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Dunstable Town Hall, photograph from the federal nomination
Dunstable Town Hall, photograph from the federal nomination

Photographs from the nomination case file, National Park Service records.

Dunstable Town Hall

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1999. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

“" The founders of old Dunstable, with all the hardships of pitiless winter, merciless savages, poverty, want, and disease, still had some recompense, as they had no member of Congress. They worried over temporal cases, predestination, and free-will, but had no cause to worry over back pay and Credit Mobilier.”

A History of the Town of Dunstable, Massachusetts, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Year of Our Lord 1873 (1877). Machine-read text.

one of 1100 National Register listings in Middlesex County · listed in 1999 · category: Building · one of 3 National Historic Landmarks in Middlesex County.

Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building, 1 object as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 511 Main St., Dunstable, 01827
  • When was it listed? 1999-05-12
  • Category. building
  • Township. Dunstable town
  • National Register reference number. 99000557 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

1,020 words

The chapter on Dunstable Town in A History of the Town of Dunstable, Massachusetts, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Year of Our Lord 1873, published 1877 names Dunstable. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

The second toast, " The President of the United States," was responded to by the Dunstable Band playing " America." The third toast was, " Massachusetts, - the earliest and foremost in the cause of civil and religious liberty. The lapse of two hundred years has added lustre to her renown, force to her example, and prominence to her high place in history. All honor to the governor ! and the governed of the old Commonwealth ! "

Passage source: A History of the Town of Dunstable, Massachusetts, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Year of Our Lord 1873, published 1877.

Gov. Washburn rose and responded happily to this sentiment, and in the course of his remarks said, " The influence of old Dunstable upon those that were born here has caused them joyfully to return, and in the celebration demon-

Passage source: A History of the Town of Dunstable, Massachusetts, from Its Earliest Settlement to the Year of Our Lord 1873, published 1877.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Dunstable Town - 1,020 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

24 since 2014

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 24 fires within 5 miles of Dunstable Town Hall between 2014 and 2020, burning about 16 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning13
Missing data/not specified/undetermined8
Arson/incendiarism2
Recreation and ceremony1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
2 July 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreNew Hampshire Division of Forest and Landsnot named
24 June 2017Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.5 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
11 June 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 May 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
8 May 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
29 May 2020Arson/incendiarism1.8 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
24 May 2015Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 May 2015Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Middlesex County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 473 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 473 specimens collected within 10 miles of Dunstable Town Hall between 1898 and 1975: 319 Plantae, 62 Protozoa, 57 Animalia, 28 Fungi, 4 Unrecorded, 3 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. F. Newton, A. F. Newton, M. K. Thayer, A. J. S. and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
A photograph of the species Exosporium pusillum, not of this specimenExosporium pusillum P.Karst.1898King C. A.Stony Brook
A photograph of the species Galium tinctorium, not of this specimenGalium tinctorium (L.) Scop.1899not recorded
Araiospora pulchra Thaxt.1900Thaxter, R.Stony Brook
A photograph of the species Boletus frostii, not of this specimenBoletus frostii J.L.Russell1900A. W. Flint
A photograph of the species Cenchrus spinifex, not of this specimenCenchrus spinifex Cav.1900C. H. KnowltonN Chelmsford.
A photograph of the species Pholiota carbonaria, not of this specimenPholiota carbonaria (Fr.) Singer1900H. WebsterGroton.
A photograph of the species Tricholoma acris, not of this specimenTricholoma acris Peck1900not recorded
A photograph of the species Tricholoma columbetta, not of this specimenTricholoma columbetta (Fr.) P.Kumm.1900Mrs. Page
A photograph of the species Alabama argillacea, not of this specimenAlabama argillacea (Hübner, 1823)1930not recordedLowell
A photograph of the species Alopecurus aequalis, not of this specimenAlopecurus aequalis Sobol.1930M. L. Fernald; C. A. Weatherby
A photograph of the species Salix bebbiana, not of this specimenSalix bebbiana Sarg.1930J. Straughan
unnamed1950A. R. Hodgdon; J. Straughan1 1/4 miles south of Pelham Village

All 473 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 26 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 26 workings within 5 miles of Dunstable Town Hall: 20 past producers, 6 producers. 6 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
West Chelmsford QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenProducer
Fletcher Westford QuarryGraniteProducer
Forest Road QuarryGranitePast Producer
Guilmette Bros GraniteGranitePast ProducerGranite
H E Fletcher CoGranitePast ProducerGranite
Le Masurier Granite Quarry IncGranitePast ProducerGranite
Le Masurier Quarry and MillGraniteProducer
North Chelmsford QuarryGraniteProducer
Oak Hill QuarryGranitePast Producer
Oakhill Granite Co IncGranitePast ProducerGranite

Every working recorded in Middlesex County

Storms near this property

1 since 2025

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Dunstable, the town this property stands in, in 1 storm report between 2025 and 2025: 1 thunderstorm wind. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
August 2025Thunderstorm WindDunstable$500In Dunstable, there were downed powerlines on Main St.

Every storm recorded in Middlesex County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

5,320 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) XA Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. _B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. _ C Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. _ D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: _A owned by religious institution or used for religious purposes. _ B removed from its original location. _C a birthplace or grave. _D a cemetery. _E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. _F a commemorative property. _G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years.

Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) Middlesex, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) COMMUNITY PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT Period of Significance 1907-1949 Significant Dates n/a Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) n/a Cultural Affiliation n/a Architect/Builder Warren Lyman Floyd 9.

The whole case file for this property - 5,320 words, 27 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 99000557, 27 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Old Town Hall3.1 miles2005
Winslow School and Littlefield Library3.2 miles2017
District 7 School4.4 miles2008
Bennett--Shattuck House4.5 miles2006
Wright Cemetery4.8 miles2005
Hillside Cemetery5.2 miles2005

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 99000557 in Record Group 79.
Middlesex CountyAll 1100 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.