{"nrhp_refnum":"95000681","name":"Soldiers' Memorial Library","other_names":["Memorial Library Building"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"Jct. of Park Row and Union St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Mansfield","county":"Bristol County","state":"MA","lat":42.023507161000055,"lon":-71.21674640599997,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-06-02","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 2 1/2-story rubblestone and wood-shingle library and memorial hall on Park Row facing the South Common in Mansfield, Massachusetts, built in 1901 to designs by the Boston firm Peabody & Stearns.","why_significant":"It is significant as a memorial to Civil War veterans, conceived by townspeople as a library and meeting place. It is also significant as a well-preserved example of High Victorian architecture combining Shingle Style and Gothic Revival elements, designed by a prominent Boston firm. It reflects the pride and prosperity of Mansfield's industrial community around 1900.","narrative":"Soldiers' Memorial Library is a rubblestone and shingled building on Park Row in Mansfield, Massachusetts, completed in 1901 as a memorial to Civil War veterans. The idea came from a local Grand Army of the Republic officer in 1896, and Elizabeth Noble donated the land on condition that the first floor serve as a library and the second as an audience room, banquet room and kitchen for veterans. Townspeople were invited to contribute stones for the walls, and town meeting voters and local groups helped fund construction. Peabody & Stearns of Boston designed it, combining Shingle Style walls with Gothic Revival brackets, vergeboards, arches and diamond-paned windows. Inside, a leaded curtain wall, memorial plaques and a beamed second-floor hall survive. The library moved out in 1989, and school offices later occupied the building. Its significance rests on its commemorative purpose, its role in community life and its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1901-1945","architect_builder":"Peabody & Stearns","architectural_style":"Late Victorian: Shingle Style & Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The library moved out in 1989 and school department offices moved in; the building also lists municipal offices and a meeting hall as current functions. Alterations are described as few and minor.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.853785-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/84/7944/63794484/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/95000681.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000681/32d042fea5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95000681/32d042fea5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Soldiers%27_Memorial_Library,_Mansfield_Center_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:Soldiers%27_Memorial_Library,_Mansfield_Center_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63794484","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soldiers%27_Memorial_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7557363"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/bristol-county/soldiers-memorial-library-95000681/"}