Front Street Historic District (Exeter, New Hampshire)
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The Front Street Historic District in
Exeter, New Hampshire Exeter is a New England town, town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. Its population was 16,049 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, up from 14,306 at the 2010 census. Exeter was the county seat until 1997, when county ...
, encompasses a portion of the town's historic center. The district extends from Swasey Pavilion, at the junction of Front and Water streets, southwesterly along Front Street to Gale Park, about five blocks. Front Street is one of Exeter's oldest roads, and is lined with a series of 18th and 19th-century civic, religious, and residential structures, many of which are well preserved. The district 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 ...
(NRHP) in 1973.


Description and history

Exeter was founded in 1638 by Rev.
John Wheelwright John Wheelwright (c. 1592–1679) was a Puritan clergyman in England and America, noted for being banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Antinomian Controversy, and for subsequently establishing the town of Exeter, New Hamps ...
and his followers, who had been banished from the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
to the south over religious differences. Its location on the
Squamscott River The Squamscott River is a tidal river in southeastern New Hampshire, in the United States, fed by the Exeter River. The first of freshwater river from Chester to downtown Exeter is known as the Exeter River, and the subsequent of saltwater ...
soon developed as a shipbuilding and lumber shipment center, with the community center on the south bank. Front Street, now designated
New Hampshire Route 111 New Hampshire Route 111 (abbreviated NH 111) is a east–west highway in Hillsborough and Rockingham counties in southeastern New Hampshire. The road runs from the Massachusetts border at Hollis to North Hampton on the Atlantic shore. The ...
, developed as a major westbound road. It was where the campus of
Phillips Exeter Academy Phillips Exeter Academy (often called Exeter or PEA) is an Independent school, independent, co-educational, college-preparatory school in Exeter, New Hampshire. Established in 1781, it is America's sixth-oldest boarding school and educates an es ...
was established in 1783, and the lower portion of Front Street near its junction with the commercial Water Street area is where its civic center developed. Between the academy and the civic center is where
The Congregational Church in Exeter The Congregational Church in Exeter is a parish of the United Church of Christ located on Front Street in Exeter, New Hampshire. The congregation was first gathered in 1638 by the Rev. John Wheelwright following his expulsion from the Massachu ...
was built in 1798, along with a cluster of mainly early 19th-century residences. West of the academy campus residential development continued with slightly wider spacing, becoming more rural after passing Gale Park, a triangular park at the junction of Front and Linden streets. The historic district covers about of central Exeter to the southwest of its commercial waterfront district. It extends for about five blocks along Front Street, from the pavilion near the junction of Front and Water streets, to Gale Park. It also includes a few densely-built blocks between the Phillips Exeter campus and Water Street, an area that includes the Ladd-Gilman House, a
National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
that is now a history museum. Architecturally prominent buildings include the Dudley House on the south side of Front Street, which is a fine Federal style house, and the Moses-Kent House at its far western end, which is a good example of Second Empire architecture.


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Rockingham County, New Hampshire. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, ...


References

{{NRHP in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in New Hampshire Federal architecture in New Hampshire Historic districts in Rockingham County, New Hampshire Buildings and structures in Exeter, New Hampshire National Register of Historic Places in Rockingham County, New Hampshire