2017 chapter 5: historic resources - city of claremont · 2017-12-18 · 2017 chapter 5: historic...

Claremont Master Plan – FINAL REVIEW DRAFT 2017

Chapter 5: Historic Resources Page 5-1

Chapter 5: Historic Resources Vision The City will continue to recognize the importance of preserving and protecting its historical resources for present and future generations. These resources are essential for the cultural and economic well-being of the City. They contribute to our “sense of place”, have substantial historic and architectural value, and are a source of pride in the community. The architectural unity of the City Center creates a cohesive downtown that is unique in the state of New Hampshire. The City will strive to preserve and protect its wonderful historic resources through:

• Creativity in the adaptive re-use of its existing structures; • education, • public/private partnerships, and • limited regulation.

Introduction In this chapter, the term “historic resources” is taken to mean a district, site, building, structure

or object that is significant in the history, architecture, engineering, archeology or culture of this community. At a Master Plan Public Forum held in March of 2016, the 75 participants were asked several questions relating to historic preservation. 62.5% of respondents agreed that Claremont is well known for having outstanding architectural resources and that it is important to protect them. 80.33% of respondents agreed that the buildings in the City Center create a positive impression of Claremont, but only if they are well maintained and occupied. It is therefore acknowledged that Claremont’s historic resources are highly valued by the community and

their preservation is important for a variety of reasons. However, it is also acknowledged that preservation for its own sake is of less value than the creative and adaptive re-use of those



same resources. Finding new uses for historic structures that will generate income for their rehabilitation and future maintenance is highly desirable. Forum attendants were almost evenly split on the question of extending the Historic District along Broad and Pleasant Streets to Summer Street. Brief History of Claremont 1764 – 1800 Claremont received its charter in 1764 and was originally divided among the proprietors into parcels of land used for common land, farming, and timbering. West Claremont with its fertile land was the center of this development. However, farms were also spread out along the banks of the Sugar River and the slopes of Green Mountain.

The early center of town was in West Claremont where the Congregationalists and Episcopalians came together to build a shared church – Union Church. This union ended when the Congregationalists moved to the southern end of town and built their own meetinghouse off Maple Ave. The Episcopalians remained in the old settlement area completing their church after the Revolutionary War.



1800 – 1830 City Center In the early 1790’s the town acquired land on the Plain (Broad St.) for a more centrally located town hall. Ichabod Hitchcock, master carpenter, moved the Congregational Meetinghouse to the site of the present-day City Hall, thus securely establishing this area as the center of town. It was replaced with a new brick Town Hall and Opera House in 1897

The main street, centered on Broad Street with its town park, had a mixture of uses including the first bank, a small shoe factory and churches, but was primarily an area of fine homes built by some of Claremont’s leading citizens. Tremont Square (now Opera House Square) was the center of commercial enterprises. The downtown developed with a mix of industrial, mercantile and residential uses.



1830 – 1930 Industrial Development This period, starting in the 1830’s, began the transformation of Claremont from a typical New England village to an industrial city due to the expanded use of water power along the Sugar River with sites for up to nine dams. Around the bridge on Main Street numerous industrial and commercial sites were developed over the next three decades, while both private and industrial housing lined Main Street to the east and west.


Chapter 5: Historic Resources -5

As the town continued to grow, due to the development of the mills in the late 19th century, the commercial center began to expand to Pleasant Street which had been primarily residential. Fine homes were eventually replaced with large commercial blocks all the way to the Congregational Church containing shops, professional offices, a hotel and Post office. Further commercial development on Pleasant Street continued past the church throughout the 20th century with less impressive buildings.

During this time, Claremont was fortunate to have the builder/architect, Hira Beckwith. His building design/style, primarily Queen Anne Style, was used for business blocks, civic, commercial, and factory buildings, and residential houses. It gave Claremont an architectural unity unknown to any other town in New Hampshire or Vermont during the Victorian Period. Some wealthy citizens of the older town center, fearing that the town’s center would shift to the rapidly developing Lower Village, formed The Upper Falls Company in 1836. This company evolved into the Monadnock Mills Company in 1843 and developed several specialized mill buildings mostly along Water and Crescent Streets for the production of cotton goods

as well as housing for their workforce. Thus, began the development of various mill enterprises on both sides of the Sugar River which continued to transform the town’s center through the 1930’s. Other than the Monadnock Mills, the most notable set of industrial buildings were erected by the Sullivan Machine Company, which later became Joy Manufacturing, a leading employer and dominant force in the community until it closed in the 1980’s. Over time Joy built a vast array of buildings on both sides of the Sugar River as well as rail lines to transport their goods to markets.



1930 – 1970 Urban Renewal Joy eventually closed its facilities in the center of town and built new ones along 12A in West Claremont leaving a vast array of empty brick buildings in the city center. While some of these were converted to other uses over the years, many remained vacant. Time eventually took its toll on many of these structures due to a lack of maintenance and various fires. On the north side of the river, all but the Sullivan smoke stack were eventually torn down and now serve as a park, visitor center, and parking for the mill area. The establishment of the Historic District in 1978 allowed federal funding and tax incentives for some buildings on the south side of the river to be converted to residential use. 1970 – 2000 Of note during this period was the restoration of the Claremont Opera House, addition of the police station/atrium, and improvements to Opera House Square (then Tremont Square) and Pleasant Street. In the early 1970’s talk of removing the upper floors of the City Hall/Opera House due to deterioration and safety issues spurred local residents to form a committee to put the building on the National Register of Historic Places and secure funding for its restoration. Federal funding was essential in securing most of the monies needed for these efforts. Beside the restoration of the Opera House, the Square was improved by a new parking area and gardens in the center, repaving the sidewalks with pavers, the burying of power lines and addition of historic lighting poles in the square as well as along Pleasant Street, returning the city center to a more appropriate historic appearance. The Opera House was re-opened in 1979 and again after full restoration in 1983. It remains a vital part of the cultural and economic vitality of the city to this time.



2000 – Present In the first decade of the 21st century the City was finally successful in its attempts to develop a core of mill buildings along Water Street and Main Street. A complex public/private partnership was formed which converted two buildings into the Common Man Hotel & Restaurant, along with Red River Computer Company. Part of the old Sullivan foundry building was incorporated into a new parking garage and office space serving the mill complex. Unfortunately, a fourth building slated for high end housing was not completed due to the downturn of the economy and housing market in the second half of the decade. Despite the economic downturn, this development has set the stage for further positive development in the area once the economy recovers.

Current Status of Claremont’s Historic Resources The City’s historic resources have been eroded over time by a variety of forces and at varying rates. For example, great destruction of historic property occurred as a part of an urban renewal project in the 1970’s in the area between Washington, Broad, and Hanover Streets. Several



of the fine homes on Broad Street were demolished to create the current parking area opposite Broad Street Park. Others have been removed as the pressures of commercial development increased, most notably the area of the Claremont Savings Bank. Although some of the remaining homes are still used as residences, many have been converted to professional offices. A few of the fine older homes are still present on Pleasant Street, but have been converted to other uses. The architectural unity that defines the City center survived until the late 1960s when business sprawl and neglect began to take its toll. In response to these losses, the Claremont Historic District Commission (HDC) was established in 1978. Tremont Square (now Opera House Square), Pleasant Street and Broad Street provided the business/residential mix in Claremont that was identified in the Historic District, the first multiple use Historic District on the National Register. Also of great importance within the Historic District was the development of the area from Opera House Square to the Lower Village. The City center is still defined by its unique architectural unity, but its primary buildings are threatened. Several of the buildings on Pleasant Street are deteriorating from lack of maintenance and are underutilized because of ADA, building and fire code issues. Parking is often cited as a constraint to full utilization of these buildings as well. The ground floors of these buildings see rapid turnover in tenants and often present multiple empty storefronts, giving Pleasant Street an air of abandonment.

Many of the buildings in the Lower Village are suffering the same fate. The dilapidated appearance of some of them make them targets of vandalism and spark the desire to tear them down. Future Challenges and Opportunities Claremont’s city center is one of its most valuable assets. Its architectural beauty draws visitors and businesses that benefit

the city’s economic health, and provides current residents with a strong sense of place.



The challenge in protecting these valuable resources is in balancing the needs of modern society with the need to preserve our links with the past. It means finding suitable uses for historic buildings, locating funds with which to rehabilitate them in an historically sensitive manner, and encouraging private property owners to take the steps necessary to make their buildings economically viable once more. The challenge in protecting the City’s resources requires abundant outreach and education – educating the City about the value of its resources, educating regulators in the latest preservation tools and techniques and how to apply them, reaching out to private property owners and finding common ground between their needs and desires and the City’s preservation goals. On July 22, 2015, City Council adopted the provisions of RSA 79 – E, “Community Revitalization Tax Relief Incentive”. The City recognized that there is a public benefit to encouraging the rehabilitation of underutilized structures in its City Center as a means of encouraging economic growth in a more compact manner and that tax relief can provide an incentive for such rehabilitation. Structures that qualify for the program are those that are located in the City’s Downtown and Lower Village Historic Districts and those that are located outside the District that are listed or eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places. At the time of this writing, the rehabilitation of the Monadnock Boarding House at 13 Water Street is underway in part due to the provisions of RSA 79-E. Every effort should be made to ensure that all property owners within the District are aware of this program. Many important buildings which help define the unique character of our community lie outside the area protected by the Historic District (e.g. the many fine homes and mansions along Charlestown Road.)

Religious buildings, schools, and barns are now becoming the next most vulnerable structures. Churches are seeing their memberships shrink to where they can no longer financially sustain the upkeep of their buildings; school populations are shrinking and districts consolidate to save tax dollars; and farming is no longer the viable industry it once was. Yet

the architecture of each of these groups of buildings is unique to itself and forms part of the



visual tapestry that defines our heritage. Loss of them from the landscape will in turn alter the character of the community. In addition, historic resources that are not actual buildings cannot be omitted from the list of historic resources to be protected. Features such as the Moody Estate Arch, the Tory Hole, Moody and Broad Street Parks and so on must not be overlooked. Loss of these resources would contribute to a loss of community identity. There are also a variety of historic artifacts scattered throughout the City, including the eagle that once stood atop the original city hall; an antique air compressor from the Sullivan Machine Company; the bell atop the Unitarian Church, and the “gizmo” from the interior of the gas bell in the gas works plant (the only such “gizmo” remaining in the country). Each of these artifacts should be inventoried and made available for public viewing where feasible. As witnessed by the recent mill re-development, historic structures can provide the defining character that many developers desire and seek. They help define the community and connect us to our past. By taking note of our history and taking advantage of some of the tools available, the city can manage both desired growth and preservation of the historic and cultural heritage that makes Claremont a unique and desirable place to live and do business. At present, the HDC is the only regulatory body in place to address historic preservation. However, its authority extends only to the exterior appearance of the buildings and only to those buildings that lie within the Historic District. (The HDC is also consulted when demolition of a structure in the historic district is proposed.) Additional tools, methods, and organizations will be required to preserve and protect the historic resources that lie outside of the Historic District and to engage in preservation beyond the exterior appearance of buildings.



Places in Claremont that are Listed on the National Register of Historic Places: • Central Business District • Hunter Archaeological site • Lower Village District • Monadnock Mills

Buildings in Claremont that are Listed on the National Register of Historic Resources:

• Claremont City Hall • Claremont Warehouse #34 • David Dexter House (Lincoln Heights) • English Church (Union Episcopal Church) • William Rossiter House (11 Mulberry Street)

Goals Preserving evidence of the past is one key to the future well-being of the community. Claremont’s unique land use mix of an urban downtown with outlying farms and woodlands is in itself a reflection of the past. The mill buildings and farms are equally representative of Claremont’s History. It is through creatively adapting the use of the City’s historic resources that sustainable preservation will be achieved. Goal 1. Preserve and protect the City’s historic resources.

1. Continue to update and enhance the inventory of historic sites and structures so as to create a living document.

2. Determine which resources are most vulnerable to damage/destruction and create plans to protect them.

3. Implement the recommendations from the 2004 Historic District Assessment as appropriate.

Goal 2. Extend preservation/protection abilities outside of the Historic District

1. Continue to support the work of the HDC. 2. Explore the possibility of creating a Heritage Commission whose mission will be the

long-term protection of the City’s historic resources. Goal 3. Expand preservation/protection tools beyond the exterior appearance of buildings

1. Become knowledgeable about the types of easements that may be employed to preserve or protect historic properties.

2. Use regulations and ordinances to preserve and protect. 3. Develop and implement zoning and site plan regulations that preserve and protect the

historic character of Claremont and to ensure historic blending of new or rehabilitated buildings on the perimeter of the City.



4. Review the city of Claremont’s zoning ordinance and the city’s building and fire codes to identify regulations that would unintentionally impede the rehabilitation or reuse of historical properties

5. Review current zoning, subdivision, and City ordinances to determine current level of historic resource protection within the development review process.

6. Become knowledgeable about grant programs and how they might benefit historic preservation efforts.

7. Promote use of the federal tax credits in local historic rehabilitation projects. 8. Ensure that efforts are taken in subdivision applications to preserve historic farmsteads.

Goal 4. Seek to improve awareness of historic resources.

1. Secure funding for the City or Historical Society to print a Self-Guided Walking Tour booklet outlining the historical sites and buildings in Claremont.

2. Create a brochure that illustrates and defines the different architectural styles as a means of increasing people’s knowledge about the City’s historic buildings and structures.

3. Make the City’s “Historic Sites and Structures Inventory” available to the public. 4. In accord with the mill history of Claremont, it would be appropriate, to designate space

within one of the mill buildings, as they are developed, to provide a visual arts museum showing the town’s waterfront development throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.

5. Create an inventory of the City’s historic artifacts. Work toward making them accessible to the public where feasible.

6. Employ signage as a means of educating the public (local and tourist) about the City’s historic resources.

7. Expand the historic landmark program by educating property owners as to the historic and aesthetic value of their properties, and by signing more properties.

Goal 5. Encourage adaptive re-use of historic buildings

1. Work with private property owners to encourage adaptive reuse of historic buildings while preserving the character- defining features of historic buildings and structures.

2. Prevent building demolition by encouraging the rehabilitation of historic buildings in ways that reflect and respect each building’s historic character.

3. Ensure that future development is sensitive to the historic character of buildings and landscapes within the City

4. Encourage development that reflects and respects the historic landscape.



______________________________________________________________________________ 1 APPENDIX A HISTORY 2 APPENDIX B HISTORIC RESOURCE INVENTORY

Appendix A History Claremont received its charter in 1764 and was originally divided among the proprietors into parcels of land used for common land, farming, and timbering. Sawmills, gristmills, and related industries were developed at the same time. West Claremont with its fertile land was the center of this development. However, farms were also spread out along the banks of Sugar River and the slopes of Green Mountain. The oldest existing houses from this era are on Clay Hill Road and Jarvis Hill (Route 12A) in the west end of town and on Winter Street in the northeast end of town. Some early houses on the 2nd New Hampshire Turnpike (North St.) remain or have been altered or moved. Within this neighborhood in the area between Washington, Broad, and Hanover Streets a great destruction of historic property, both old and contemporary, occurred as a part of an urban renewal project in the 1970’s.

The early center of town was in West Claremont where the Congregationalists and Episcopalians came together to build a shared church – Union Church. This union ended when the Congregationalists moved to the southern end of town and built their own meetinghouse off Maple Ave. The Episcopalians remained in the old settlement area completing their church after the Revolutionary War. In 1823 the Barber family, former Episcopalians and a rector of Union Church, became Roman Catholics built the first Roman Catholic Church adjacent to their house which stood opposite Union Church.

In the early 1790’s the town acquired from Col. Josiah Stevens, a portion of his land on the Plain (Broad St.) for a more centrally located town hall. Ichabod Hitchcock, master carpenter and builder of both Union Church and the Congregational Church, moved the Congregational Meetinghouse in 1790 to the site of the present-day City Hall, thus securely establishing this area as the center of town. The meeting house, like most early Congregational churches, served as both church and town meetinghouse. When the Congregationalists completed their new church on Pleasant Street in 1835, the old building became the Town Hall. It was replaced with a new brick Town Hall and Opera House in 1897 designed in the Italian Renaissance Revival style by Charles Rich, who also designed buildings at Dartmouth College, and whose firm later designed the Empire State Building. The downtown developed with a mix of industrial, mercantile and residential uses. At the time of General Lafayette’s visit to Claremont in 1825, the Tremont Hotel (located in what is now Opera House Square) and other businesses fronted a small square, while the livery stables, “out houses or privies”, and other related out buildings were in back of these buildings in the hollow (now Crescent St). This area became known as “dog hollow”, a term used for many years even after the area was redeveloped with mill buildings and modern sewer system.

The main street, centered on Broad Street with its town park, had a mixture of uses including the first bank, a small shoe factory and churches, but was primarily an area of fine homes built by some of Claremont’s leading citizens. Several of these were demolished to create the current parking area opposite Broad Street Park. Others have been removed as the pressures of commercial development increased, most notably the area of the Claremont Savings Bank. Although some of the remaining homes are still used as residences, many have been converted to professional offices. The building of Stevens High School on Broad Street in 1868, a decade after the town’s petition to the state legislature, was financed in part by Paran Stevens. Space was allocated for a town library in the school. That collection was a gift of Samuel P. Fiske from his personal library. But, soon the school needed the space and the library was moved to Sullivan Street. With a gift from Andrew Carnegie, the Fiske Free Library moved back on Broad Street to its current location in 1903. The public land on Broad Street, purchased from

Josiah Stevens around the same time as the old town hall has moved, was used for a park (Broad Street Park) and was divided by paths and roads establishing a very refined boulevard, and became the focal point of a civic, cultural, educational and religious center.

Tremont Square (now Opera House Square) was the center of commercial enterprises. By the mid-1800’s, besides the Tremont House which dominated the square, impressive commercial blocks such as the Farwell Block, the Brown Block and Brown’s Wooden Block began to replace earlier modest structures. After fire destroyed the Tremont House in 1879, the square was expanded and redeveloped with a new grand hotel on the north side (now the Moody Building) and new banks and library around the corner. Brown’s Wooden Block, also destroyed by fire around the same time was replaced by the Union Block. What were originally devastating events for the town became the impetus to redevelop the town’s commercial center into an impressive European style square.

As the town continued to grow, due to the development of the mills in the late 19th century, the commercial center began to expand to Pleasant Street which had been primarily residential. Fine homes were eventually replaced with large commercial blocks all the way to the Congregational Church containing shops, professional offices, a hotel and Post office. Further commercial development on Pleasant Street continued past the church throughout the 20th century with less impressive buildings. A few of the fine older homes are still present on Pleasant Street, but have been converted to other uses. During the industrial boom in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century Claremont was fortunate to have the builder/architect, Hira Beckwith. His building design/style, primarily Queen Anne Style, was used for business blocks, civic, commercial, and factory buildings, and residential houses. It gave Claremont an architectural unity unknown to any other town in New Hampshire or Vermont during the Victorian Period. That architectural unity held until the late 1960s. It had been slowly destroyed by business sprawl and neglect until the late 1970’s with the establishment of the Claremont Historic District Commission.

Tremont Square (now Opera House Square), Pleasant Street and Broad Street provided the business/residential mix in Claremont that was identified in the Historic District, the first multiple use historic District on the National Register. Also of great importance within the Historic District was the development of the area from Opera House Square to the Lower Village. This period starting in the

1830’s began the transformation of Claremont from a typical New England village to an industrial city due to the expanded use of water power along the Sugar River with sites for up to nine dams. In 1832 the Claremont Manufacturing Company was chartered and purchased 15 acres of land between Sullivan Street and the Sugar River including four of the most valuable water falls in the village. They laid out three new streets, Main Street, River Street and Central Street, and engaged in widespread real estate speculation and development. Around the bridge on Main Street numerous industrial and commercial sites were developed over the next three decades, while both private and industrial housing lined Main Street to the east and west. River Street served the Claremont Manufacturing Company factories and housing. On a ridge on Central Street overlooking the developing Lower Village private residences were built including a series of fine Greek Revival mansions with temple style porticoes, built by noted architect Aaron Howland of Walpole and described at the time as the finest homes in a 50-mile radius. A new Baptist Church was built at the junction of Main Street and Central Streets, between the earlier town center and the emerging factories. Later, a Catholic church and Methodist church were also built on Central Street, the latter of which was later destroyed by fire.

Some wealthy citizens of the older town center, fearing that the town’s center would shift to the rapidly developing Lower Village, formed The Upper Falls Company in 1836. This company evolved into the Monadnock Mills Company in 1843 and developed several specialized mill buildings mostly along Water and Crescent Streets for the production of cotton goods as well as housing for their workforce. Thus, began the development of various mill enterprises on both sides of the Sugar River which continued to transform the town’s center through the 1930’s. Other than the Monadnock Mills, the most notable set of industrial buildings were erected by the Sullivan Machine Company, which later became Joy Manufacturing, a leading employer and dominant force in the community until it closed in the 1980’s. Over time Joy built a vast array of buildings on both sides of the Sugar River as well as rail lines to transport their goods to markets. Joy eventually closed its facilities in the center of town and built new ones along 12A in West Claremont leaving a vast array of empty brick buildings in the city center. While some of these were converted to other uses over the years, many remained vacant. Time eventually took its toll on many of these structures due to a lack of maintenance and various fires. On the north side of the river, all but the Sullivan smoke stack were eventually torn down and now serve as a park, visitor center, and parking for the mill area. The establishment of the Historic District in 1978 allowed federal funding and tax incentives for some buildings on the south side of the river to be converted to residential use.

Also of note during this period was the restoration of the Claremont Opera House, addition of the police station/atrium, and improvements to Opera House Square (then Tremont Square) and Pleasant Street. In the early 1970’s talk of removing the upper floors of the City Hall/Opera House due to deterioration and safety issues spurred local residents to form a committee to put the building on the National Register of Historic Places and secure funding for its restoration. Federal funding was essential in securing most of the monies needed for these efforts. Beside the restoration of the Opera House, the Square was improved by a new parking area and gardens in the center, repaving the sidewalks with pavers, the burying of power lines and addition of historic lighting poles in the square as well as along Pleasant Street, returning the city center to a more appropriate historic appearance. The Opera House was re-opened in 1979 and again after full restoration in 1983. It remains a vital part of the cultural and economic vitality of the city to this time.

In the first decade of the 21st century the city was finally successful in its attempts to develop a core of mill buildings along Water Street and Main Street. A complex public/private partnership was formed which converted two buildings into the Common Man Hotel & Restaurant, along with Red River Computer Company. Part of the old Sullivan foundry building was incorporated into a new parking garage and office space serving the mill complex. Unfortunately, a fourth building slated for high end housing was not completed due to the downturn of the economy and housing market in the second half of the decade. Despite the economic downturn, this development has set the stage for further positive development in the area once the economy recovers.

As the city moves into the coming decades it will face continued pressures from various forms of development. Many important buildings which help define the unique character of our community lie outside the area protected by the Historic District. Loss of these structures would mean a loss of

community identity. As witnessed by the recent mill re-development, historic structures can provide the defining character that many developers desire and seek. They help define the community and connect us to our past. By taking note of our history and taking advantage of some of the tools available and described further in this chapter, the city can manage both desired growth and maintain our historic and cultural heritage that makes Claremont a unique and desirable place to live and do business.

Taken from the 2011 Master Plan

Historic Resource Inventory December 7, 2017 Page 1 of 49

Appendix B – Historic Resource Inventory DOWNTOWN HISTORIC DISTRICT

Opera House Square (formerly Tremont Square; redesigned in 1978)

Figure 1: 16-34 Opera House Square - Hotel Claremont/Moody Building. Designed and built by Hira Beckwith, renovated by Hira Beckwith after a fire; dining room torn off and building altered in the 1990’s

Figure 2: Moody Building circa 1895


Opera House Square, cont.

Figure 3: 36-38 Opera House Square-1870's Victorian Gothic; Appears that there was a building on this site on the 1873 map that connected by a wooden wing to the Tremont house in the middle of the square. Tremont House burned in 1879. It is suspected that this building was erected soon after.

Figure 4: 42-44 Opera House Square - Dickinson Block; Presumably named and built for Aurelius Dickinson, owner of the Tremont House in the middle of the square from 1839 until it burned in 1879.

Figure 5: Farwell Block- 1854 – good Greek Revival commercial block; built as an investment in 1854 by George Farwell

Figure 6: 56 Opera House Square –Claremont National Bank –Designed and built by Hira Beckwith in 1876; remodeled in Art Deco style in 1929


Figure 7: Claremont City Hall/Opera House- 58 Opera House Square. National Register. 1896. Designed by Charles A. Rich of the New York firm, Lamb and Rich; built by Hira Beckwith. This building replaced the original 1790’s town hall that was built and moved to this site by Ichabod Hitchcock and later renovated in 1868 by Hira Beckwith. Built during the period when Claremont was developing a distinctly urban downtown. Hotel Claremont and the Union Block completed the framing of Tremont Square and new brick commercial blocks were extending onto Pleasant Street.


Tremont Street

Figure 8:2-6 Tremont St - Fisher Block – c. 1850’s – perfect little mid-19th century commercial block; a gem of its kind; important segment of continuous commercial fabric; former home of FW Wadleigh Meats and Groceries

Figure 9: 8 Tremont Street - Perry's Block; about 1857, Josiah W. Deane and Edward Tenney carried on an extensive business in manufacturing cigars and as wholesale dealers in manufactured tobacco employing 15 hands; upper story may have been added in 1884 for a Masonic Hall

Figure 10: 26 Tremont Street - (l) store, 1899-1904; (r) Rossiter's Block, c. 1850; 4-story; brick lower two stories with brownstone lintels; upper clapboarded 2 stories added c. 1900


Main Street

Figure 11: 1 Main St - Tumble Inn Diner; c. 1930; serial #778; Worcester (MA) Diner Co., 1-story metal diner in original condition

Figure 12: 2 Main St - Bailey Block/Fiske Free Library Home of E.E. and S.C. Bailey silversmiths, the second home of the Fiske Free Library, and The American Band, original building altered by Hira Beckwith


Pleasant Street

Figure 13: 1 Pleasant St - Union Block - Designed and built in c. 1890 by Hira Beckwith; home to his business offices; replaced an earlier wooden building that was destroyed by fire; some brownstone and terra cotta decorations located on the edge of the roof were removed and destroyed in the mid-1900’s; black glass Art Deco facades replaced original storefronts; Pleasant Street storefronts restored to near original appearance around 2015

Figure 14: 2 Pleasant Street - Brown Block; early commercial building restored to c. 1930 appearance in c. 2012


Figure 15: 14-20 Pleasant Street; Stowell Block; c. 1895; built on the site of a livery stable for George H. Stowell, a real estate investor and a hardware, coal and iron dealer with a shop in Brown’s Block; also, a prominent Republican

Figure 16: 19 Pleasant Street; Hunton Block; c. 1890; brick and granite design by Hira Beckwith; very similar to Dickinson Block on Opera House Square; Hunton originally intended to set the building several feet forward of its present position, projecting into the line of the street ahead of the line already established by the Union Block. This spurred the City to establish the uniform wider width of Pleasant Street


Pleasant Street, Cont.

Figure 17: 27-45 Pleasant Street; c. 1910 Odd Fellows Block; missing original cornice detail on front; parts still visible on side; storefronts restored 2002; designed by David Messier

Figure 18: 32-40 Pleasant Street; Rand’s Block; c. 1871 second empire; 3rd floor was originally mansard roof design; later flattened; original location of the post office

Figure 19: 44 Pleasant Street; c. 1890; site of Rand’s Depot for many years – a newsstand and cigar store

Figure 20: 51-59 Pleasant Street; Latchis Theater c. 1930; Art Deco style with classical references; relief sculpture in pediment; theater section in rear removed in 1990s


Pleasant Street, cont.

Figure 21: Ornate pediment on Latchis Theater facade



Figure 22: 54-62 Pleasant Street – Goddard Block; typical simply-ornamented 1920s commercial building; original home of M.H. Fischman department store

Figure 23: 65 Pleasant Street; 1920s-30s commercial block with diminishing width horizontal bands; blue façade added later; formerly Kimball’s Stationary

Figure 24: 66 Pleasant Street; 1930s commercial building built for Montgomery Ward. Marble inserts on upper section and relief sculpture depicting Goddess of Commerce, symbol for Montgomery Ward.

Figure 25: Goddess of Commerce



Figure 26: 72 Pleasant Street - Congregational Church - Built in the Gothic Revival style with pointed arch windows and crenellated tower with square corner turrets; 1836

Figure 27: 96 Pleasant Street

Figure 28: 108 Pleasant Street- Home of John McCullough, a famous stagecoach owner (photo taken in 1889)

Figure 29: 108 Pleasant Street (McCullough house) today



Figure 30: 109 Pleasant Street – Neo-Classical Nason mansion once surrounded by a garden designed by the Olmstead firm with a companion garden at the Crandall house (43 Summer Street)


Broad Street Park

Figure 31: A war memorial park featuring a bronze Civil War Memorial figure, sculpted by Martin Milmore, atop a base of granite. This original soldier bronze was the first public sculpture erected in the State of New Hampshire and was copied or modified by the sculptor for other towns in New Hampshire and New England.


Broad Street

Figure 32: Cemetery behind Fire Station – one of several sets of cemetery gates donated by William H.H. Moody

Figure 33: 100 Broad Street - Fire Station designed and built by Hira Beckwith; 1917

Figure 34: Unitarian Church -106 Broad Street –The original church built in 1832 in the Federal style with four blind arches on each façade with granite imposts. The original façade was flat with doors in the outer arches and windows in the inner arches. Hira Beckwith’s alterations in the 1880’s included a projecting entrance tower/steeple, interior alterations with stained glass windows

Figure 35: Fiske Free Library - 108 Broad Street. Built by Hira Beckwith from plans designed by H.M. Francis & Son of Fitchburg, MA and with funding from Andrew Carnegie.


Broad Street, cont.

Figure 36: Trinity Church - 120 Broad Street - Built in 1852, designed by the New York firm Wills and Dudley, one of the best examples of Stick Style architecture in the state, extended and enlarged several times over the years, the church was further altered by the hurricane of 1938 when it lost its steeple

Figure 37: Goodwin Community Center - 130 Broad Street – 1884-85; Original Trinity Church parsonage designed and built by Hira Beckwith; Richardsonian style; now privately owned

Figure 38: Federal Post Office - 140 Broad Street. 120/146 Built in 1931; replaced the original post office located on Pleasant Street

Figure 39: George Farwell Home - 146 Broad Street – Fine example of the Neo-Classical/Greek Revival style; c. 1830


Broad Street, cont.

Figure 40: Claremont Bank/Spanos/Law Office - 158 Broad Street – First bank of Claremont; Federal style with blind arches like the Universalist Church; French Mansard roof alteration

Figure 41: J. Rounsevel/Clarke-Mortenson House - 174 Broad Street - Neo-Classical/Neo-Colonial house owned by the Upham family as one of their in-town residences

Figure 42: Michaud and Sammon - 107 Broad Street. One of a series of fine homes that are now a parking lot and Veterans Club

Figure 43: Claremont Savings Bank - 145 Broad Street - Site of several important historic homes including a Gothic wooden house in Claremont, twin brick Gothic houses, a Stick-Style Queen Anne mansion designed and built by Hira Beckwith and a Neo-Classical brick


Broad Street, cont.

Figure 44: 133 Broad Street - Site of first shoe factory Figure 45: Mascoma Savings Bank - 133 Broad Street

now

Figure 46: 165 Broad Street - Tappan/Dow Building. One of the finest examples of Neo-Classical/Federal architecture in New England. Copies of its Greek porch can be found in Hartland, VT and Old Deerfield, MA

Figure 47: Detail from the Tappan/Dow Building


Broad Street, cont.

Figure 48: 175 Broad Street - Stevens High School - original building designed & built by Hira Beckwith Figure 49: Samuel P. Fiske house on Broad Street c. 1830,

Greek Revival

Figure 50: 189 Broad Street – 1795; Samuel Fiske/Stevens House. A Federal style house influenced by Asher Benjamin with major Colonial Revival alterations


Broad Street, cont.

Figure 51: 209 Broad Street - Original Hosea W. Parker house - designed and built by Hira Beckwith in the Queen Anne style

Figure 52: 209 Broad Street – Remains of the Hosea W. Parker mansion


Broad Street, cont.

Figure 53: 221 Broad Street – Gov. Ralph Metcalf/W. Howard Dunn Building - designed and built by Hira Beckwith c. 1770

Figure 54: 233 Broad Street. Neo-classical mansion built as a town house for the owners of the “Goddard Mansion” daughter of Mr. Maynard; c. 1910


Lower Village Historic District

Main Street

Figure 55: 56 Main Street; built c. 1830; remodeled late 19th century

Figure 56: 91 Main Street –machine and erecting shop, Sullivan Machine Company; 1905- 1919; designed by Arthur S. Coffin

Figure 57: 105 Main Street - Foreman House - one of six identical Victorian cottages

Figure 58: 111 Main Street – one of six identical Victorian cottages; c. 1890


Main Street, cont.

Figure 59: 131 Main Street: Austin Tyler's Tontine Building – 1833-34; very good example of an early 19th century commercial block, built by a group of prominent investors; a major visual element in the commercial core of the Lower Village; Building was originally divided straight down the middle; Austin Tyler owned the west half, Clement & Rossiter the east. Each bought their parcel of land from Ephraim Tyler on 10 Aug 1833; building was completed by Jan 1835, when Clement sold his interest in the eastern half to Austin Tyler. That deed (13/401) calls it the “tontine building built in Company with Austin Tyler and Clement and Rossiter”

Figure 61: Main Street - Sugar River Grist Mill- 1855 Greek Revival – site of an early saw and grist mill constructed in 1767 with historic water turbine invented by John Tyler

Figure 62: 169 Main Street – original site of Claremont Flock; former site of Simeon Ide/Freeman and O’neil complex

Figure 60: 139-147 Main Street: Parmalee Building - 1835; distinctive early 19th century commercial block with stepped gable ends; built in the 1830’s boom years in which the Lower Village took shape; a critical visual element in the Lower Village; one building erected as such in 1835 across two lots of land; western lot owned by Horace Parmalee, merchant; eastern lot owned by Claremont Manufacturing Co. About 1843, Henry Patten established himself in trade at the west end, remaining there until 1882; the eastern 4 bays were known as the Claremont Book Shop, and were presumably


Main Street, cont.

Figure 63: 170 Main Street: c 1835

Figure 64: 195 Main Street; main brick building 1830’s; porches and wooden front added 20th century

Figure 65: 203 Main Street: 1834; virtually original Greek Revival exterior; highly distinctive design with paired Doric columns set in a recessed front entry

Figure 66: 1832-1833 stone double-house dwelling; erroneously referred to as the Tontine House


Main Street, cont.

Figure 67: Dunklee house - early 19th century Federal brick dwelling. One of the largest and perhaps earliest in a row of Federal/Greek houses on the south side of lower Main Street.


Central Street

“The Dutton, Ide, and Russell Houses on Central Street, and the remaining Greek Revival dwelling opposite them … represent one of the most dramatic expressions of the Greek Revival style in New Hampshire. We know of no other example in the state where houses of such uniform temple form are placed in perfect alignment on a terrace with broad lawns leading down to a street. These buildings proclaim the pride and prosperity that marked Claremont’s first golden age in the 1830s. Central Street is a dramatic testament to the optimism that characterized Claremont’s early industrial era. Central Street is a treasure and a monument to urban planning in New Hampshire.” James L. Garvin, State Architectural Historian, 2006

Figure 68: 16 Central Street - Dutton-Ide-Russell/St. Mary buildings- Built in 1835, four identical Greek Revival four-column, temple-front houses (2 remaining) built for industrialists, attributed to the master builder Aaron Howland (Walpole, NH), built on a raised plain, the four houses were known locally as “Nabob Row”; a fifth three-columned Greek Revival house opposite (extant) is thought to be Howland as well;


Union Street

Figure 69: 40 Union Street – 1832-4 Greek Revival; Clement & Rossiter Store/Claremont Manufacturing Co


Mill District

Figure 72: Sullivan Machinery - A machine tool industry established in 1850; noted for making a variety of machine tools before specializing in mining machines - cutters, drills, compressors, etc. - for the mining, quarrying, and construction industry (Library of Congress)

Figure 70: Moseley Bowstring Bridge - One of the few extant examples of this type of bridge; crossed over the Sugar River between Mill #6 and the former Monadnock Mill power plant and carried pipes and workers (Library of Congress)

Figure 71: Monadnock Mill complex - Water Street - A textile mill complex begun in 1832; noted for producing the first dimity fabric in America; installed Jacquard looms to weave Marseille and matelasse bedspreads


Mill District, cont.

Figure 73: Sullivan Machinery - Main Street between Pearl and Water (Library of Congress)

Figure 74: Sullivan Machinery - Main Street (Library of Congress)

Figure 75: Gasworks Site

Figure 76: Gasworks Plant



Figure 77: 45 Crescent Street – Management and textile design offices of the Monadnock Mills Co. were located in this building


Summer Street

Figure 78: 14 Summer Street - Upham family homestead house; moved from Broad Street when Stevens High School was built; early Federal house nearly identical in style to the Fiske-Stevens House on Broad Street. This house retains much of its original character with the exception of the two Victorian bay windows. The Upham family was connected with Sullivan Machine/Joy Manufacturing from its founding

Figure 79:43 Summer Street - Howe/Johnson/Snow/Crandall house. Built about 1820 by Rev. Howe and expanded and updated on several occasions in the Second Empire/Italianate Style. This is the first example of a Hira Beckwith house, in collaboration with Mr. Freeman


Summer Street, cont.

Figure 83: Tyler Carriage House

Figure 80: 54 Summer Street - John Tyler home - designed and built by Hira Beckwith in the Queen Anne Style for John Tyler; ball room on third floor Figure 81: (http://www.ledyardsawmill.org/historic-

technology/tyler-water-wheel-turbine )

Figure 82: John Tyler, inventor of the Tyler Water Turbine

http://www.ledyardsawmill.org/historic-technology/tyler-water-wheel-turbine

http://www.ledyardsawmill.org/historic-technology/tyler-water-wheel-turbine


Summer Street, cont.

Figure 84: 73 Summer Street - Hira Beckwith's house built in the High Queen Anne Style. Hira Beckwith was Claremont’s most important architect/builder through the Victorian period. Many of Claremont’s finest homes, public and commercial buildings and mills were designed/built by Mr. Beckwith.

Figure 85: Another view of the Hira Beckwith house


Prospect Street

Figure 86: 33 Prospect Street - Otis Waite House c. 1870, Italianate style


Prospect Street, cont.

Figure 87: 37 Prospect Street - Frederick Waite house (No relation to Otis Waite) Frederick Waite was a builder and superintended the building of several Cornish Colony houses. This is a fine example of the Bungalow Style.

Figure 88: 40 Prospect Street - Bowles house. Queen Anne Style house at the head of Pearl Street


Bailey Avenue

Figure 89: 6 Bailey Avenue - Designed & built by Hira Beckwith Figure 90: 15 Bailey Avenue. Shingle Style house; winter home of the Upham family

Figure 91: 19 Bailey Avenue. Shingle/Stucco Style house Figure 92: 8 Bailey Avenue – Designed and built by Hira Beckwith


Putnam Street

Figure 93: Temple Meyer David - 25 Putnam Street

Bond Street

Figure 94: 1 Bond Street. Craftsman Style Bungalow Figure 95: 18 Bond Street – Queen Anne house designed & built by Hira Beckwith at the head of Green Street


Myrtle Street Lincoln Heights

Mulberry Street

Figure 96: 11 Myrtle Street; excellent example of a Greek Revival cottage

Figure 98: 11 Mulberry Street - William Rossiter House; 1840. National Register of Historic Places

Figure 97: 44 Lincoln Heights - Daniel Dexter House; 1789. National Register of Historic Places

Figure 99: William Rossiter House


Charles Street Sullivan Street

Figure 100: 8 Charles Street Figure 101: 99 Sullivan Street - Greek Orthodox Church


Foster Place

Figure 102: 1 Foster Place Figure 103: 3 Foster Place

Figure 104: 4 Foster Place


West Claremont

Figure 105: The junction of the Sugar River and Connecticut River was a former living area of Native Americans 400-800 years ago

Figure 106: Ashley's Ferry landing - now a public access to the Connecticut River, was one of two ferry crossings between Claremont and Weathersfield

Figure 108: High Bridge today

Figure 107: High Bridge - Main Street. Two railroad bridges. The original high bridge is marked the remains of its granite piers. It was built by George Washington Whistler in 1846. The current iron bridge was put in place when the railroad was realigned and graded.


West Claremont, cont.

Figure 109: Known as the William Breck Farm, the 130-acre property was purchased in 1792 by Mr. Breck from Cotton Dickinson

Figure 110: c. 1770; Sumner’s Tavern or the “Cupola House”; built by Col. Benjamin Sumner

Figure 111: Godfrey Cooke/"Riverfields"/Hawkins House - 295 Windsor Road. Considered one of New Hampshire's finest Federal houses, built in 1825; shows the influence of Asher Benjamin

Figure 112: Tyler House - 17 Clay Hill Road - Oldest standing farmhouse



Figure 113: 39 Windsor Road -The ell of this Federal farm house was built in 1768-69 by Dr. William Sumner. Sumner was one of the earliest physicians in Claremont. He was the moderator of the 2nd town meeting held in his home on March 14, 1769



Figure 114: Union Church - 133 Old Church Road. Begun in 1771 from a plan by Royal Governor John Wentworth and built by Ebenezer Rice, designed in the style of Congregational churches. This is the oldest Episcopal church in New Hampshire. It retains its original box pews. The tower was added in 1800; the church lengthened by 20 feet in 1820. Wooden horse stalls are located behind the church.

Figure 115: Old St. Mary's Church - Old Church Road. Built in 1823 by Rev. Virgil Barber, son of Rev. Daniel Barber, former rector of Union Church. Federal in style with Gothic Revival touches as seen in the relieving arches over the windows. This is the oldest Roman Catholic church in New Hampshire. A chapel is on the first floor. The second floor was used as an academy.


Figure 116:684 Main Street - 1825; Built by Leonard and Hiram Gilmore of Acworth NH

Figure 117: 700 Mani Street - 1773, Col. Benjamin Tyler homestead. Tyler was elected a selectman at the first town meeting. He was a superb mechanic, a renowned inventor and prominent mill owner.



Figure 118: 1784 – farm and tavern house built by Alexander Ralston

Figure 119: Russell Jarvis Homestead - 36-40 Russell Jarvis Homestead Road. Originally the home of Judge Sanford Kingsbury. Built about 1780. Bought by Dr. Leonard Jarvis. William Jarvis, Consul to Portugal and cousin of Leonard, sent the first large flocks of merino sheep to this farm in 1810.

Figure 120: Part of the Jarvis Homestead Figure 121: Part of the Jarvis Homestead


William H. H. Moody

In March of 1916, William H.H. Moody, a retired Claremont Businessman, donated the land known as Moody Park. Moody’s gift to the City was described at the time as “a donation, for use as a public park and recreation ground, to be enjoyed for free by the people of Claremont.” A Claremont native, Moody became one of the wealthiest men in the region, having made his fortune as a shoe manufacturer.

Figure 122: Moody Park Pavilion


William H. H. Moody, cont.

Figure 123: W. H. H. Moody/ Highland View Farm; 33-40 Arch Road. A 300-acre estate bordered by a stone wall; the stone arch over Arch Road was the main entrance to the estate; the main house and caretaker’s house remain; Moody raised race horses and local legend says he once supplied horses for the U.S. Cavalry

Figure 124: Moody Mansion

Figure 125: Moody Mausoleum

Figure 126: Cemetery Gates gifted by Wm. H. H. Moody

2017 chapter 5: historic resources - city of claremont · 2017-12-18 · 2017 chapter 5: historic...

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