{"nrhp_refnum":"83000608","name":"Templeton Common Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Athol, Gardner, Hubbardston, Dudley, Wellington, and South Rds.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Templeton","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.55626700000005,"lon":-72.06789555880118,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1983-07-07","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Historic - Non-Aboriginal","Education","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 35-acre historic district in Templeton, Massachusetts, centered on the town common and the junction of eight major roads. It has 38 properties (34 contributing, 4 intrusions), mostly houses built between 1760 and 1860.","why_significant":"The district was the earliest settled part of Templeton and served as the town's center, with ties to prominent 18th and 19th century townspeople. It holds the town's best collection of Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival architecture. The 1811 First Church is an outstanding rural ecclesiastical example whose bell tower and porch design was imitated in six later New Hampshire churches.","narrative":"Templeton Common Historic District occupies about 35 acres around the town common, where eight major roads meet along Route 2A in Templeton, Massachusetts. Of its 38 properties, 34 contribute to its character and four are modern intrusions. Most are wood-frame houses of two to two and a half stories built between 1760 and 1860 in Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival styles. The area was the first part of town to be settled, and it holds the 1763 Joshua Wright tavern house, a country store built in 1829, a burying ground with stones dating from 1766, and monuments to soldiers. Several houses served as taverns for stagecoach travelers, and tinware and carriage making were local industries. The 1811 First Church, built by Elias Carter and Jonathan Cutting, is especially notable; its tower and porch design was copied by six later New Hampshire churches. The district has changed little and keeps its original streetscape and landscape.","period_of_significance":"1760-1860","architect_builder":"Elias Carter (First Church of Templeton, with Jonathan Cutting); other builders named include Joshua Wright, Silas Stone, Cyrus Brown, Abijah Jones, John Boynton and Colonel Artemus Lee","architectural_style":"Georgian, Federal, and Greek Revival","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Most properties are well preserved and maintained, with few alterations; current uses include residences, a country store, a museum, a church, a library and a park.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.744029-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/31/7971/63797131/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/83000608.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000608/7366fa857b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/83000608/7366fa857b-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Daderot","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Church_of_Templeton_-_Massachusetts_1.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Daderot</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Church_of_Templeton_-_Massachusetts_1.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797131","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Templeton_Common_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7698823"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/templeton-common-historic-district-83000608/"}