The South Worthington 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 ...

encompassing the formerly industrial, but now rural, village of South Worthington, Massachusetts. The village is centered on the junction of Huntington Road (

Massachusetts Route 112 Route 112 is a rural state highway through western Franklin and Hampshire Counties. It begins at U.S. Route 20 (US 20) in Huntington and ends at the Vermont state line in Colrain, where it continues as Vermont Route 112. Route description Ro ...

), Ireland Street, and Thrasher Hill Road. The district extends along Ireland Road as far as Conwell Road, and one contributing element, the dam which impounds Little Galilee Pond, extends into neighboring

Chesterfield Chesterfield may refer to: Places Canada * Rural Municipality of Chesterfield No. 261, Saskatchewan * Chesterfield Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom * Chesterfield, Derbyshire, a market town in England ** Chesterfield (UK Parliament constitue ...

. The area had a number of small mills along the banks of the Little River, a tributary of the Westfield River, but only one complex, the Theron Higgins Mill on South Worthington Road, has survived from the 19th century. Most of the buildings in the district are residences dating to the 19th century; also included are three churches, including the particularly elegant Greek Revival South Worthington Methodist Church (1848). The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. The South Worthington area first developed as a modest agricultural area in the 1760s. A falls in the Little River proved a good location for a sawmill, which was standing by 1794, and followed by a grist mill in 1812. The village flourished as a service center for the local farmers, and additional mills survived for a time in the 19th century, one of which was used to manufacture window blinds. The first church was built in 1828; the building, which still stands, was later used as a general store and as a school, after the present Greek Revival church was built. The village also achieved some notice as the birthplace and summer home of

Russell Conwell Russell Herman Conwell (February 15, 1843 – December 6, 1925) was an American Baptist minister, orator, philanthropist, author, lawyer, and writer. He is best remembered as the founder and first president of Temple University in Philadelphi ...

(1843-1925), a famous Baptist minister and writer who founded Temple University. Conwell's summer stays in the house of his youth brought visitors to the community. Conwell's association with the village is commemorated by boulder with a plaque mounted on it near that house, 42 Conwell Road.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in 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 Worthington, Massachusetts

See also

References