Dedham has completed its first professional survey of the Old Town Centre in nearly 50 years. The headline finding: the Powder House on Ames Street is recommended as eligible for individual listing on the National Register of Historic Places.

The Town of Dedham announced that historic preservation consultant Stacy E. Spies, working with the Dedham Historic Districts Commission and the Dedham Historical Commission, has finished cataloging 113 buildings and historical markers in the Franklin Square-Court Street Local Historic District. The district covers Court Street, Church Street, School Street and Old River Place.

The survey is the first update since the 1970s, when volunteers from the Junior League of Boston documented more than 80 buildings and markers in the area. That earlier work no longer met state historical standards, the town said.

Town Meeting approved $15,000 in May 2024 to launch the project. The Massachusetts Historical Commission matched that amount through a Survey and Planning Grant, bringing total funding to $30,000. Spies conducted site visits and historical research beginning in early 2024.

The project is the third town-funded historic survey in recent years, following the Mother Brook-East Dedham Corridor Study in 2018 and the High Street-Upper East Street Survey in 2022.

Of the 113 properties surveyed, all but five sit within the Dedham Village Historic District, which has been on the National Register since 2006. The Powder House is the lone building the survey recommends for its own individual listing.

The small brick structure sits at 162 Ames Street near the Charles River, on land owned by the Dedham Museum and Archive. The town owns the building itself. According to the Dedham Museum, the Powder House was built to store military supplies in a "place convenient, safe and practical," positioned high on a rock above the river to protect the surrounding area in case of an explosion.

The town's announcement refers to the building as the "1776 Dedham Powder House." Multiple historical sources, including the Dedham Museum, date construction to 1766-1767. The reason for the discrepancy is unclear.

The survey also recommends updating documentation for the remaining buildings in the Dedham Village Historic District. National Register listing is an honorary designation and does not impose restrictions beyond those already required by local bylaws, according to the town.

Residents can view the full survey at the Dedham Public Library Main Branch. Individual property records are also available online through the Massachusetts Historical Commission's MACRIS database.