Sturbridge Common Historic District

Sturbridge Common Historic District covers 138.15 acres around the town common in central Sturbridge, Massachusetts. The common was set aside as the site of the meeting house and burying ground when the town was incorporated in 1738, and it later became a commercial center where several roads meet. The original six-acre common remains intact. The district holds 47 buildings, including the brick Town Hall of 1838, the Georgian Revival Joshua Hyde Library of 1896, the Classical Revival Federated Church of 1922, and the Publick House, along with houses and former shops. Most are clapboard or shingle. Federal-style buildings date from the 1812 Worcester-Stafford Turnpike, while Greek Revival buildings come from the 1830s. Individual properties carry local stories, such as a general store that operated until 1910 and a house once occupied by portrait painter William Willard. Five intrusions are noted among the otherwise well-preserved buildings.