Worcester County

Rev. Ebenezer Parkman House // 1750

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Reverend Ebenezer Parkman (1703-1782) was a graduate of Harvard University and served as the first minister in Westborough, Massachusetts, from 1724 until his death. The town’s first meetinghouse was located on Powder Hill; however, in 1748, the community decided to build a new meetinghouse closer to the town center. In 1750, the town built Reverend Parkman a second parsonage, this large Georgian house, closer to the meetinghouse which would accommodate his growing family. It is said that when built, some members of the church felt the home was too grand and luxurious for the minister and particularly made reference to the numerous windows as glass was an expensive commodity at the time. From his residence and serving as the town’s minister for 58 years, Parkman watched his town grow from an English settlement on the fringe of civilization to a prosperous village in the independent United States. Parkman’s insights into the life of these times are recorded in his daily journal, now housed at the American Antiquarian Society in Worcester. It has also been digitized, providing a glimpse into daily life at the time. The house was originally located nearby but relocated in 1867 to its present location on High Street, where it remains in a great state of preservation. 

Westborough Unitarian Universalist Church // 1850

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Unitarian Universalist Church of Westborough, Massachusetts is architecturally significant as an excellent example of a ecclesiastical building in the Greek Revival style, but it is also significant historically as it tells a richer history of the community and New England as a whole. The Congregational Church has its roots in the first church in Westborough, established in 1724 under Reverend Ebenezer Parkman. The Religious Freedom Act of 1811 and the official separation of church and state in 1825 encouraged a diversity of religious views in Westborough and a branching out from the first church both spiritually and since churches needed new houses of worship. As a result, the local church in Westborough split due to differing beliefs, with the Congregationalists building a church and a few years later, the Unitarians building this church, both in variations of the same architectural style. The UU Church in Westborough was built by 1850 and was expanded as the congregation grew. The building remains nearly identical to when it was built except for the steeple, which in 1921, was in such bad repair that it had to be removed. Less than a decade later in 1930, member Isadore Forbes donated the funds to have the steeple rebuilt and a bell installed. 

Congregational Church of Westborough // 1834

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Evangelical Congregational Church of Westborough, Massachusetts, has its roots in the first church in Westborough, established on Powder Hill in 1724 under Reverend Ebenezer Parkman. The Religious Freedom Act of 1811 and the official separation of church and state, encouraged a diversity of religious views in Westborough and a branching out from the First Church. As a result the church here split in 1834, with some members forming the Evangelical Society, and those who remained, became the First Congregational Unitarian Society. The newly formed Evangelical Congregation built this church at the corner of West Main and Church streets in 1834 and the building is a typical 1830s Greek Revival style religious building in the state. In 1869, the church was remodeled, where the first floor was jacked up to provide basement meeting rooms.

Westborough Town Hall // 1929

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Welcome to Westborough (sometimes spelled Westboro), Massachusetts, a suburban town in Worcester County that has a lot of history! Westborough was first settled by colonists in 1675, when a few families had settled on land in the “west borough” of Marlborough, which was settled decades earlier. Before this, the land was occupied by the Nipmuc Indians, who hunted and fished near Cedar Swamp and Lake Hoccomocco. The town grew as an agricultural center with turnpikes crossing through connecting Boston to Worcester and other points. Later connections from rail and later the Mass Pike, had allowed for rapid growth and commercialization of the current population of over 22,000 residents. After WWI, the town’s outdated wood-frame meetinghouse was deemed inadequate for the growing population and higher demand for quality services. The meetinghouse was demolished and soon-after replaced with this handsome Town Hall in 1929. Designed by Boston architectural firm, Kilham, Hopkins & Greeley, who specialized in thoughtful infill developments and were among the best to design in the Colonial Revival style. The building was highlighted in architectural publications in 1930 with one stating, “An ultra-modernistic building on the elm shaded street of this Massachusetts town would have been an intrusion and would have been felt as such by the citizens, but the designers felt that it was entirely possible to combine the new ideas with the well-known red brick and white cupola of the native idiom, and the result is a modern building harmonizing perfectly within its environment.” I couldn’t agree more!

Asa Waters Mansion // 1829

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

In 1824, prosperous gunsmith Asa Waters II set out to build the stateliest residence in the country. It took two full years to amass the necessary materials for what is now known as the Asa Waters Mansion and Mr. Waters spared no expense. Asa Waters II (1769-1841) was born in Millbury in 1813 to Asa Sr. and Sarah Waters. Asa earned the art of gunsmithing from his father, and in 1808 the junior Asa and his brother Elijah opened the Waters & Co. Armory along the banks of the Blackstone River, in what is now Millbury Center. Following the untimely death of his brother in 1814, Asa Waters carried on the business solo and secured lucrative arms contracts with the United States government. His invention of a lathe to turn gun barrels into the first seamless barrels revolutionized the manufacture of guns throughout the world, and provided his company a stockpile of cash. As a result, he hired Boston-based architect Asher Benjamin, to design a country house suitable of his stature. The mansion features two prominent facades with the primary distinguished by a colonnade of fluted two-story columns with composite capitals. The mansion remained in the Waters Family until 1929, when it was sold to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Worcester, as a rectory of a local church. In 1977 the Town of Millbury acquired the Asa Waters Mansion, and with little funding to maintain the property; in 1994, the Asa Waters Mansion had fallen into quite a bit of disrepair. The town proposed to demolish the mansion for a parking lot, but a group of locals worked together as the Asa Waters Task Force and petitioned to save the house: funds were raised, tradesmen in the community donated materials and labor. Saving the architectural landmark for generations to come.

Millbury Post Office // 1940

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Located in downtown Millbury, MA, the town’s local post office stands as a great example of Art Deco and Colonial Revival architecture styles, showing how well different styles can be incorporated into a single, complimentary design. The Millbury Post Office building was constructed in 1940 from plans by Louis Adolph Simon, who served as Supervising Architect in the Office of the Supervising Architect for the U.S. Treasury from 1933 until 1939, when the office was moved to the Public Works Administration / Works Progress Administration. The post office was designed at the tail end of the New Deal programs to help stimulate local economies by building infrastructure and providing jobs to locals. Inside, a mural “An Incident in the King Philip’s War, 1670” was painted by Joe Lasker and installed in 1941 and was “revivified” in 1991.

Elijah Waters House // 1845

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

Elijah Waters (1773-1846), a hardscrabble farmer in West Millbury inherited his father’s large farm and resided there for over thirty years before wanting something more his style. Unmarried and without children, Elijah (who was 72 at the time), had this impressive Greek Revival farmhouse constructed near his old family homestead. He was possibly looking to spend money saved up and without a wife or heirs to will it to. The massive temple-front Greek Revival mansion has a stunning doorway and six columns supporting a projecting pediment. Within a year after the home was built, Elijah died. The home was willed to his nephew, Jonathan Waters. The house is for sale for $384,000 which is a STEAL!

Cunningham Block // 1896

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

The Cunningham Block in Millbury was constructed by, and named for Winthrop P. Cunningham (1820-1895), and his son and business partner, Russell Clark Cunningham (1845-1907). Winthrop Cunningham had come to Millbury in about 1837 and worked for Waters, Flagg & Harrington prominent gun manufacturers in town. His foundry work there brought him into a partnership with Matthias Felton in the Millbury Foundry Company. The Cunningham Block is sited on a prominent corner lot and built into the slope of the hill which drops down toward the river. I am especially fond of the curved corner facade and repetition of the paired round-arched windows on the second floor.

Windle House // c.1912

Buildings of New England2 Comments

William “Willie” Winfred Windle (yes that is a real name) was born in Millbury at the height of the town’s industrial growth and prosperity. He ran the W.W. Windle Mill just west of downtown and with his wealth, was able to buy a house lot on one of the most fashionable residential streets in town. His home was built in the early 20th century and is a stunning example of Tudor Revival architecture. In 1911, Windle traveled to England to inspect mills there and was likely inspired by some of the residential architecture he viewed on the trip. The house elegantly blends stone walls with half-timbered wood, with a prominent entry. The timber and stone entrance porch which has decorative bargeboard and corbels, has been enclosed. The home remained in the Windle family at least into the 1940s, when it was occupied by William Winfred Windle’s son, Winfred Woodward Windle. By the 1970s, the home was occupied as the Millbury Society of District Nursing.

S&D Spinning Mill – Singletary Mill // 1847

Buildings of New EnglandLeave a comment

One of the many large brick mills in Millbury, the S&D Spinning Mill (originally Singletary Mill) sits on Singletary Brook, which historically provided power for the facility. The four-story mill building was constructed in 1846 and is believed to be the oldest extant mill structure in town. Beginning in the late 1820s, successive textile mills used the waterpower here, including the companies: Singletary Manufacturing Company, the Boston & Millbury Company, and Farnum & Jenks. Fires destroyed all mills on this site, sometimes within just a couple years of each other. The last mill was destroyed in 1846, and Mowry Farnum, who owned the site, rebuilt a brick mill here, which is what we see today. After a couple companies occupied the building, the Mayo Woolen Company (which was featured on here previously) purchased this mill in 1910, and renamed the structure Mayo Mill No. 2. In 1961 a newly formed company, S&D Spinning Mill Inc. occupied the building. They are best-known today as the sole-manufacturer of the yarn which fills Major League Baseballs! Manufacturing is not dead in New England!