Suncook Village Commercial–Civic Historic District facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Suncook Village Commercial–Civic Historic District
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Main Street, with Clock Tower on left
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 Location in New Hampshire
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1,9-15 Glass St., 116-161 Main St., 19 Mill Falls, 4 Union St., Pembroke, New Hampshire |
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| Area | 3 acres (1.2 ha) |
| Built | 1878 |
| Architect | Ordway, Samuel S.,; Chapin, Edwin T., et al. |
| Architectural style | Italianate, Renaissance, et al. |
| NRHP reference No. | 05000174 |
| Added to NRHP | March 15, 2005 |
The Suncook Village Commercial–Civic Historic District is a special area in Suncook, New Hampshire. It's where the main shops and important town buildings are located. This village sits right on the Suncook River and is part of both Pembroke and Allenstown. This historic district covers about 3 acres in Pembroke, right next to the old Pembroke Mill. It has 21 commercial buildings, and 19 of them are very old and important! This whole area was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2005 because of its history.
A Look Back in Time
The Suncook area was first settled a long, long time ago, in the late 1730s. Early on, people used the river to power small factories. There was a sawmill and a gristmill (which grinds grain) and later a fulling mill (which cleans and thickens cloth).
The village didn't really start to grow a lot until the 1830s. This was when the first textile mills, which make fabric, began to be built. Suncook was also a good place for travel because it had ferry services and then bridges. This helped the village become a stop on important travel routes.
As farming became less profitable and factory jobs paid more, the area around the mills grew into a busy shopping center. In the 1850s, when railroads arrived, Suncook grew even faster! By the 1860s, streets like Main Street and Glass Street were full of wooden shops.
The Big Fires and New Buildings
Fires changed Suncook Village a lot in the 1870s. In 1876, a big fire destroyed many buildings on the west side of Main Street. Just two years later, another fire burned down much of the east side.
After these fires, the town of Pembroke made Main Street wider. Many new buildings were then built using brick. You can still see many of these buildings in the historic district today. They were built with popular styles of the time, like Italian and Renaissance Revival.
The Famous Clock Tower
One of the most interesting buildings is the Clock Tower building at 116 Main Street. It stands in a great spot overlooking the river. Its four-story clock tower is the tallest building in the whole village!
