Historic Home Plaques

Hello All!

Our Neighbors & Friends are asking: How can I get a Historic Plaque for my house?

The Old North Salisbury Association (ONSA) is committed to increasing awareness of the importance of preserving our North Main Street Neighborhood's heritage and its historic buildings and landmarks. We are always searching for new and innovative ways to enhance the historical awareness of members of our community. Historic buildings in our neighborhood are a lasting reminder of this rich history and of the people who lived here.

Some of the benefits of a Historic House Plaque program include:

• Education: Marking a substantial number of buildings in a given district or a neighborhood provides a graphic image of the history of that area. As such, the Old North Salisbury Association may be better able to bring history directly to those it was previously unable to reach - uninvolved residents, visitors, or tourists.
• Preservation and Rehabilitation: Although a plaque program itself does not necessarily imply the recognition of buildings as historic sites, the program may serve to encourage building owners to rehabilitate and maintain their historic structures.
• A plaque program of this sort can be used as a basis for a walking tour. This may tie in very nicely with the City's Fitness Program and our new sidewalks!

ONSA is in the process of developing a Historic House Plaque program to allow homeowners to show pride in owning their historic houses. The plaques will identify the original owner of the house and the date of construction. Our neighborhood has many many structures that were built over 75 years ago. The Historic House Plaque program can provide one of the most effective and least expensive ways of bringing history "to the streets."
To raise more awareness of the history of our neighborhood and the potential for this program, ONSA will embark on a direct mail campaign to homeowners that have houses which were built over 75 years ago. The material will include the historical importance of the house and the proposed Historic House Plaque appearance. Homeowners receiving the material can acknowledge the historical value of their house by requesting a handcrafted plaque from the Old North Salisbury Association. There will be a fee, yet to be determined, which will cover the costs of the plaque. In addition, we are considering raffling off one Historic House Plaque at our annual meeting and social. Under the proposed program, your home does not have to be listed on a historic registry. And, if you do not know your home's history, we can assist in obtaining that information.

If you would like to know more about this, respond to this blog entry below, or email us at oldnorthsalisbury@gmail.com for more information or to offer suggestions!