Westborough MA Architecture

Harvey School // 1883

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Built to meet the needs of an expanding and prosperous community, the Harvey School in Westborough, Massachusetts, was built as a neighborhood school and is both historically and architecturally significant. Located on Phillips Street, a residential, tree-lined street just north of the commercial center of town, the Harvey School was built in 1883 under the supervision of Dr. Edwin Bayard Harvey, a local doctor who served on the town’s School Committee and as superintendent of schools from 1887-1890. As a State Senator he introduced a bill in 1884, which became law, to provide free textbooks for schoolchildren of Massachusetts. The Queen Anne style school building was in plan, designed by Dr. Harvey, who hired the Worcester-based architectural firm of Barker & Nourse, to furnish plans and design the building itself. The school would eventually close in 1980 as many local schools were consolidated, and the building was rented to the Boy Scouts and the Westborough Community Chorus. Recent attention on the under-utilized building has initiated more discussion on the future of the building, which may eventually house a regional emergency communications center.

Dr. Edwin B. Harvey House // c.1830

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Edwin Bayard Harvey (1834-1913) was born in Deerfield, New Hampshire, and attended Wesleyan University in Connecticut, pursuing his career as a teacher. He would teach for a few years until he shifted gears and enrolled at Harvard Medical School, graduating in 1866. With the intention of settling in the West, he went to Waukegan, Illinois, but was not satisfied, so he returned to New England, and made his home in Westborough, Massachusetts. Edwin operated a medical office from this house on West Main Street and resided here with his family until his death in 1913. He often made house calls around town travelling by horseback. During his time in Westborough, Dr. Harvey served as President of the Massachusetts Medical Society from 1898-1900, and served on local school and library boards in Westborough. Never giving up on his push for education, as a State Senator in the legislature in 1884, Dr. Harvey introduced and was instrumental to the passage of a bill to provide free textbooks to the children of the state. The Dr. Edwin Harvey House remains in a great state of preservation.

Westborough Public Library // 1908

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The Westborough Public Library is a handsome, two-story, masonry building with additions to showcase the growth and importance of the library to the community. This building was constructed in 1908, replacing a small space in the first floor of the old Town Hall (since demolished) as the community’s first purpose-built library. The structure was designed by architect Penn Varney, who specialized in civic buildings in New England. The Classical Revival style building is constructed of buff brick with stone trimmings. Of particular note, the quoined arched entry and pediment with central wreath motif, add much to the design. The library was eventually outgrown, and in 1980, an addition was added to the rear, in a style taking cues from the main building, but clearly of its time. The Town of Westborough about to undergo a restoration and renovation to the library, including a new roof, HVAC systems, interior renovations and the restoration of the 1908 windows.

Rev. Ebenezer Parkman House // 1750

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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

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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

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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

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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!