{"nrhp_refnum":"00001396","name":"Hubbardston Town Common Historic District","other_names":["First Parish Church of Hubbardstone--Unitarian","Old Burial Ground"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Main and Brigham Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hubbardston","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.47503078400007,"lon":-72.00577050099997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2000-11-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Religion","Social History","Politics/Government","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 1.19-acre L-shaped town common district in the center of Hubbardston, Massachusetts, laid out in 1773 as the meetinghouse site. It contains the First Parish Church, the Old Burial Ground, and a grassed common with monuments.","why_significant":"The common remains the site of the town's original church, its oldest burial ground, and a landscape of commemorative monuments. The First Parish Church, rebuilt in Greek Revival style in 1842 and updated in 1868-69, anchors the town center. The form also traces the town's religious history, including the 1827 split between Unitarian and Calvinist congregations.","narrative":"Hubbardston's town common is a 1.19-acre L-shaped remnant of land set out in 1773 for the community's first meetinghouse. It still holds the original church, the town's oldest burial ground, and a long grassed space dotted with monuments. The First Parish Church sits on a small rise at the head of the common. It may contain parts of the 1773 frame, but its present look comes from an 1842 Greek Revival rebuilding and an 1868-69 update that added a brick basement story. A four-stage steeple, rebuilt after the 1938 hurricane, crowns the clapboarded building. Along the west edge of the common stand the 1885 Soldier's Monument, a pair of bronze cannon placed in 1905, later granite war memorials, and a wooden guideboard seen in photographs from the 1890s. The common also reflects the town's religious history, including the 1827 division of the congregation. The church vestry now houses a day-care center.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Mid-19th Century: Greek Revival","criteria":[],"status_note":"The church remains in religious use, and its vestry now serves as a day-care center. The common and cemetery remain in use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.45571-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/76/7974/63797476/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/00001396.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001396/702c2642cb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/00001396/702c2642cb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Parish_Unitarian_Church,_Hubbardston_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Parish_Unitarian_Church,_Hubbardston_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797476","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbardston_Town_Common_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5926919"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/hubbardston-town-common-historic-district-00001396/"}