Uxbridge Common District
Why it's listed
Uxbridge Common and the streets around it form an eight-acre district that has served as the town's civic and residential center since the first meetinghouse went up in 1729. Court, Douglas and North Main Streets hold buildings from about 1768 to 1914, including the 1768 Simeon Wheelock House, a well-preserved central-chimney cottage. Two Federalist houses are linked to prominent local merchants and manufacturers. A split in the town's congregation in the early 1830s produced the Greek Revival First Evangelical Church and the Gothic Revival First Unitarian Church. Other landmarks include the 1819 Federalist academy and Masonic lodge building, the Gothic Revival Thayer Memorial Building of 1893-1894, and successive inns at Douglas and Main Streets. A Civil War statue and a World War I marble memorial stand on the Common. The district retains its design, setting and historical association, and it was listed for its history and its range of nineteenth-century architecture.
Significance in brief: The district has been Uxbridge's civic center since the first meetinghouse was built on the Common in 1729. It preserves local examples of Federalist, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Second Empire and Italianate architecture. It also holds buildings tied to the town's mercantile, industrial and institutional development.
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 84002920, listed January 20, 1984. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Main,Court, and Douglas Sts., Uxbridge |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | January 20, 1984 |
| Reference number | 84002920 |
| Resource type | District |
| Period of significance | ca.1768-1914 |
| Architectural style | Federalist, Greek Revival, Gothic Revival, Second Empire, Italianate, Victorian Gothic, Colonial Revival |
| Criteria |
|
| Areas of significance | Commerce, Architecture, Religion |
| Level of significance | State |
| Acreage | 8 |
| Coordinates | 42.07718, -71.63039 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
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 84002920.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q7904012
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.