Chenango County Courthouse District

Centered on the crossing of Broad and Main Streets in Norwich, this district gathers two village greens, the county courthouse, city hall, churches, a Masonic temple and rows of mostly brick commercial buildings. The gray stone courthouse of 1837, with its Ionic portico and cupola, faces East Park and sits beside Greek Revival county offices. The 1878 Masonic Temple, five stories with a mansard roof and cast iron storefront, is the tallest building. The 1861 Congregational Church replaced one lost to fire in 1858. Norwich grew as a county seat after 1807 and then as an industrial town after the Chenango Canal opened around 1833, with piano making, ironworks, carriages and pharmaceuticals. That prosperity produced a cross section of nineteenth-century styles. The greens, laid out by New England settlers, reflect a familiar town plan. About one sixth of the buildings are modern intrusions, and many ground floors have been altered, though upper stories remain largely intact.