{"nrhp_refnum":"96000058","name":"Cohasset Common Historic District","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"Bounded by Highland Ave., N. Main St., William B. Long, Jr., Rd. and Robert E. Jason Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Cohasset","county":"Norfolk County","state":"MA","lat":42.243468000000064,"lon":-70.80383944031773,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1996-02-28","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Religion","Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 24-acre historic district of residential, religious and civic buildings surrounding the long, open Town Common in central Cohasset, Massachusetts. Its properties date from 1713 onward and include 54 resources.","why_significant":"The district is significant for its concentration of Georgian and Federal architecture, for community planning and development around the Common, and for its religious history. It preserves the original South Parish settlement, centered on the 1747 First Parish Meeting House. Civic improvements in 1903 and a 1937 agreement to restrict incompatible uses helped keep it intact.","narrative":"Cohasset Common Historic District covers about 24 acres in central Cohasset, Massachusetts, where houses, churches and civic buildings face a long, open Common. The area marks the original settlement of the South Parish of Hingham. Its focal point is the 1747 First Parish Meeting House, with its tall steeple and town clock. Nearby are the 1824 Second Congregational Church, the Italianate Town Hall of 1857, and the granite Gothic Revival St. Stephen's Church of 1900, designed by Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson. Many of the houses are Georgian and Federal, and many were built by successful sea captains from the shipbuilding and fishing era. The Common was redesigned in 1903 with Meetinghouse Pond and diagonal paths, and in 1937 property owners agreed to restrict incompatible uses. The district was recognized for its architecture, its community planning and development, and its religious history, with a period of significance from 1713 to 1937.","period_of_significance":"1713 - 1937","architect_builder":"Builders: James Stutson, Job Pratt; Architect: Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson","architectural_style":"Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Second Empire, Queen Anne, Colonial Revival, Late Gothic Revival","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Properties are described as in excellent condition and well maintained, with original design character largely intact. Most houses remain residential, while the town hall and churches continue in civic and religious use.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:03.635944-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/0/7963/63796300/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/96000058.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000058/51e1eab7bf-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/96000058/51e1eab7bf-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Wwoods","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cohasset_common;2007-08-03.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Wwoods</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cohasset_common;2007-08-03.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63796300","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cohasset_Common_Historic_District","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5141307"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/norfolk-county/cohasset-common-historic-district-96000058/"}