In 1975, the Mattapoisett Grange building, now a four-unit condominium complex situated at the corner of Route 6 and Main Street, received the esteemed designation of qualifying for inclusion to the National Register of Historic Places. While it has long stood as a significant piece of the community’s storied beginnings, the building, would now enjoy its rightful place alongside other notable structures.
More recently, the Mattapoisett Historical Commission presented the property owners with a new plaque noting the building’s inclusion to the register. As the Mattapoisett Historical Commission pursues recognition of numerous structures and locations throughout the community, the former grange hall stands as an icon of that rich past.
As part of the commission’s designated responsibility to document places of historic significance, the town granted the commission Community Preservation grants to fund professional investigation and documentation that would ultimately place hundreds on the Massachusetts Historical Commission MACRIS (Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). MACRIS may be accessed by the public and is a wealthy repository for researchers, educators, or even property owners seeking historic details regarding their property.
The Grange building began life as a Meeting House, The Third Meeting House and has been the site if public meetings dating back to 1816. In spite of modern life and property usages eventually surrounding the building it maintains its elegance. It was built in the Italianate style popular in the 1800’s. As its function changed over the decades from a Meeting House to a school, a church, and a private residence, its massive profile has stood as a beacon of superb architecture.
For those who love details, the MACRIS website notes; the two-story rectangular clapboarded building rests on a cut granite foundation…with a pedimented two-story central pavilion…all the windows on the façade have round arches on top with hood moldings over the arches. In spite of losing its banneret weathervane in the 1938 hurricane, the building looks essentially much as it did when first constructed.
Dipping back a bit further into its long life, the state history notes, “After the roof of the Second Meeting house was destroyed in the 1815 hurricane and because the town’s occupation was turning from farming to ship building, the congregation located closer to the sea…”
As we prepare for our spring Town Meeting its fun to note that the history of the Grange includes its use as a meeting place for town meetings, “…a memorable session lasting from March 6, 1837, to July 10…” as the community dealt with the issue of Mattapoisett separating from Rochester.
As we move about in our busy modern day lives, we should take a moment to remember the people who help to make Mattapoisett special or should I say the buildings. As commented in the state database, “The Third Meting House, aka the grange, is significant not only for its architectural importance to Mattapoisett, but also for the contributions it has made to the political development of the town and in the field of education.”
By Marilou Newell