{"id":153,"date":"2018-03-04T19:55:47","date_gmt":"2018-03-04T19:55:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-mpp\/?p=153"},"modified":"2018-03-05T17:26:33","modified_gmt":"2018-03-05T17:26:33","slug":"a-basic-checklist-of-new-england-villages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/commons.trincoll.edu\/amst-mpp\/2018\/03\/04\/a-basic-checklist-of-new-england-villages\/","title":{"rendered":"A Basic Checklist of New England Villages"},"content":{"rendered":"

A New England Village<\/strong> is\u2026 Below, I describe ten key things that make up a village.<\/p>\n

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Maine Coast<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Massachusetts Hill<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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A New England Village is a core geographical imagination and a term used a lot where I live in Massachusetts and Maine.\u00a0 Just because a town is located in New England, many people think it automatically qualifies it as a \u201cNew England Village.\u201d\u00a0 However, that is simply not always the case, and to help clarify that confusion, I have comprised a list of the top ten key concepts that make a New England town a New England Village.<\/p>\n

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1) House of Worship<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

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Preach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

From the arrival of the first English settlers in the mid-1600s, the cornerstone of any authentic New England Village is a House of Worship.\u00a0 The majority of the original English settlers were from the East Anglia region of England, so most of the \u201cFirst Parish\u201d churches in New England are Congregational, which is what the religion of the Puritans eventually became.<\/p>\n

First Parish in Wayland, MA. Courtesy of Wikipedia<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Religious life acted as the hub for activity and dictated all facets of life, such as education, worship, and behavior.\u00a0 Churches basically acted as the seat of local government to the early settlers, and many of the earliest churches housed records of births, deaths, marriages, and punishments.\u00a0 Although not as influential now, the churches still stand in true New England Villages, and are often a center of social, if not religious, activity.\u00a0 Many authentic New England churches still have architectural remnants such as the old horse stalls where the colonial settlers would house their horses and carriages during services, which typically lasted most of Sunday in the 17th<\/sup> and 18th<\/sup> centuries.<\/p>\n

Academic source:\u00a0 http:\/\/www.congregationallibrary.org\/nehh\/main<\/a><\/p>\n

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2) Town Meeting<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Another one of the key components of a New England Village is the existence of Town Meeting to debate and manage the important business of the town.\u00a0 Town Meetings are an important part of town government in New England, and many towns in New England still operate through this manner.\u00a0 It is a place for everyone to come and speak their minds, and debate in a parliamentary fashion.\u00a0 It is the original form of representational government in colonial America.\u00a0 Each person has a vote in town affairs which still exists today.\u00a0 Originally, only men had the right to debate and vote, but Town Meeting has evolved over the centuries to include all citizens over the age of 18.\u00a0 Town Meeting is a symbol of traditional American freedoms, in which basic levels of democracy are displayed.<\/p>\n

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Drawing of early town meeting.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The original intent of these town meetings was to disperse the settlement land out amongst the families in the village.\u00a0 Land had to be distributed through the families and their offspring, as there were typically no pre-existing property boundaries with the original land grants.\u00a0 Another important part of the original Town Meeting was to establish who would be the town minister.\u00a0 The minister was basically the head of the town, acting as the main official in the newly formed government.<\/p>\n

Academic source: http:\/\/americanarchivist.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.17723\/aarc.25.2.a41x928626p71t16?code=same-site<\/a><\/p>\n

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3) Commons<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

One of the best ways to unify a community is to have shared spaces to work, mingle and converse.\u00a0 That is why a New England Village must have shared Common land for townspeople to freely access.\u00a0 It is similar in intent to college campuses and how they have commons or quads for all students to access.\u00a0 The original intent of a town common was to graze livestock and gather for militia training, but over time it has evolved to include many different uses.\u00a0 Many current activities on a town Common include gatherings and events like graduations and concerts.<\/p>\n