{"nrhp_refnum":"88000224","name":"Rabbit Hill Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly bounded by Highland, Main, Franklin, and Milford Sts.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Medway","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.14424250000005,"lon":-71.43387118287399,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1988-04-01","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A forty-acre historic district on Rabbit Hill in West Medway, Medway, Massachusetts, containing residential, commercial, institutional and former small-industry buildings built mainly in the early-to-mid-19th century, centered on the 1814 Second Congregational Church.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the district is a remarkably intact secondary village that grew after the 1814 church was built and alongside West Medway's textile, shoe and straw goods industries. It is also architecturally significant for its many intact 19th-century buildings showing the shift from Federal to Greek Revival to Italianate styles.","narrative":"Rabbit Hill, in West Medway, Massachusetts, is a forty-acre neighborhood of 19th-century buildings arranged around the Second Congregational Church, built in 1814 at the top of the hill. The area was stony pastureland until the Hartford-Dedham Turnpike opened across it in 1810, the same year the Morocco Tannery became its first building. The church became the nucleus of a new settlement, and an early tavern served turnpike travellers. As West Medway's textile, shoe and straw goods industries grew, the hill housed factory owners and workers, along with small shoe shops, a commercial block, a fire house and a tailor shop later converted to a library. Of 65 buildings, most are Greek Revival or Federal, with a few Italianate, Second Empire and later Victorian examples. Little was built after about 1900, when industry moved to other villages, so the district keeps its 19th-century character. It was recognized for its local architectural importance and for its link to the growth of West Medway.","period_of_significance":"1810-1899","architect_builder":"Elias Carter (probable architect) and Malachi Bullard (master builder) for the 1814 Second Congregational Church; other buildings not attributed","architectural_style":"Greek Revival, Federal, Late Victorian","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Most buildings are described as well preserved, many repaired and restored in recent years; current uses include dwellings, a church and a public library.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:12:59.738604-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/70/7962/63796270/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/88000224.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000224/748faaf1fb-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/88000224/748faaf1fb-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Medway_No._1,_West_Medway_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:Medway_No._1,_West_Medway_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796270","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rabbit_Hill_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7278587"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/rabbit-hill-historic-district-88000224/"}