Historical Commission

 

MISSION STATEMENT

Under Massachusetts law, West Newbury has established the Historical Commission for the preservation, protection, and development of the historical or archeological assets of the Town.

HISTORIC SITES SURVEY COMPLETED
 

Have you ever passed by a historic home or place in Town and wondered about its back story? With Community Preservation Act funds and grants obtained through the Massachusetts Historical Commission, West Newbury completed a Historic Sites Survey, virtually preserving and telling the stories of the Town's hundreds of historic homes, burial grounds, and other historic resources. Click here to see all surveyed sites listed in order of street and number or ask to see the compiled survey forms in hard copy in the G.A.R. Library.

The Town’s Phase 1 Historic Sites Survey focused primarily on Main Street. It described three historic areas on that street: Manufacturers’ Row Historic Area east of Post Office Square, the Training Field Historic District, and the Way to the River Historic Area.  Of the 116 primary buildings and thirty-one outbuildings reviewed, that survey recommended the three areas and twenty-three individual properties for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Phase 2 project surveyed 108 buildings throughout Town, all presently used as residences, that date from 1717 to 1917. Preservation consultants Stacy Spies and Wendy Frontiero recommended seventeen individual properties as potentially eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places, and proposed a Historic District comprised of properties along Maple Street notable for their association with the Town's residential, educational and industrial development from circa 1803 to 1874. Properties surveyed ranged from Colonial and Federal Period homes on Crane Neck Street to Early and Late Industrial Period and Early Modern structures on Main, Prospect, and other streets.

The final Phase 3 survey, which covered cemeteries, an almshouse, the Middle Street bridge, a clubhouse, a grange hall, a Knights Templar lodge, two schoolhouses, and a shoe factory as well as historic homes, was completed in the fall of 2023. As a result of the Phase 3 survey, twenty-one buildings (with associated outbuildings) and six cemeteries were recommended as eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.   

NameTitleTerm
Robert Janes

Chair

7/1/22 to 6/30/25

Elisa Grammer

Clerk

7/1/21 to 6/30/24

Jennifer Liston Munson

Member

7/1/23 to 6/30/26

Robert M. Belmont, Jr.

Member

7/1/21 to 6/30/24

Vacancy One

7/1/23 to 6/30/26

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