The National Register of Historic Places is a listing of buildings, structures, sites, objects and districts significant in our nation’s history, culture, architecture or archaeology and that are worthy of preservation. It is a federal designation, administered by the Secretary of the Interior through the Massachusetts Historical Commission as the State Historic Preservation Office. Listing in the National Register provides formal recognition of the property’s significance, certain federal tax incentives for owners of income-producing property, and limited protection from federally funded, licensed or assisted projects. In addition, listing on the National Register can provide some exemptions from the state building code.

National Register listing in no way limits the owner’s use of the property and places absolutely no restrictions or conditions on changes made by a private property owner unless there is state or federal involvement in a project or unless some other regional or local regulation is in effect. Nominations to the National Register are usually initiated by a property owner or by the local historic commission and do not require any local government approval. Property owners have the right to object to listing on the National Register, and a district will not be listed if the majority of the owners object.

The National Register should not be confused with a Local Historic District, which may be established by towns to preserve the unique characteristics of a certain area and may require review of exterior changes to a building by a Local Historic District Commission. Westford has no Local Historic Districts.

Properties listed on the National Register are also automatically included on the State Register of Historic Places. This provides limited protection from adverse effects by state funded, licensed or assisted projects. More importantly, it enhances the opportunity for owners of municipal or private nonprofit properties to apply for 50% matching state grants through the Massachusetts Preservation Projects Fund.

As early as 1976, in its second year of existence, the Westford Historical Commission began the process to place Westford Center on the National Register of Historic Places. This work culminated on August 28, 1998, when Westford Center was placed on the National Register by the Department of the Interior’s, Parks and Services Office, Washington, D.C. Listing on the National Register is accomplished by completing a detailed nomination form (NPS Form 10-900) that describes in some detail the historic, architectural and cultural features of the site. The following list names the sites that Historical Commission has nominated and the status of each nomination. Links are provided to extracts from the nominations for each site. They provide a nice overview of the history of each site with some biographical information on persons associated with each site. Copies of the complete nominations are available at the J. V. Fletcher Library and the Westford Museum.

Site	Status
Westford Center Historic District	Listed on National Register August 28, 1998
Graniteville Historic District	Listed on National Register January 17, 2002
Forge Village Historic District	Listed on National Register May 2, 2002
Brookside Historic District	Listed on National Register January 23, 2003
Parker Village Historic District	Listed on National Register December 27, 2002
Fairview Cemetery	Nomination sent to state May 2002
Westlawn Cemetery	Nomination sent to state May 2002
Hillside Cemetery	Nomination in progress, submit to state June 2003
Wright Cemetery	Nomination in progress, submit to state June 2003
Russian Cemetery	Nomination in progress, submit to state June 2003
John Proctor House, 218 Concord Road	Listed on the National Register February 4, 1993
Henry Fletcher House & Barn, 224 Concord Road	Listed on the National Register September 30, 1993

Table of Contents

Westford Listings on the National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places