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Common District (Wakefield, Massachusetts)
The Common District encompasses the main civic center of Wakefield, Massachusetts. It is centered on the historic town common, just south of Lake Quannapowitt, which was laid in 1644, when it became the heart of Old Reading. The area was separated from Reading as South Reading in 1818, and renamed Wakefield in 1868. The 25 acre district includes the buildings that line the common on Common Street and Main Street, which include the town hall, public library, YMCA, post office, and several churches. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1990. Description and history The town of Wakefield is located north of Boston, Massachusetts, and was originally part of Reading, which was established in 1644 on the southern shore of Lake Quannapowitt. Wakefield broke away from Reading in 1818 as South Reading, and was renamed Wakefield in 1868. The area of the common has continuously served as the civic and religious center of the community since its founding. Th ...
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Wakefield, Massachusetts
Wakefield is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston, greater Boston metropolitan area, municipal corporation, incorporated in 1812 in the United States, 1812 and located about north-northwest of Financial District, Boston, Downtown Boston. Wakefield's population was 27,090 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Wakefield offers an assortment of activities around the local lake, Lake Quannapowitt. History Wakefield was first settled in 1638 and was originally known as Lynn Village. It officially separated from Lynn, Massachusetts, Lynn and incorporated as Reading in 1644 when the first church (First Parish Congregational Church) and the first mill were established. This first corn mill was built on the Mill River on Water Street, and later small saw mills were built on the Mill River and the Saugus River. Thomas Parker (deacon), Thomas Parker was one of the founders of Reading, and his home was in what is now do ...
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Lake Quannapowitt
Lake Quannapowitt is a lake in Wakefield, Massachusetts. It is one of two large lakes in Wakefield, the other being the man-made Crystal Lake. The lake is named after Quonopohit, the Naumkeag Native American man who signed a deed to the town that would become Wakefield in 1686. The lake is located off Route 128 in Middlesex County. In 1991, the Friends of Lake Quannapowitt (FOLQ) was founded, which is a non-profit organization intended to protect and bring public awareness to the lake, as well as its nearby public areas. Large amounts of tar were found in the lake in 1999, a by-product of gas manufacturing from coal. The lake is emptied by the Saugus River. , two former beaches remain closed to swimming, due to the presence of arsenic, which was introduced into the lake in the early 1960s to handle aquatic weeds. Swimming in the lake is still discouraged , especially during algae blooms in the summer months. The lake has active populations of warm-water species of fish. T ...
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Reading, Massachusetts
Reading ( ) is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, north of central Boston. The population was 25,518 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. History Settlement Many of the Massachusetts Bay Colony's original settlers arrived from England in the 1630s through the ports of Lynn, Massachusetts, Lynn and Salem, Massachusetts, Salem. In 1639, some citizens of Lynn petitioned the government of the colony for a "place for an inland plantation". They were initially granted six square miles, followed by an additional four. The first settlement in this grant was at first called "Lynn Village" and was located on the south shore of the "Great Pond", now known as Lake Quannapowitt. On June 10, 1644, the settlement was incorporated as the town of Reading, taking its name from the town of Reading, Berkshire, Reading in England. The first church was organized soon after the settlement, and the first parish separated and became the town of "South ...
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National Register Of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Historic districts in the United States, districts, and objects deemed worthy of Historic preservation, preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic value". The enactment of the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA) in 1966 established the National Register and the process for adding properties to it. Of the more than one and a half million properties on the National Register, 95,000 are listed individually. The remainder are contributing property, contributing resources within historic district (United States), historic districts. For the most of its history, the National Register has been administered by the National Park Service (NPS), an agency within the United States Department of the Interior. Its goals are to ...
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Boston, Massachusetts
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeastern United States. It has an area of and a population of 675,647 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the third-largest city in the Northeastern United States after New York City and Philadelphia. The larger Greater Boston metropolitan statistical area has a population of 4.9 million as of 2023, making it the largest metropolitan area in New England and the Metropolitan statistical area, eleventh-largest in the United States. Boston was founded on Shawmut Peninsula in 1630 by English Puritans, Puritan settlers, who named the city after the market town of Boston, Lincolnshire in England. During the American Revolution and American Revolutionary War, Revolutionary War, Boston was home to several seminal events, incl ...
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Lucius Beebe Memorial Library
The Lucius Beebe Memorial Library is the main library for the town of Wakefield, Massachusetts. The building that currently holds the town's main library was opened in 1923 and is named after the first library commissioner. History Originally, the town of Wakefield, Massachusetts, was named South Reading and its first library was called the Social Library and was organized in the early part of the nineteenth century as a subscription library. The library's collection consisted mostly of theological works. This library was not very successful and many subscribers soon withdrew their support. In 1831, the South Reading Franklin Library opened and this subscription library consisted mostly of books on art, science, history, and medicine. In 1834, these two libraries merged and retained the name of Franklin Library. In March 1856, the town approved the creation of a public library to be supported by local taxation. A committee was appointed and by the summer of 1856, the pub ...
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United States Post Office–Wakefield Main
The United States Post Office–Wakefield Main is a historic post office building at 321 Main Street in Wakefield, Massachusetts. Built in 1936 as part of a Depression-era works project, it is a Classical Revival structure that harmonizes with its neighbors. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987, and included in the Common District in 1990. Description and history The Wakefield Post Office is set on the west side of Main Street, at the southwest corner with Yale Avenue. A single-story Classical Revival brick and limestone building, it stands between two other Classical Revival buildings, the former YMCA, and the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library. Its front facade is five bays wide, the center three recessed behind a pair of fluted Doric columns and flanking square pillars, which are also found at the building corners. The pillars support a stone entablature, above which is a parapet obscuring the building's flat roof. The outer bays each ha ...
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YMCA
YMCA, sometimes regionally called the Y, is a worldwide youth organisation based in Geneva, Switzerland, with more than 64 million beneficiaries in 120 countries. It has nearly 90,000 staff, some 920,000 volunteers and 12,000 branches worldwide. It was founded in London on 6 June 1844 by George Williams (philanthropist), George Williams as the Young Men's Christian Association. The organisation's stated aim is to put Christian values into practice by developing a healthy body, mind, and spirit. From its inception, YMCA grew rapidly, ultimately becoming a worldwide movement founded on the principles of muscular Christianity. Local YMCAs deliver projects and services focused on youth development through a wide variety of youth activities, including providing athletic facilities, holding classes for a wide variety of skills, promoting Christianity, and humanitarian work. YMCA is a non-governmental federation, with each independent local YMCA affiliated with its national or ...
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National Register Of Historic Places Listings In Wakefield, Massachusetts
This is a list of properties and historic districts in Wakefield, Massachusetts, that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The locations of National Register properties and districts (at least for all showing latitude and longitude coordinates below) may be seen in an online map by clicking on "Map of all coordinates". Current listings References {{DEFAULTSORT:National Register Of Historic Places Listings In Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston, greater Boston metropolitan area, municipal corporation, incorporated in 1812 in the United States, 1812 and located about north-nor ... * ...
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National Register Of Historic Places Listings In Middlesex County, Massachusetts
This is a listing of places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Middlesex County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts that are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. With more than 1,300 listings, the county has more listings than any other county in the United States. __NOTOC__ Cities and towns listed separately The following Middlesex County cities and towns have large numbers of sites listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Lists of their sites are on separate pages, linked below. Other municipalities Former listings References

{{Middlesex County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, Lists of National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts by county, Middlesex ...
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Historic Districts In Middlesex County, Massachusetts
History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some theorists categorize history as a social science, while others see it as part of the humanities or consider it a hybrid discipline. Similar debates surround the purpose of history—for example, whether its main aim is theoretical, to uncover the truth, or practical, to learn lessons from the past. In a more general sense, the term ''history'' refers not to an academic field but to the past itself, times in the past, or to individual texts about the past. Historical research relies on Primary source, primary and secondary sources to reconstruct past events and validate interpretations. Source criticism is used to evaluate these sources, assessing their authenticity, content, and reliability. Historians strive to integrate the perspectives o ...
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National Register Of Historic Places In Wakefield, Massachusetts
This is a list of properties and historic districts in Wakefield, Massachusetts, that are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The locations of National Register properties and districts (at least for all showing latitude and longitude coordinates below) may be seen in an online map by clicking on "Map of all coordinates". Current listings References {{DEFAULTSORT:National Register Of Historic Places Listings In Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield is a New England town, town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston, greater Boston metropolitan area, municipal corporation, incorporated in 1812 in the United States, 1812 and located about north-nor ... * ...
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