[MassHistPres] Historic Plaque Programs

[Emelie Bonin]

Hello,

The Town of Foxborough has had an Historic Marker Program for years in which
we identify and mark certain areas with major local historical value.

Annually we present Preservation and Restoration Awards to homeowners who
meet certain criteria including the extent and quality of the Restoration or
the uniqueness and extent of the Preservation project.  Commission members
and the general public can make these nominations with Commissioners making
the final decisions in time for Mass Preservation Week.

For nearly ten years now we have had an Historical House Plaque Program with
no application process but with an order form.  It is not an "award"
program; the only criteria is that the structure be over 50 years old, in
keeping with Mass Historical's mandate to begin identifying houses and other
structures of that era.  Our only goal is to encourage the appreciation of
older homes and the history of neighborhoods by placing signs of uniform
size, quality and appearance. The research is done gratis by a member of the
Foxborough Historical Commission.  For homes already researched, we validate
the assigned build date.  A plaque is then purchased by the homeowner
through Ould Colony Artisans of Farmington, Maine and designates the
original owner's name, occupation and build date.  We now have over 130 of
these plaques hanging in Town.

Emelie Bonin
Foxborough Historical Commission
  -----Original Message-----
  From: masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu
[mailto:masshistpres-bounces at cs.umb.edu]On Behalf Of Anne Louro
  Sent: Tuesday, June 09, 2009 2:00 PM
  To: masshistpres at cs.umb.edu
  Subject: [MassHistPres] Historic Plaque Programs



  Good afternoon,



  A local non-profit preservation organization has been awarding plaques to
historic properties for over 4 decades and has a set criteria for its
application and award process. Due to increased interest in the program by
property owners that have historic properties that have been altered
(replacement windows) and for properties whose architecture has been
significantly altered, yet retain historical significance, a new plaque
program is being considered. This program would have multiple levels of
criteria or categories for plaque award.



  Do any other communities have a similar program with various levels of
criteria?



  Best,



  Anne Louro

  Historic Preservation Planner

  City of New bedford, MA 02740

  508-979-1488

  mailto:Anne.Louro at newbedford-ma.gov


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