NEWBURY – The Town of Newbury’s Lower Green Local Historic District Study Committee will hold three neighborhood information exchange meetings next week for Old Town Newbury, Byfield, and Plum Island residents to discuss the formation of a Local Historic District (LHD) surrounding Newbury’s iconic and vulnerable Lower Green (LG).
The meetings will take place at:
- Newbury Public Library, Lunt Street, Byfield, on Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 6-7 p.m.;
- Firefighters Memorial Hall, Morgan Avenue, Newbury, on Wednesday, Nov. 2,0 from 6-7 p.m.;
- Plum Island Taxpayers’ Association (PITA) Hall, Plum Island Boulevard on Thursday, Nov. 21, from 6-7 p.m.
The Study Committee, appointed in 2022 by the Select Board, is gauging community interest in establishing a preservation district including the Lower Green and its surrounding neighborhood.
The Lower Green is one of the few remaining examples of the historic American colonial landscapes that still retains its cohesive 18th-century architecture, open space, and its rare original 1877 one-room schoolhouse.
With its proximity to the Parker River, the area around the Lower Green has been an important site for Indigenous Peoples’ use and habitation, the common land of 17th-century European colonists, the site of the first meeting house and burial ground, a training ground for early American soldiers, and in modern times, an open space and playing field for local children.
The Lower Green LHD Study Committee is also conducting an online public opinion survey to determine Newbury residents’ questions, concerns, and potential support for establishing a Lower Green LHD. Residents can view and complete the online Lower Green LHD survey on the Town’s website here.
The LG LHD Study Committee values the public input that will be obtained at the information exchange meetings and through the online Newbury Citizens’ Survey. The Committee will carefully review the results as well as the historical and architectural significance studies, visual connections among properties (such as building types, architectural styles and street patterns), the areas of open space including Old Town Hill and Greenbelt protected land, cemeteries, and the Lower Green town common itself.
A final public hearing on the proposed Local Historic District will be held when the study is completed. Residents then will be asked to vote on establishing the Lower Green Local Historic District at the 2025 Town Meeting. Newbury and Byfield residents are invited to participate.
