The Taunton Green Historic District encompasses the core area of the historic 19th-century commercial downtown business district of

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount Hope Bay, to the south. At the 2020 cen ...

. It is centered on the town green, laid out in the 1740s, and now stands at the intersection of U.S. Route 44 and State routes 140 and 138. The district was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

in 1985.

History

The early commercial center of the city of Taunton was southeast of the present center, at the confluence of the Taunton and Mill Rivers. In the 18th century early industry in the form of sawmills and gristmills developed on the Mill River. The Taunton Green was given to the town in 1743 as a militia training ground, and it is also where an early meetinghouse was built. Originally in size, it is now much reduced by the surrounding development. Early commercial buildings were mostly of wood-frame construction, of which a few survive. Taunton Green has historically the gathering place for troops headed to war. Monuments stand on the Green to honor soldiers of all the wars in which local citizens have participated. "Tauntonians" gathered on the Green on October 21, 1774, to raise the

Taunton Flag The flag of Taunton, Massachusetts, also known as the Taunton Flag and the Liberty and Union Flag, is the city flag of Taunton, Massachusetts, United States. The flag was first adopted in 1774 and has since been adopted as the flag of Taunton. It ...

with its distinctive "Liberty and Union" motto. The flag was hoisted on a 112-foot

liberty pole A liberty pole is a wooden pole, or sometimes spear or lance, surmounted by a "cap of liberty", mostly of the Phrygian cap. The symbol originated in the immediate aftermath of the assassination of the Roman dictator Julius Caesar by a group of R ...

in defiance of

King George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

. The flag flies on the Green to the present day. A fire in 1859 destroyed many buildings east of the green, and inaugurated more significant growth of brick buildings in the following decades. Since 1914 the Green has been the site of the city's annual holiday light display which attracts visitors from throughout the area, giving Taunton the nickname of "The Christmas City." In July 2004, the historic Templar's Hall (c. 1850) and Cohannet Block (1870) (commonly referred to as the Seeley Building) located on the corner of Taunton Green and Weir Street were destroyed by an arsonist.

Description

Courthouse and The Hiker statue, Taunton Green

The historic district is centered on the roughly square green, and includes most of the buildings facing the green on the flanking streets. It excludes the Bristol County Courthouse Complex, which is located on the north side of the green.''Walking Tours Taunton, Massachusetts; a guide to historic properties'', Taunton Historic District Commission, 1998 It extends for a short way along Broadway to the north and Main Street to the east. Monuments on the Green honor soldiers of all the wars in which local citizens have participated. Among them is The Hiker, one of fifty copies of a statue by

Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson Theo Alice Ruggles Kitson (January 29, 1871 – October 29, 1932), also known as Tho. A. R. Kitson and Theo Alice Ruggles, was an American sculptor. Life Kitson was born in Brookline, Massachusetts, to Cyrus W. and Anna H. Ruggles. As a youn ...

. It commemorates the American soldiers who fought in the

Spanish–American War , partof = the Philippine Revolution, the decolonization of the Americas, and the Cuban War of Independence , image = Collage infobox for Spanish-American War.jpg , image_size = 300px , caption = (cloc ...

, the Boxer Rebellion and the Philippine–American War. The statue was cast by the

Gorham Manufacturing Company The Gorham Manufacturing Company is one of the largest United States of America, American manufacturers of Sterling silver, sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture. History Gorham Silver was founded in Providence, Rhode Isl ...

in nearby

Providence, Rhode Island Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...

Contributing properties

(partial listing) *Taunton Green (historic town common) *J.R. Tallman & Co, Inc. (1913), 11-12 Court Street *Crocker Building (1898), 4 Court Street *Boys & Girls Club of Taunton (1913), 31 Court Street *43 Taunton Green (1831), current facade added in 1893 *Dunbar Block (c. 1830), 44-49 Taunton Green *Union Block (1860), 1-37 Main Street *Bank Blocks (c. 1855), 4, 5 & 9 Taunton Green *Taylor Building (1889), 10-14 Taunton Green *Jones Block (1874), 5-29 Broadway *Donovan Building (c. 1900), 28 Broadway

Properties with separate NRHP Listings

United States Post Office The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal service in the ...

(1932), 37 Taunton Green

Gallery

Image:Taunton Green, Taunton, MA.jpg, Taunton Green in c. 1905 Image:Bristol County Courthouse B&W.jpg, Historic view of Taunton Green with Bristol County Superior Courthouse in the distance File:The Christmas City.jpg, Annual holiday light display on Taunton Green File:Taunton Green Statue.jpg, World War I memorial on Taunton Green File:Crocker Building Taunton.jpg, Crocker Building File:Dunbar Block Taunton.jpg, Dunbar Block File:Donovan Block Taunton.jpg, Donovan Block File:Jones Block Taunton.jpg, Jones Block File:Taylor Block Taunton.jpg, Taylor Block File:Union Block Taunton.jpg, Union Block File:Flag of Taunton, Massachusetts.jpg, The flag of Taunton flies alongside the flag of the United States over Taunton Green

References

External links

Gallery of vintage photos of the "Christmas City" display on Taunton Green
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Historic districts in Bristol County, Massachusetts Taunton, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Taunton, Massachusetts 1830 establishments in Massachusetts Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts