{"nrhp_refnum":"76000309","name":"Shrewsbury Historic District","other_names":["Shrewsbury Town Common","Shrewsbury Center","See Also:Gen. Artem"],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Church Rd., Main, Prospect, Boylston, and Grafton Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Shrewsbury","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.29801748200006,"lon":-71.71355063689415,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1976-10-08","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Military","Architecture","Religion"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 14-acre historic district around the town common in the center of Shrewsbury, Worcester County, Massachusetts. It contains ten buildings, public and residential, mostly from the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, plus a burying ground.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is significant for its fine grouping of eighteenth and nineteenth century buildings and for its association with the history and development of the town. It is described as the most important grouping of buildings reflecting the origins of Shrewsbury, which was founded in 1716. The Samuel Haven House is also noted as an underground railroad station during the Civil War.","narrative":"Shrewsbury's town common is ringed by a compact group of ten buildings that trace the community's growth from its founding in 1716. The First Congregational Church of 1766, built by master builder Daniel Hemenway, anchors the group; it reused planks and timbers from the 1721 meeting house and was later moved and turned to face south. Nearby are the Brick School House of 1830, the Reverend Joseph Sumner House of 1797, and Federal houses including the Samuel Haven, Philo Slocum, Jonas Stone and Reverend George Allen houses. The Haven House served as an underground railroad station during the Civil War. Twentieth century additions include the Renaissance Revival public library of 1903, given to the town by Jubal Howe, a fire station and an office building. Broad lawns and a tree-shaded common set the district apart from the commercial area nearby. The grouping was listed for its architecture and for its link to the town's development.","period_of_significance":"1900-","architect_builder":"Daniel Hemenway (First Congregational Church, 1766); John Ames of Marlborough (1807 bell and clock tower); Arling A. Dirlam of Boston (1956 addition)","architectural_style":"Federal houses and a Renaissance Revival public library, alongside an eighteenth-century meeting house","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in an excellent state of preservation; occupied, and a local historic district since October 1972.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:53.815049-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/62/7974/63797462/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/76000309.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000309/f9a0357706-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/76000309/f9a0357706-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Congregational_Church,_Shrewsbury_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Congregational_Church,_Shrewsbury_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797462","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrewsbury_Historic_District_(Shrewsbury,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7503676"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/shrewsbury-historic-district-76000309/"}