Chaplin

CHAPLIN This community grew up around the local Congregational Church, for which the will of its namesake, Deacon Benjamin Chaplin, provided in 1795. By the date of its incorporation as a town in 1822 the new settlement was supported by a number of small mills and factories characteristic of the early Industrial Revolution in New England: hat-making, shoe-making, and shingle-making establishments. Although there were these various industries as well as farming to support the inhabitants, the population of Chaplin remained relatively stable from the period of its founding, and was reported to be 796 in the year 1850. Thereafter competition from business centers served by railroads caused a decline in industrial activity, and Chaplin became the predominantly agricultural and residential community which it has remained to this time. The Historic District of Chaplin contains outstanding examples of the Federal style of architecture. Notable structures from the Revolutionary and pre-Revolutionary periods are to be found in the surrounding area.