DALTON, Mass. — The State Historical Commission has received the preliminary documentation required in the process of establishing the town's second historical district. 

 

The proposed district starts at Park Avenue, where Main Street Cemetery is, and goes down to Depot Street. It then goes up High and North Streets.

 

Based on photos and by following the district subdivision plans or other development patterns, the state will determine whether there is enough historical significance to be considered a district. 

 

If they deem there is, the State Historical Commission will request an area form that they will use to evaluate the area for National Register eligibility, National Register Director Ben Haley in an email update to the commission.

 

"After we review the photographs, we may have questions about boundaries and may do a site visit," he said. 

 

The email did not include a timeline of this process, said town Historical Commission Secretary Nancy Kane. 

 

When the commission sent the files to the state, there was a request to define the area, Kane said. 

 

Kane said she defined it as a classic New England mill town characterized by residential areas, such as mill worker housing and homes of prominent citizens. 

 

Additionally, she demonstrated how the district had all the basic services and needs they would need to provide, such as schools, businesses, banks, and churches.