Rabbit Hill Historic District

Rabbit Hill, in West Medway, Massachusetts, is a forty-acre neighborhood of 19th-century buildings arranged around the Second Congregational Church, built in 1814 at the top of the hill. The area was stony pastureland until the Hartford-Dedham Turnpike opened across it in 1810, the same year the Morocco Tannery became its first building. The church became the nucleus of a new settlement, and an early tavern served turnpike travellers. As West Medway's textile, shoe and straw goods industries grew, the hill housed factory owners and workers, along with small shoe shops, a commercial block, a fire house and a tailor shop later converted to a library. Of 65 buildings, most are Greek Revival or Federal, with a few Italianate, Second Empire and later Victorian examples. Little was built after about 1900, when industry moved to other villages, so the district keeps its 19th-century character. It was recognized for its local architectural importance and for its link to the growth of West Medway.