{"nrhp_refnum":"71000085","name":"Pelham Town Hall Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Amherst Rd. at the corner of Daniel Shays Hwy.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Pelham","county":"Hampshire County","state":"MA","lat":42.39235300900003,"lon":-72.40391577599996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-11-23","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Exploration/Settlement","Politics/Government","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A three-property municipal district in Pelham, Hampshire County, Massachusetts, at Amherst Road and Daniel Shays Highway, made up of the 1743 Town Hall, the Old Burial Ground laid out in 1739, and a Greek Revival church built in 1839.","why_significant":"The Town Hall is described as the oldest town hall in continuous use in Massachusetts, with town meetings held there from 1743 to the present. The 1839 church was built after the 1833 constitutional amendment separated church and town. The area was also the last major encampment of Daniel Shays' rebels, and the district includes a monument to Shays.","narrative":"At the corner of Amherst Road and Daniel Shays Highway in Pelham, three town-owned properties form a small civic and religious group: a 1743 Town Hall, a burial ground laid out in 1739, and a white clapboard church built in 1839. The two-story frame Town Hall has a five-bay front with a projecting square entrance porch, a plain pediment and simple classical door surrounds. The church is a one-story Greek Revival building with a broad entablature, corner pilasters and a square belfry topped by an octagonal spire. Town meetings have been held in the hall since 1743, making it the oldest town hall in continuous use in Massachusetts. A separate church only became necessary after an 1833 constitutional amendment separated church and town. The site was also the last major encampment of Daniel Shays' rebels before winter and General Lincoln's pursuit scattered them, and a monument to Shays stands within the district.","period_of_significance":"18th and 19th centuries (specific dates 1743, 1739, 1839)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Greek Revival (church); simplified classical details on the Town Hall","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed in good condition, unaltered and on its original site, in government and religious use and owned by the Town of Pelham. Later correspondence mentions restoration work in 1975.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.478772-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/65/7954/63795465/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/71000085.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000085/aace7a7240-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000085/aace7a7240-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Pelham_Town_Hall,_Pelham_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:Old_Pelham_Town_Hall,_Pelham_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63795465","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pelham_Town_Hall_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7161365"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/hampshire-county/pelham-town-hall-historic-district-71000085/"}