MARION — Phase I of the Marion Historic Survey Update has recently been completed, the Marion Historical Commission has announced.

Work on this project included updating and expanding the historic Inventory in much of the Marion Village area in order to make it more accessible, more easily usable, and fully compliant with current state standards. 

The effort began in the fall of 2020 and has now been completed.

For this project, an historic preservation consultant redefined the existing survey form into separate forms for the areas of Barden-Hiller, Main Street, South Street, Upper Pleasant Street and Cottage and School streets.

The assessment also includes a recommendation that the entire area could qualify for listing in the National Register of Historic Places, the nation’s primary tool for recognition of resources of historic and architectural significance. 

Listing in the National Register provides recognition but no constraints upon an individual property owner’s rights. 

There are no immediate plans for National Register listing, but the findings should make Marion residents increasingly aware and appreciative of the Village’s historic and architectural significance. 

The results will provide property owners with information on the history of their homes as well as being a planning tool to local boards to assure development decisions are in keeping with goals for preservation of the town’s historic resources according to the Marion Master Plan.

The project was funded by a Survey & Planning Grant received in 2020 from the Massachusetts Historical Commission, funded by the United States Department of the Interior, National Park Service, with the local match provided by the Sippican Historical Society. 

The information will soon be accessible to the public on the Marion Historical Commission’s website, as well as in hard copy at the Sippican Historical Society and the Elizabeth Taber Library.

The survey work continues with a second project: Update and Expansion of Marion’s Historic Inventory, Phase 2. 

This project is also funded by the Historical Commission with a 2021 Survey & Planning Grant, matched with Community Preservation funds. Its focus is the Water Street area, George Bonham Nye area (Converse/Pleasant streets), and outlying areas south of Marion Village.