The Common District encompasses the main civic center of

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 ...

. 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 Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of symbols, often specifically those of a written language, by means of Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifacete ...

. 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 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, Hist ...

in 1990.

Description and history

The town of Wakefield is located north of

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 Northeas ...

, and was originally part of

, 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. The common was set aside in 1647, and its boundaries more formally demarcated in 1741. The common has since then been line with buildings and structures of civic importance, as well as residences. The original town burial ground stands behind the First Congregational Church, whose current building dates to about 1892. The oldest surviving buildings facing the common date to the early 19th century, and include a few Federal period houses and the 1839 First Universalist Church. In addition to it and the Congregational Church, there are two other churches, dating to later in the 19th century. Most of the town's principal civic buildings date to the early 20th century, including the Lucius Beebe Memorial Library (1923), the main post office (1936), and the

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 w ...

(1938). Town Hall was built in the 19th century as a high school, with Italianate features, and was restyled in 1938 when it was converted to house town offices.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic districts in Middlesex County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Wakefield, Massachusetts Wakefield, Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts 1647 establishments in the Massachusetts Bay Colony

Description and history

See also

References