{"nrhp_refnum":"98000989","name":"Hubbardston Public Library","other_names":["Library Building","Town House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"7 Main St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Hubbardston","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.47506888300006,"lon":-72.00722837599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1998-08-19","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Education","Social History"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-a-half-story brick and granite public library at 7 Main Street in the town center of Hubbardston, Worcester County, Massachusetts, built 1874-1875 as a gift from Jonas G. Clark and designed by architect Elbridge Boyden.","why_significant":"It is presented as an example of post-Civil War educational philanthropy and as the civic center of Hubbardston. It is tied to Jonas Gilman Clark, a native son who later founded Clark University. It is also a fine example of 1870s Second Empire and Italianate architecture by Elbridge Boyden, and the earliest and most intact example of a style Clark used in later buildings.","narrative":"Dominating the civic cluster on Main Street in Hubbardston, this brick and granite library was given to the town by Jonas Gilman Clark and finished in 1875, with a stone plaque on the cornice recording his name and the date 1874. Elbridge Boyden of Worcester designed it in a Second Empire and Italianate manner, with a tall central tower, round-headed windows, bold granite voussoirs and a marble-columned entrance porch. Inside, a central hall separates the library rooms from a former post office, while a large upstairs room served community groups and now holds a historical museum. Town offices have occupied the basement since the start. Clark, a Hubbardston native who became a successful businessman, later founded Clark University in Worcester, and this gift was his first act of educational philanthropy. The building keeps much of its original woodwork and moldings and remains the centerpiece of the town's historic center, surrounded by Federal and Greek Revival buildings.","period_of_significance":"1874-1948","architect_builder":"Boyden, Elbridge (architect); Mellen, Henry (mason); Mann Bigelow & Gosling (stonecutters)","architectural_style":"Second Empire / Italianate (also listed: Greek Revival, Gothic, Queen Anne, Renaissance Revival, Colonial Revival, Beaux Arts, Italian Renaissance)","criteria":["A","B","C"],"status_note":"Still houses the public library on the main floor, town offices in the basement, and the Hubbardston Historical Society Museum upstairs. Some water damage and alterations are noted.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.807108-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/96/7973/63797396/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/98000989.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000989/b17fc35167-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/98000989/b17fc35167-1600.webp","licence":"CC0","author":"Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hubbardston_Library.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Marcbela (Marc N. Belanger)</a>, <a href=\"http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hubbardston_Library.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797396","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubbardston_Public_Library","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5926915"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/hubbardston-public-library-98000989/"}