Old Town Hall (Chester, Connecticut)

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Old Town Hall
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Location On the green between Liberty St. and Goose Hill Rd., Chester, Connecticut
Coordinates 41°24′25″N72°27′9″W / 41.40694°N 72.45250°W / 41.40694; -72.45250 Coordinates: 41°24′25″N72°27′9″W / 41.40694°N 72.45250°W / 41.40694; -72.45250
Area 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built 1793-1794
NRHP reference # 72001310 [1]
Added to NRHP February 23, 1972

The Old Town Hall is a historic public building on Chester Green in Chester, Connecticut. Built in 1793 and subsequently altered and enlarged, it has been a significant civic meeting point for the community since its construction, hosting religious services, town meetings, and theatrical productions. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. [1]

Chester, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

Chester is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,743 at the 2000 census. The town center is also defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP). The name is a transfer from Chester, in England.

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

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. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Contents

Description and history

Chester's Old Town Hall is located at the town's traditional center, north of the modern main village. It is set at the north end of the Chester Green, between Liberty Street and Goose Hill Road. It is a 2-1/2 story timber-frame structure, with a clapboarded exterior and steeply pitched gable roof supported by trusses shaped out of heavy wooden timbers. The gabled ends of the building have formal entrances at their centers, which have Federal style surrounds, and are no longer used. There are single-story extensions projecting from both the north and south sides, one providing an enlarged entrance vestibule, and the other a stage area. [2]

The structure was built in 1793 as a meeting house, principally to serve the local Congregational parish, which was then still part of Old Saybrook. It served as the meetinghouse for the Congregational Church until 1845 when a new Congregational Church was constructed on West Main Street. It was sold to the town of Chester (incorporated in 1836) in 1847 for $300, and used as the town hall to hold town meetings. In 1876, the building was substantially remodeled as a theater. Aside from its use for local theatrical events and high school graduations, the building continued to be used as the site for town meetings until 1960. [1] [2]

Colonial meeting house

A colonial meeting house was a meeting house used in colonial New England built using tax money. The colonial meeting house was the focal point of the community where all the town's residents could discuss local issues, conduct religious worship, and engage in town business.

Old Saybrook, Connecticut Town in Connecticut, United States

Old Saybrook is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 10,242 at the 2010 census. It contains the incorporated borough of Fenwick, as well as the census-designated places of Old Saybrook Center and Saybrook Manor.

See also

National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Connecticut Wikimedia list article

This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Middlesex County, Connecticut.

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