National Register of Historic Places

Smith Chapel

Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire
Listed
February 13, 2013
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
13000009

About this property

Smith Chapel is a historic memorial chapel at 45 Mill Pond Road in Durham, New Hampshire, United States. Built in 1900 in the family cemetery of the locally prominent Smith family, it is a prominent local example of Late Gothic Revival architecture. It is now part of a small municipal park. The chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in February 2013, and the New Hampshire State Register of Historic Places in April 2013. Smith Chapel is located in a small park about 2 acres (0.81 ha) in size, overlooking the Oyster River. Its setting was originally near the rear of the 70-acre (28 ha) summer estate of the Smith family, which has since been subdivided into a residential area. It is a single-story rectangular structure, built out of rusticate granite stone blocks quarried locally. It is covered by a steeply pitched gable roof, and has buttressed corners. The sides of the chapel each have two Gothic windows, while one of the gable ends houses the entrance, also topped by a lancet window. The opposite gable has a larger window. All of the windows have stained glass designs by Redding and Baird of Boston, Massachusetts. The interior continues the Gothic features, with scissor trusses supporting the roof, and a shallow altar. The chapel was built on the site of the family cemetery of the locally prominent Smith family by Alice Smith in 1900 as a memorial to her recently deceased husband, Hamilton Smith, a wealthy mining engineer. Its architect is unknown. The property, including the small cemetery in which both family members and pets are interred, remained in the family until 1979, when it was donated to the town. National Register of Historic Places listings in Strafford County, New Hampshire

Location

45 Mill Pond Rd.
Durham, Strafford County, New Hampshire
43.12971, -70.92383

Categories

ARCHITECTURE
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Durham Historic District
Listed
0.2 mi
Sullivan, Gen. John, House
Industrial
0.3 mi
Thompson Hall
Industrial
0.6 mi
Newmarket Industrial and Commercial Historic District
Industrial
3.5 mi
Stone School
Industrial
3.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Oyster River Massacre (Durham NH)
1694Colonial
0.4 mi
Oyster River Massacre
1694Colonial
0.7 mi
Oyster River Massacre 1694
1694Colonial
0.7 mi
King William's War – Oyster River Massacre July 18 1694
1694Colonial
1.4 mi
Raid on Oyster River NH 1694
1694Colonial
3.3 mi

Questions about this property

When was Smith Chapel listed on the National Register?

Smith Chapel was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 13, 2013.

What type of historic resource is Smith Chapel?

Smith Chapel is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Smith Chapel?

The period of significance for Smith Chapel is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Smith Chapel?

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