Memorial Town Hall is the historic town hall of

Monson, Massachusetts Monson is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 8,150 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The census-designated place of Monson Center lies at t ...

. Located on Main Street on land donated by the local prominent Reynolds family, the High Victorian Gothic stone building was constructed in 1885 to a design by George Potter. In keeping with a memorial to the town's fallen soldiers, there are two cannons (one from the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, the other from the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

) in front of the building. The hall, which was built of the locally quarried granite (from the same quarry that supplied granite for the

Springfield Armory The Springfield Armory, more formally known as the United States Armory and Arsenal at Springfield located in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, was the primary center for the manufacture of United States military firearms from 1777 until ...

), the building's basic shape is that of a T. The northwest (left front) corner has a four-story tower, and the southwest (right front) corner has a smaller octagonal turret. In between, a gabled pavilion is centered on the front faced perpendicular to the main roofline. The stem of the T extends northeast to the rear of the building. Arches and other decorative elements are shaped out of ashlar granite in alternating light and dark colors. The building's roof is slate; the front portion is hipped, with the center interrupted by the front-facing gable. The rear section ends in a gable. Inside the hall, the front houses town offices, and a space that was originally used as a

GAR Gars are an ancient group of ray-finned fish in the family Lepisosteidae. They comprise seven living species of fish in two genera that inhabit fresh, brackish, and occasionally marine waters of eastern North America, Central America and Cuba ...

meeting space, and the rear of the building houses an auditorium with stage. Interior spaces have not been significantly altered since the building's construction was completed, and most continue to be used for their original purpose. The building was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 1984, and was included as a contributing property in the Monson Center Historic District in 1991.

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts Monson Buildings and structures in Hampden County, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Hampden County, Massachusetts Historic district contributing properties in Massachusetts Monson, Massachusetts

See also

References