Comprising much of Main Street, Whitman Street, Deering Street, and Danforth Street, the Norway Historic District includes the historic commercial and residential center of Norway. Main Street includes numerous commercial, industrial, and civic buildings constructed of brick or wood, while the intersecting cross streets boast mostly wood frame residential buildings. One of the oldest commercial buildings, the Leavitt Hardware Building (pictured center below) was constructed in 1816 with additions made in 1851. It is a modest two-story wood frame structure with a gable front roof. The building has housed a sleigh and carriage maker and hardware store, and its rear ell originally served as a stable. European-Americans settled Norway in the 1780s and by 1790 grew to a community of over 440 individuals. Early settlement was largely tied to agriculture, but soon a saw and grist mill were in operation and a school constructed. Norway grew steadily in the early nineteenth century as a local center of trade and was further bolstered by the relocation of the Oxford Observer here. The district today retains numerous nineteenth- and twentieth-century buildings that represent the Town's growth and development.
Year Listed: 1988
For more information: https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/AssetDetail?assetID=a3b811b9-2705-48f6-8a16-a74f928adccc