Historical Commission

About the Commission

The Winchester Historical Commission, established under Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 40 (section 8D), is composed of seven (7) members appointed by the Town Manager and approved by the Select Board for staggered 3-year terms each.

Purpose

The mission of the commission is the preservation, protection, and development of our town’s historical or archeological assets, and the establishment of protective measures of these assets for future generations.

Minutes

Minutes are available following approval.
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Winchester Code of By-Laws

Historical Surveys of Winchester

In 2016, with funding by the Town of Winchester and a matching grant from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the Historical Commission hired a professional architectural historian to prepare a plan for a comprehensive survey of Winchester’s historic resources. Building on earlier efforts and incorporating new methods and approaches to the process, the resulting report was completed in 2017 and is available here as a downloadable PDF document. The plan organizes survey recommendations going forward focused on the town’s seven neighborhoods. 

The following year, under another effort jointly funded by the Town and the MHC, the first phase was completed: a survey of the “Old West Side” (Winchester’s “Flats” neighborhood and adjacent areas). That is available here as well.

Additional Town and MHC funding enabled survey work to continue in the North End. That final report was delayed due to the pandemic and finally completed in late 2021. It is available below. As part of that effort, architectural historian Claire W. Dempsey also wrote a preliminary essay on Winchester’s African American community, which was centered in the North End in the late 1800s and early 1900s. That downloadable document is also available below.

In late 2021, the Town received a fourth matching grant from MHC and has commenced work on the third phase of the town survey: the historic Symmes Corner neighborhood centered on the confluence of Main, Grove and Bacon street. That work is scheduled for completion in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Watch this space for future additions in what will ultimately cover the entire town.

Helpful Information

Related Links

Other Historical Commission Documents

  1. Collaboration to Document & Preserve a Onetime Black Neighborhood in Winchester