6-577: The Newton Lower Falls Historic District encompasses the historic colonial village center of Newton Lower Falls , on the west side of Newton, Massachusetts . This area lies north of Washington Street, along Concord and Grove Streets, between Washington and Hagar Streets. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. The "lower falls" of the Charles River were an important geographic even before colonial days, because
12-516: A Native American path traversed the area (roughly along the Washington Street alignment). In the 17th century the waterpower of the falls was already being harnessed by English colonists for the operation of gristmills and sawmills. Permanent residency on the Newton side of the river did not begin until the early 18th century, when an iron works was established. The oldest surviving house in the area
18-505: Is at 2345 Washington Street, built c. 1755. The residential portion of the village developed on the rise above the river, where St. Mary's Episcopal Church was built c. 1813; it is separately listed on the National Register. Adjacent to the church, a number of Greek Revival houses were built on Grove Street during the 1830s and 1840s, the height of the area's economically significant paper industry. The last significant construction in
24-603: The destruction of a church and schools. Newton Lower Falls, Massachusetts Newton Lower Falls is one of the thirteen villages within the city of Newton in Middlesex County , Massachusetts , United States. The commercial area extends across the Charles River into Wellesley , where it is known as Wellesley Lower Falls, where a majority of the retail businesses are located. The Charles River drops 18 feet over less than one-quarter mile at Lower Falls. A series of three small dams with fish ladders are located along
30-411: The district was the hose house (fire station) at 677 Grove Street in 1900. The historic portion of the village, once much larger, suffered a significant decline in the 20th century. Fashionable houses belonging to mill owners were demolished, as were more modest residences of mill workers, in some cases to make way for the construction of nearby Massachusetts Route 128 . This intrusion also resulted in
36-597: The drop. The primary roads through the village of Lower Falls are Grove Street, Washington Street (Route 16), and Concord Street. The area is now a suburban neighborhood centered on the park at the old Hamilton elementary school (now Lower Falls Community Center), and bordered on the northwest by the Charles River and the Leo J. Martin public golf course. The historic heart of the Lower Falls village, St. Mary's Episcopal Church , and
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