upper School and a grade K–8 Lower School. Boarding is offered ...

was founded and located on land to its east. This was joined by the First Congregational Church in 1834, and a new town hall in 1837. The site of that town hall is where the present town hall (built 1970) is located. The historic district consists of eleven historically significant buildings, set on about of land bisected by Canton Avenue, between Readsdale Road and Thacher and Highland Streets. The district's civic buildings also include the town library, and two of its oldest surviving fire station buildings, including a rare example of an early chemical fire engine house. It also includes an 1811 powder house, which stored munitions during the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

, and monuments commemorating the town's contributors to national efforts in the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

and

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic districts in Norfolk County, Massachusetts Federal architecture in Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Milton, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts

Description and history

See also

References