Manchester Village Historic District

Manchester Village Historic District covers thirty-nine acres at the center of Manchester, Massachusetts, curving around the head of the harbor along Route 127 and its side streets. Most of its roughly 211 buildings are houses, and the majority of those were built in the 19th century. Two survive from the First Period, at 25 Bennett Street and 3 North Street, and many more reflect Georgian, Federal and Greek Revival design. The streets follow routes laid out before 1830. The village grew from a 17th-century settlement of fishermen and carpenters into a place enriched by Grand Banks fishing and maritime trade, then by furniture and cabinetmaking, and later by use as a resort and commuter town. Three churches, a parsonage and three cemeteries add to the group, including the 1661 Cemetery. The district was listed because it preserves a concentration of 18th- and 19th-century buildings with strong architectural variety and historical association.