Rabbit Hill Historic District - Medway, MA - U.S. National Register of Historic Places on Waymarking.com

The Rabbit Hill Historic District, on Franklin, Highland, Main, and Milford Streets and Slocum Place, in West Medway, is a forty-acre area of largely intact residential, commercial, institutional, and formerly protoindustrial buildings built primarily during the early-to-mid-19th century. The village is a remarkably intact early-to-mid-19th century secondary village that developed following the establishment and construction of the Second Congregational Church at the top of Rabbit Hill in 1814.

West Medway was first settled in the early 18th century when Benoni and Mehitable Partridge moved to the west section of the New Grant (as Medway was then known). By 1748, there were 34 people living in this part of Medway. As the local population expanded, the settlers expressed increasing displeasure at having to travel to the Old Grant (in Dedham or Medfield) to attend church services. Finally, in 1748, after almost five years' effort, the residents of the western section of Medway succeeded in having the General Court recognize West Medway as a separate political and religious precinct, known as the West Parish.

By 1818, West Medway was the site of Medway's town meeting every three years. (The other two years the meetings were held in East Medway.) By 1842, West Medway, Medway Village, and East Medway alternated years as the site of town meeting.

Impetus for further growth in West Medway came with the development of manufacturing in the early 19th Century. Between 1812 and 1815, three cotton textile mills were established on the banks of the Charles River in West Medway, a short distance from the nominated district. During the first half of the 19th century, other manufacturing industries also contributed to the development of West Medway. Foremost among these industries were shoe and straw goods
manufacturing.

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Street address: Roughly bounded by Highland, Main, Franklin, and Milford Sts Medway, MA County / Borough / Parish: Norfolk Year listed: 1988 Historic (Areas of) Significance: Event, Architecture/Engineering Periods of significance: 1875-1899, 1850-1874, 1825-1849, 1800-1824 Historic function: Commerce/Trade,Domestic,Government,Industry/Processing/Extraction,Religion Current function: Domestic, Education, Religion Privately owned?: yes Primary Web Site: [Web Link] Secondary Website 1: [Web Link] Secondary Website 2: [Web Link] Season start / Season finish: Not listed Hours of operation: Not listed National Historic Landmark Link: Not listed

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