Foxboro Grange Hall
Why it's listed
Built in 1897 at 11-15 Bird Street, this three-story wood frame building in downtown Foxboro was erected by the Foxboro Grange as a meeting place. The Grange used the second and third floors for 31 years, while a grain store and other small shops rented the ground floor. A tall second-floor meeting room gives the rear section only two stories under a constant roofline. Clapboard siding, a granite foundation and a symmetrical north facade with two storefronts mark the exterior, and changes have been limited mostly to small doorways and fire escapes. In 1937 Francis Peterson, a former employee of the Inman and Kimball Hat Factory, began a hat business here, linking the building to Foxboro's straw hat industry. Although not stylistically distinctive, it survives as an intact example of a common 19th-century type that paired a meeting hall with rentable storefronts, and it recalls the town's agricultural past.
Significance in brief: It is significant for its association with the Foxboro Grange and with the regionally important straw hat industry, which dominated the town's economy. It is also one of Foxboro's few remaining intact 19th-century commercial blocks, combining an upper-floor meeting hall with rentable ground-floor space.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 83000595, listed April 21, 1983. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | 11-15 Bird St., Foxboro |
|---|---|
| County | Norfolk County |
| Listed | April 21, 1983 |
| Reference number | 83000595 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Late Victorian commercial building |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Industry, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Occupied and in good condition; first floor stores, second floor offices and a hat shop in the former Grange hall, and two apartments on the third floor. |
| Acreage | 0.3 |
| Coordinates | 42.06573, -71.25000 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 83000595.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5477082
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.