Houghton Building - Bolton Center National Historic District - Bolton, MA - NRHP Historic Districts - Contributing Buildings on Waymarking.com

In Bolton, along Mass. Route 117, is the Houghton Building, which used to be the high school for Bolton.

The building is on the north side of the road, and is west of the town hall, and east of the public library. Parking is available by the building or across the street (be careful crossing this busy road).

The building is a white painted wooden structure two stories tall with a peaked, shingled roof. Entrance is on the end facing the road.

Since 2012 the building houses Bolton Access TV, as well as The Conservation Trust and Friends of the Bolton Library. Before that, it was the town's police station.

The description of the historic district on the town's web iste has the following about the school:

"In 1849, Bolton built its first high school, the Houghton School at 697 Main Street (Map #31). Still well within the prolific Greek Revival era of school construction, this is a large, two-story, pedimented building. Its window and door configuration has been changed, and it has lost some of its detail over the years, but retains the 12-over-12- and 8-over-12-sash windows of its side walls, a louvered lunette in the pediment, and a tripartite facade window and a bracketed cornice similar to those at the Town House."

A sign in the park across the street has the following about the building as a school:

"Houghton High School (behind you) was built in 1847 after the Will of Joseph Houghton gifted the Town 80 rods of land and $12,000 for the support of a high school. Unfortunately, Joseph had felt disinclined to allow the descendants of nine Bolton Assessors to attend his school for 100 years. The State Supreme Court set aside this claim in his Will as the school was built with taxpayer money. Poor Joseph! What would he think if he knew that the office of those dreaded Assessors was housed in the Houghton School for many years!"

Other Source:

Town of Bolton (Bolton Center Historic District):
(visit link)

Name of Historic District (as listed on the NRHP): Bolton Center National Historic District Link to nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com page with the Historic District: [Web Link] NRHP Historic District Waymark (Optional): [Web Link] Address: 697 Main Street Bolton, MA 01740 How did you determine the building to be a contributing structure?: Narrative found on the internet (Link provided below) Optional link to narrative or database: [Web Link]

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