Cambridge Historic District
The Cambridge Historic District is a historic district with an irregular floor plan in the Village of Cambridge , New York . With an area of 42 hectares, it represents the village at the time of the incorporation in 1866 and the expansions in the following years, when the Rice Seed Company was the largest employer on site.
Most of the 240 buildings within the district boundaries date from the 19th century, there are a few houses whose construction dates back to the 18th century and there are some modern buildings in between. Among the contributing properties are the former Rice Seed Company's headquarters, a Victorian opera house, and a church with Tiffany interiors and stained-glass windows . The historic district was created in 1978 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places .
geography
The district is grouped around the axes of East and West Main Street ( NY 372 west of North and South Park Street ( NY 22 ), Washington County Route 67 east of it to Gilbert Street ( NY 313 )) and North and South Union Street , which forms the dividing line between the Town of Cambridge and the Town of White Creek . It also includes some buildings on side streets, including those on North and South Park.
The area is essentially flat, reflecting its proximity to the confluence of the Owl Kill and the Hoosic River . The creek flows through the district in a controlled channel in a small park on the south side of West Main Street between Pearl Street and Memorial Drive. The tracks of the former Delaware and Hudson Railroad run along Railroad Avenue through the district and separate Main Street into its eastern and western parts. The area is densely built up. Most of the buildings are built in timber frame construction.
Commercial buildings in the historic district are concentrated in the blocks on West Main Street between Pearl Street and Park Street and around the intersection of West Main Street and Union Street. There are a large number of apartment buildings and some churches on Main Street. The 16 non-historical structures are modern structures such as a gas station, supermarket and post office, mostly on Main Street near the two largest intersections.
history
The history of the present-day place began in the 1760s, after the end of the French and Indian War the settlement of the previously disputed border region north of Albany . Cadwallader Colden , the chief surveyor and incumbent governor of the Province of New York , was involved in the acquisition of the land and its distribution to a group of six partners in 1761. Among these was Colden's son. The terms of the treaty required that the landowners elect administrations and that within three years one family should be settled on each 1000 acres (around 400 hectares). 200 acres (around 80 hectares) each were earmarked for clergy and schoolmasters. These conditions made a democratically organized community of free landowners possible within the scope of the so-called Cambridge patent.
The area was attractive for settlers because the land at Owl Kill was fairly flat and therefore arable. However, the stream could not be used for the use of hydropower . Because of a pleasant dispute over the territory between New York and neighboring Vermont , there are few records of the first settlements. However, it is believed that most of the early settlers came from Scotland and Ireland . This assumption is supported by the early surge in Presbyterian residents in Cambridge.
After the American Revolutionary War , settlement activity increased again. The oldest surviving building in the historic district, including Cambridge, is Dorr-Randall House on East Main Street, built in 1779. It is one of several federal-style houses from the immediate post-war era that are spread across the historic district. A school was established in 1800. This no longer exists, the associated property on West Main Street has been converted into apartments.
Three distinct settlements formed in the area during the 19th century: Cambridge, Dorr Corners and North White Creek. These were all created at intersections. Early toll roads connected the area to the markets of what is now Troy , New York to the south and Burlington , Vermont to the north. Flax cultivation and sheep breeding provided the raw material for the first textile companies in the nearby cities, including Hoosick Falls , New York and Bennington , Vermont.
The Champlain Canal improved the transport routes from 1825 and provided economic growth, so that two new churches could be built. The Methodist Church was built in 1838 - it gave way to a new building in 1861 - at 47 East Main Street and the Baptist Church at 3 West Main Street was built in 1844.
Almost three decades after the canal came the railroad . In 1852, the Troy and Rutland Railroad moved its tracks through the city and a train station was built in what was then the hamlet of North White Creek. Fourteen years later, the three localities decided to merge as the Village . For this reason, many of the streets of Cambridge still cross at oblique angles.
In the years that followed, Cambridge was at its economic peak. Another church, St. Luke's, was built in 1866 and had Tiffany windows and interiors. The construction of the railroad resulted in limited industrial development. The construction of Hubbard Hall at 25 West Main Street in 1878 reflects the then new meaning of Cambridge. The greatest impetus for growth came from the establishment of the Rice Seed Company headquarters in 1879. The warehouse and the office building that was added a few years later are located at 15 West Main Street, and the home of the company's founder Jerome Rice is directly opposite at 16 West Main Street. At the beginning of the 20th century, the company was the largest seed company in the world, employing 200 people on site.
The structural change in the national and regional economy in the 20th century also had an impact on Cambridge. Traffic on the canal decreased and was supplanted in the middle of the century with the opening of the Adirondack Northway as the main route in the region. Rice graduated in 1976.
Contributing properties
Notable contributing properties include:
- Dorr-Randall House , 151 East Main Street. The house was built in 1779 for a local doctor. The detailed wood carvings suggest that the owner was quite wealthy for the time. It is considered one of the best examples of federal style in the county.
- Hubbard Hall , also known as the Old Opera House , 25 West Main Street. The building, built in the style of the Second Empire , is one of the most striking buildings in the Village. It was built as a theater in 1878 and now serves as a cultural center.
- Rice Seed Company Warehouse and Office Building , 15 West Main Street. Cambridge's largest employer in the late 19th century built the warehouse in 1879 and added the office building in 1895.
- St. Luke's Church , 4 St. Luke's Place. Built in 1866, the church features Tiffany-made windows and interiors.
Monument protection
Unlike most other towns with historic districts, Cambridge has no specific development plans drawn up to the historic character of the historic district protection . There is no special commission charged with this task. In 2009 the administration adopted a new development plan that differentiates between different types of buildings for residential purposes and also creates the conditions for regulations on a historic district.
See also
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h i Doris Manley: National Register of Historic Places nomination, Cambridge Historic District ( English ) New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation . Archived from the original on October 12, 2012. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
- ^ Village of Cambridge Zoning Law ( English , PDF; 3.9 MB) Village of Cambridge. June 15, 2009. Archived from the original on July 21, 2011. Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Retrieved November 15, 2009.
Web links
- Web site Hubbard Hall (English)
Coordinates: 43 ° 1 ′ 41 ″ N , 73 ° 23 ′ 10 ″ W.