{"nrhp_refnum":"84002612","name":"First Unitarian Church","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Central and Common Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Stoneham","county":"Middlesex County","state":"MA","lat":42.48124694200004,"lon":-71.09817192499997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1984-04-13","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A wooden Stick Style/Gothic Revival church at Central and Common Streets in Stoneham, Massachusetts, built in 1869 for the First Unitarian Church congregation. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination calls it Stoneham's most fully developed and most stylish example of the Stick Style. It is also significant for its association with the Unitarian Society, organized in 1858. It retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship, and is argued to meet criteria A and C.","narrative":"Built in 1869, this wooden church at Central and Common Streets in Stoneham is regarded as the town's most stylish example of the Stick Style, a Gothic Revival form executed in wood. It has an L-shaped plan, with a prominent steeple and bell tower rising where the two wings meet. Clapboard walls carry decorative diagonal and vertical board courses. The west-facing main body has a central entry beneath a truss-work porch hood, small triple pointed-arch windows, and a large five-part pointed-arch window above. Exposed rafters, open brackets and a king post truss in the gable show the style's structural emphasis. The tower rises through an open octagonal belfry to an octagonal spire with four clock-face dormers. The Unitarian Society was organized in 1858, and the church was dedicated in 1869 during the ministry of E.B. Fairchild. Early photographs show a color scheme of contrasting browns and tans. Few alterations have been made, and it remains one of three well-preserved nineteenth-century churches in town.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Stick Style / Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Still owned by the First Unitarian Church organization, with few alterations; the roof was partly reshingled in 1970.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:56.457642-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/52/7914/63791452/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/84002612.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002612/78e003198b-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/84002612/78e003198b-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Unitarian_Church,_Stoneham_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_Unitarian_Church,_Stoneham_MA.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"89002277","name":"Central Square Historic District","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/massachusetts/central-square-historic-district-89002277/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63791452","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Unitarian_Church_(Stoneham,_Massachusetts)","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5453945"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/middlesex-county/first-unitarian-church-84002612/"}