Wolcott Square Historic District

Wolcott Square is the civic and religious heart of the village of Wolcott in Wayne County, New York. It is arranged around Northup Park, a 1.9-acre green set aside in 1813 by early settler Jonathan Melvin for a school and community use. On the north side stand the First Baptist Church (1881) and First Presbyterian Church (1883), two large Romanesque Revival buildings with brick and stone walls, corner towers and stained-glass windows. The Presbyterian church was designed by L.B. Falk of New York City. To the south is the 1910 Village Hall, a classically inspired brick building that also served as a firehouse. A 1926 bandstand with Doric columns and the 1913 cast-iron Venus Rising fountain complete the group. Together these elements show how a former mill village grew and prospered from the early nineteenth century into the 1920s, and the district was recognized for its architecture and its role in the community's settlement and recreation.