In 1820, Nathan Austin Fisher (1796-1851) purchased land along the Boston-Worcester Turnpike in Westborough, Massachusetts with the aim to build a home for his new wife, Susan T. Lothrop. By 1822, he had built a five-bay, center-hall Federal style estate house on the property and the couple began to raise their family. By 1826, Nathan and his brother-in-law, Joseph Lothrop, had opened a store in a section of Fisher’s house, which had been added for that purpose, presumably the western (left) three bays of the structure. Joseph Lothrop would build a Federal style residence on the opposite side of the turnpike that same year. When the railroad came to Westborough, turnpike traffic slowed, and the new rail line went through the center of town, bypassing the Fisher House and store, causing it to fail. Fisher and Nothrop would eventually leave Worcester County, and the property was sold numerous times until 1919, when this property was purchased by the Lyman School. The Fisher House became a residence for younger, special-needs boys to insulate them from the main population of Lyman, a reform school for the education and vocational training of wayward boys. In 1938, the house was converted back to a two-family home and used by families of Lyman School employees until the Lyman School closed in 1972, leaving the iconic Nathan Fisher House vacant for decades. After a failed attempt to convert the property into a house museum, the property was purchased by a local business, Release Well Being Center, and has been lovingly restored and maintained ever-since!
Buildings of New England 