The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources is pleased to announce that the State Historical Resources Council has added nine properties to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.
The State Register has helped to promote the significance of many historic properties across New Hampshire. Benefits of being listed on the State Register include:
– Acknowledgment of a property’s historical significance in the community.
– Special consideration and relief from some building codes and regulations; and
– Designation of a property as historical, which is a pre-qualification for many grant programs, including Conservation License Plate grants and New Hampshire Land and Community Heritage Investment Program (LCHIP) grants.
The following are the most recent additions to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places:
Simple in design, St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church in Bartlett served primarily French-Canadian families who came to the area to work in the railroad and logging industries. It was integral to social and religious life in the community from the time it was built in 1891 until it was closed in 1999.
Built in 1881, the Gilsum Engine Company No. 1 Engine House is part of the town’s long history of investing in fire protection. Unusually large in relation to Gilsum’s population, it doubled as a hearse house in early years and remained in use until a modern fire station was built in 1965.
The Landgon Congregational Church was funded and constructed in 1842 by the same Congregational organization that owns it today. Its prominent bell tower and windows topped with blind lancet-shaped arches are Gothic Revival elements of a predominantly Greek Revival building.
The Lee Toolshed was built in 1915 behind the town hall as a centralized storage facility for the town’s increasingly larger road maintenance equipment. From 1923 through the mid-1940s, it also provided town-sponsored overnight accommodations for transients passing through town, becoming locally known as a “tramp room.”
From the time it was built in 1846, the Lee Town Hall has served a variety of functions, including as the town’s government center, library and school. Architecturally, it is significant as an example of a mid-nineteenth century brick Greek Revival style building with a granite foundation.
Meriden Grange is simple in design, but has several features unusual for a grange building, including a gambrel roof and a fire escape chute that was repurposed from a nearby elementary school. It has served as a social gathering place for the village from the time it was built in 1910.
The large Classical Revival Nashua YMCA was built in 1912-1913 specifically to provide social, recreational, religious and residential services in New Hampshire’s second largest city. After its establishment in 1868, the growth of the YMCA corresponded to the growing number of young men moving to Nashua to work in the city’s industries.
The Gothic Revival style St. Matthew’s Church in Sugar Hill was constructed for the village’s summer community in 1893. It was designed by nationally prominent architect Frederick C. Withers, whose only other known New Hampshire commission is St. Thomas Church in Hanover.
A landmark for more than two centuries in Swanzey’s Westport Village, Rixford Place has been home to a wheelwright, mill owner, farmers and cattle dealers. The center chimney post and beam cape with attached ell and carriage shed was a tourist home from 1930-1943.
Anyone wishing to nominate a property to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places must research the history of the nominated property and document it on an individual inventory form from the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Having a property listed in the Register does not impose restrictions on property owners. For more information, visit nh.gov/nhdhr.
New Hampshire’s Division of Historical Resources, the State Historic Preservation Office, was established in 1974. The historical, archaeological, architectural and cultural resources of New Hampshire are among its most important environmental assets. Historic preservation promotes the use, understanding and conservation of such resources for the education, inspiration, pleasure and enrichment of New Hampshire’s citizens. For more information, visit nh.gov/nhdhr or call 603-271-3483.