Three properties added to the NH State Register of Historic Places

The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources is pleased to announce that the State Historical Resources Council has added three properties to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places.

Blazing Star Grange Hall No. 71 in Danbury was built in 1911 under the leadership of the group’s first female master, providing members with their own free-standing building after more than 35 years of meeting in halls of village houses. The two-story wood-framed building has a wooden clapboard exterior and is finished with varnished beadboard walls and ceilings inside. The main floor serves as a hall and has a stage at one end with a circa 1922 curtain painted by Manchester-based artist Egbert L. Foster. The lower level has a dining room and kitchen with the original cupboards and work tables.

Located in an area of Gilmanton that is now part of Belmont, the Dudley Gilman Homestead was built by Revolutionary War veteran Corporal Dudley Gilman. It reflects three different generations of construction styles: the original Georgian style circa 1785, an early Federal renovation circa 1820 and Colonial Revival details added circa 1945. The two-story building’s kitchen, located in the main house, has a built-in beehive oven to the right of the hearth and faces the center chimney. A large, circa 1800 gable-front barn is a rare early survivor of that era.

Dudley Gilman Homestead is currently under consideration to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Milford Town Hall and Library Annex were named to the National Register of Historic Places in 1988. The two-story brick Town Hall, built in 1869, has a combination of Italianate and French Second Empire details, making it unique among town halls in the region. It is one of the few known New Hampshire examples of the work of prominent Boston architect Gridley J. F. Bryant, who designed the extensive post-Civil War alterations to the New Hampshire State House. The Library Annex incorporates molded brick and terracotta embellishments that were increasingly popular at the time it was built in 1892.

Anyone wishing to nominate a property to the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places must research the history of the nominated property and document it on an individual inventory form from the New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources. Having a property listed in the Register does not impose restrictions on property owners. For more information, visit nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov.

New Hampshire's Division of Historical Resources, the State Historic Preservation Office, was established in 1974 and is part of the NH Department of Natural and Cultural Resources. NHDHR’s mission is to preserve and celebrate New Hampshire’s irreplaceable historic resources through programs and services that provide education, stewardship, and protection. For more information, visit us online at nhdhr.dncr.nh.gov or by calling 603-271-3483.

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