Boxford Village Historic District

Boxford Village is a 180-acre district in Essex County, Massachusetts, laid out along Elm Street, Main Street, Middleton Road and Topsfield Road around the First Congregational Church. The village grew from six 30-acre lots set out in 1667 as the core of a new town, and Boxford was chartered in 1685. Of its 43 structures, two date from the 17th century, six from the 18th, and the rest from the 19th and 20th centuries. They include the 1760 Holyoke-French House, the 1838 Greek Revival meetinghouse with its Greek key cornice, an 1840 general store, an 1890 Town Hall and Grange, and a library converted from an 1841 dwelling. Tree-shaded streets, stone walls and open fields frame the buildings. The district was recognized as a rare and nearly perfect example of the old New England village street. Its history also includes early iron smelting, a match factory, and the railroad, which ran from 1854 until 1941.