{"nrhp_refnum":"95001227","name":"Charlton Center Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Roughly, Main St. from Mugget Hill Rd. to Masonic Home Rd. and adjacent roads","address_restricted":false,"city":"Charlton","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.13439800000003,"lon":-71.97001184598635,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1995-10-20","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A roughly 85-acre civic and residential district on two adjacent hilltops at the geographic center of Charlton, Worcester County, Massachusetts, centered on an elliptical two-acre Common. It has 54 contributing resources, with buildings dating from 1775 to 1944.","why_significant":"The district preserves the institutional and residential core of Charlton, which developed from land donated in the 1750s-60s for a meetinghouse, common and burying ground. It contains Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne and Colonial Revival buildings, including homes of prominent early figures such as Salem Town and General John Spurr. The topography, spacious lots and surrounding farmland still show how the center developed.","narrative":"Charlton Center is a village core of about 85 acres laid out along a drumlin ridge in central Charlton, Massachusetts. A long elliptical Common anchors the district, with the Town Hall and Charlton High School facing each other across it and a church, cemetery and monuments nearby. Most of the 54 contributing resources are modest houses, many in Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate and early twentieth-century styles, dating from 1775 to 1944. The oldest is the Salem Town House of 1775. Other notable buildings include the Ebenezer Collier House of 1820, described as the finest Federal example in town, and General John Spurr's house of 1798. The center took shape after Ebenezer McIntire donated land for a meetinghouse, common and burying ground in the 1750s and 1760s. Industry and commerce later grew elsewhere in town, leaving the Center as its civic heart. Spacious lots, mature trees and surrounding farmland preserve its village character.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Federal; Greek Revival; Italianate; Queen Anne; Colonial and Classical Revival; Bungalow/Craftsman","criteria":[],"status_note":"Most contributing properties remain in residential use; four former commercial buildings have been converted to residences, and the Town Hall, school, church and cemetery remain in institutional use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:05.149634-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/12/7973/63797312/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/95001227.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95001227/f8d00b2641-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/95001227/f8d00b2641-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charlton_Common.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charlton_Common.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797312","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlton_Center_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5086293"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/charlton-center-historic-district-95001227/"}