Rockland Almshouse
Rockland Almshouse
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Location | Rockland, Massachusetts |
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Coordinates | Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found. |
Built | 1876 |
Architect | Reed & Kelley; Hebberd & Ames |
Architectural style | No Style Listed |
NRHP Reference # | 83000600 [1] |
Added to NRHP | April 28, 1983 |
The Rockland Almshouse is a historic almshouse at 198 Spring Street in Rockland, Massachusetts. The large 2-1/2 story L-shaped building was built in 1876, and served as a communal poor house until 1979. It is a rare well-preserved example of a 19th-century almshouse.[2] The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983.[1] It is currently used as an educational facility.
Description and history
The almshouse is located south of Rockland's village center, on the east side of Spring Street, a major north-south artery in the southern part of the town. The main building is an L-shaped 2-1/2 story wood frame structure, with a gabled roof, clapboard siding, and foundation of brick and rubblestone. The east-west portion of the L has a single-story hip-roof porch extending on its southern facade, with original turned posts and balustrade. This facade is five bays wide, with the main entrance at the center bay. The west-facing gable end is three bays wide, with two sash windows in the gable, three windows on the first level, and two windows flanking a modern emergency exit on the second. The north-south portion of the building presents five bays to the west, although they are not symmetrical.[2]
The town of Rockland was separated from Abington in 1874, and the need for the almshouse was apparently recognized soon afterward, for the first portion of this building, the east-west section, was built in 1876. The north-south wing was added in 1899, to provide an infirmary. The almshouse was closed in 1979 after more than 100 years of operation.[2] The building has been rehabilitated, and now houses the North River Collaborative, and educational organization for children and young adults with disabilities.