Dalton Historical Commission Talks Sidewalks and Historic Districts
DALTON, Mass. — The Historical Commission continues to chip away at establishing its second historic district.
The proposed Dalton Center Historic District runs along Main Street and features various landmarks, including Mitchell Tavern, St. Agnes' Church, Zenas Crane Colt's colonial revival, and many more buildings that showcase Italian and Greek revival styles.
When the commission established its first historic district, the Craneville Historic District, about 10 years ago, it hired preservation specialist Norene Roberts for guidance.
She had compiled information for the first district and part of the second district. But she has since passed away, a majority of the commissioners involved are no longer on the commission, and some of the material is out of date.
The commission must complete the groundwork to designate the district, including gathering photos of the area, distinguishing the footprint, and reviewing the material in its collection.
The area has changed a bit since Roberts started the process so the commission will update the previous work to reflect these changes.
Once this work is done, someone from the Massachusetts Historical Commission can review the area, and a specialist can be hired to help finalize the process.
The commission can use the state's Cultural Resource Information System map, which shows some of the area’s historic buildings, to help during the process, Commissioner Nancy Kane said.
The commission has funding from a state cultural grant in the amount of $5,000. In addition, there is funding from a $15,000 matching grant that was approved during a town meeting in May 2022 for the establishment of the second and a third historic district.
The Historic Commission had believed that it would cost $30,000 to establish the next two districts. When it decided to lower the scope for establishing its remaining two historical districts, it was determined it would cost $10,000 to establish each district.
The commission originally planned on establishing Dalton Center and the third district, East Main Street, simultaneously but decided it would be easier to establish them one at a time.
Using the $5,000 from the state cultural grant will allow for a matching amount of $5,000 from the town, which will be used to establish the Dalton Center Historic District.
The commission will attempt to establish the third district later and will need to raise $5,000 to qualify for another matching grant of $5,000 from the town.
The commission also voted in favor of supporting the first article of the town meeting warrant, which amends the town's bylaws to mandate the use of concrete for all future sidewalks.
The article was added to the annual town meeting warrant by a citizen petition led by resident Todd Logan.
Another article on the warrant proposes purchasing a sidewalk paver for $64,000 so sidewalks can be paved or repaired for less money. The commissioners don't think asphalt aligns with the historic nature of the town.
Many of the commissioners agreed that amending the bylaws to require concrete was a "no-brainer," saying it is safer, has a longer lifespan, and adheres to the town's character.
"The other thing is, I live in a historic district and you don't want your historic districts changing. So, I live in the Craneville [district] and now we're putting in a second historic district," Commissioner Mary Walsh said.
"So, you don't want to be putting in asphalt into that second [district] because hopefully, we'll get that in the near future. So you want to keep concrete."
It is unclear what Mass Historical's feelings are on replacing older concrete sidewalks with asphalt.
The people who have lived in Dalton their whole lives have built families in town and have always had concrete sidewalks. It adds to the town’s atmosphere, Commissioner Ellen Chiacchiaretto said.
When people think of asphalt sidewalks, they think of cities, not small towns, she said.
Concrete is the oldest material best material to make sidewalks out of, Kovacs said. Logan, who attended the meeting to get the commission's input on the topic, said it was invented by the Romans in 400 BCE.
The town does not limit what people can do within the historic district, which is unfortunate at times because businesses sometimes put up signs that do not match the district's aesthetic, Kovacs said.
Maybe once the second district is established it will get more people to think about keeping things looking like the historic district, she said.
Tags: historic district, historical commission, sidewalks,
