Lincoln Street

FORM B - BUILDING

MASSACHUSETTS mSTORICAL COMMISSIONOffice of the Secretary. state House, Boston-----------

2.

4. Map. Draw sketch of building locationin relation to nearest cross streets andother buildings. Indicate north.

a @ [1 o51

LJ

oR re ;).0 LINcOLN

oWILLlJTMS o

o NOT WRITE IN THIS SPACEUSGS Quadrant '-,

-,.~\-HC Photo no. '---,

\\. (over),..

•.,5M-2-75-R061465· (20M-2':;76) ~\. \~

In Area no. Form no.

Address651 "Linco 1n .::)tree t

Name Capt. ;,-iilliam Holyoke Homes t ea-

Present use Residence

Present owner Ge.ne Scource.

3. Description: 2t Story Center Hall

Date 1805

Source Pub. Local Histories

style Colonial

Architect Capt. ·~-lilliarn Holyoke

Exterior wall fabric Asbestos Shingle.

Outbuildings (describe) None---------other features Large e.ll to rear pr

north side

Altered Date

Moved Date--------- -----5. Lot size:

o One acre or less X Over one acre __

Approximate frontage 100 Fee.t----------Approximate distance of building from street

[J20 Feet

6. Recorded by Ernest GinnettiMarlborough H~stor~cal

Organization Commission

Date 12/29/76

•

7. Originalowner (ifknown) Cant. 0i11iarn Ho1vokeOriginaluse Fa rm--=-==---------------------------Subsequentuses (ifany)and dates i<.esidence-------------------------

8. Themes (checkas many as applicable)Aboriginal Conservation RecreationAgricultural Education Religion -Architectural X Exploration/ -- Science/The Arts settlement inventionCommerce Industry Social/Communication Military -- )X humanitarianCommunity development X Political X Transportation--- --- )

9. Historicalsignificance(includeexplanationofthemes checked above)Capt. William Holyoke was a carpenter and joiner by trade, he was

born February 23, 1779 and was a Captain in the Militia. He marriedRebecca Howe of Sudbury April 8, 1805 at which time he built thishouse to replace a small two story house which was on the farm when.he took possession. He was still alive in 1862 when Charles Hudsonwas writing the History of Marlborough Mass.

His father Elizur Holyoke marched with Captain Daniel Barnes toCambridge on April 19, 1775, and afterwards joined the regular service.

This type of house plan represents the sixth and final stage ofcolonial archetecture the Central Hall.

10-. Bibliographyand/or references(suchas localhistories,deeds, assessor'srecords,early maps, etc.)History of Marlborough MaSS. Charles Hudson, Boston, 1862.Historical Reminiscences of M~rlborough, Ella Bigelow, Marl. 1910.Marlborough Engineering Dept.

• •

I FORM B - BUILDING Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number

Massachusetts Historical Commission [80-2180 Boylston StreetBoston, Massachusetts 02116

I I Marlborough I AJ 63

Town Marlborough

Place (neighborhood or village) _

I -3ke WiJliams area

Address 643 Lincoln Street

Capt. William Holyoke House

dweJJing

Original dwelling

Date of Construction _~1 •..•80•.•.5.J---- _

Bigelow

Federal

rchitect/Builder William Holyoke

Exterior Material:

Sketch MapDraw a map of the area indicating properties withinit. Number each property for which individualinventory forms have been completed. Label streets,including route numbers, if any. Attach a separatesheet if space is not sufficient here. Indicate north.

S

Foundation granite

Wallffrim synthetic siding

Roof asphalt shingle

\Outbuildings/Secondary Structures _

none

Major Alterations (with dates) hip-roofed

front porch removed ca ]980's; main ent'Y

..replaced

Condition fair

Moved [X] no [ ] yes Date __ N--......./A _

Acreage less than one acre

- ~corded by _~~_~_~ _ Setting Corner of Bond Street in residential!

Organization for Marlboro Hist Carom commercial area, overlooking I.ake WiI1j)aros

Date 5120/95,

BUILDING FORM

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION [ ] see continuation sheetDescribe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildingswithin the community.

Ln spite of its synthetic siding and the replacement of its main entry, the William Holyoke House isone of Marlborough's more intact houses of the Federal period, and is especially valuable because itsbuilder, William Holyoke himself, is known. It is a typical ca. 1805 2 1I2-stOlY,five- by two-bay housewith a pair of chimneys behind the roof ridge. A long two-story wing extends to the northeast rear,and another, shorter wing abuts the west side of the house. The windows, replaced sometime after1850, are 2-over-2-sash, and the house trim includes a molded, boxed cornice without any roof (overhang at the gable-ends. The main center entry retains its elegant Federal louvered fanlight overthe newer door. (

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE [ ] see continuation sheetExplain history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of thebuilding, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community.

One of the oldest houses in the Lake Williams area, it is significant for its connection with at least two (generations of the Holyoke family, one of the prominent families in Marlborough in the eighteenth andnineteenth centuries. It was built by Capt. William Holyoke (1779-1858), a carpenter and joiner, who (is believed to have constructed it himself. It stands on the site of a smaller, two-story house that hadbelonged to his grandmother, Elizabeth (Bragg) Gates. The widow of Silas Gates, (of anotherprominent Lake Williams family), she died in 1806, the year after William married Rebecca Howe andis said to have replaced the old house with this one.

William Holyoke, the son of Revolutionary soldier, Elizur Holyoke, was commander of Marlborough'sWest Militia at the time of the War of 1812. He and Rebecca had seven children, several of whomestablished homes in the neighborhood. Their eldest son William F. Holyoke bought the formerEphraim Barber House at 221 Lakeside Avenue (demolished--see Form #54» for his residence, secondson Edward, also a carpenter, built his own house at 610 Lincoln St./109 Lakeside Avenue on part ofthe farm (Form #72,) and the third, Freeman, lived in this house and eventually succeeded to itsownership.

Freeman Holyoke (b. 1818) worked as a carpenter along with his father and brother, and was also amarket gardener. He married Henrietta Brigham in 1854, and they apparently lived in part of thehouse with their children Charles and Adeline, even while his father was still alive.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES [] see continuation sheetMaps and atlases: 1830, 1835, 1853, 1856-57, 1875, 1889.Bigelow, Ella. Historical Reminiscences of Marlborough. 1910.Hudson.Marlborough Vital Records.Marlborough Directories and Real Estate valuations.Marlborough Historical Society: House files.

[ ] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completedNational Register Criteria Statement form is attached.

I FORM B - BUILDING Assessor's number

Massachusetts Historical Commission80 Boylston StreetBoston, Massachusetts 02116

I 80-31

USGS Quad Form NumberArea(s)

I I Marlborough I AJ 72

Town Marlborough

,. Place (neighborhood or village) _

"~ lake WjJliams area

Address 610/612 Lincoln Street(109 Lakeside Avenue)

Historic Name Edward Holyoke House

Uses: Present dwe11jng

Original dwelling, \" ':;= .

. :" ". ; a- Date of Construction ca 1837-38


corded by Anne Forbes

Organization for Marlboro Hist Comm

Date 5120195

Source maps; visual assessment

Style/Form formerly Greek Revival

Architect/Builder probably Edward Holyoke

Exterior Material:

Foundation (not visible)

WaIlffrim synthetic siding

Roof asphalt shingle

Outbuildings/Secondary Structures _

none

Major Alterations (with dates) much trim lost

or covered by siding; front porch removed

and replaced with deck and pedimenfed hood-20th-century .

Condition fajr

Moved [X] no [ ] yes Date N/A

Acreage Jess than one acre

Setting Back from lakeside' Ave on hillside;

in residential,lcommercial area, overlooking

I.ake Wjl1iams

BUILDING FORM

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION [] see continuation sheetDescribe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildingswithin the community.

Although some sources say this house was built about 1825, since it is not shown on either the 1830 or1835 map, it is most likely that it dates to the later 1830's. It is a large 2 112-story, six-bay gable-endstructure, with a long 1 112-storynorth wing of several sections. The windows are 2-over-2-sash, and themain entry consists of a pair of doors under a twentieth-century pedimented, bracketed hood. The trim,though covered with siding, includes a molded, boxed cornice.

,,

Prior to the radical changes to both the building and grounds of the last two decades, this property wasone of the focal points of the Lake Williams area, and a showcase for the talents of carpenter EdwardHolyoke. Terraced on the hillside, with two retaining walls, it looked out over an expansive, sloping lawnto the pond and the hills in the distance. The 2-over-2-sash windows had shutters and high molded andbracketed crowns, and, as at the Farwell/O'Connell House at 63 Maple Street (see Form #92), at leastone tall chimney rose from the side of the roof. When built, it must have been one of the most high-styleGreek Revival houses in this section of Marlborough. The first story of the facade was flushboarded, andthe house trim included an echinus cornice and Ionic corner pilasters. The main entry apparently had asingle door in a projecting vestibule, and a wide porch, on what appear in photographs to have been Doriccolumns, spanned the facade.

/~

(

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE [ ] see continuation sheetExplain history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of thebuilding, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community.

This house, like #643 Lincoln Street, just to the northwest, is significant for its connection with at leasttwo generations of the Holyoke family, one of the prominent families in Marlborough in the lateeighteenth and nineteenth centuries. It was built by Edward Holyoke (18G8-ca. 1888), who, like hisbrother, Freeman, and father, William, who lived at 643 Lincoln, was a carpenter, and evidentlyconstructed it himself. His carpentry shop, which was located north of the house, possibly in the longnorth ell that is still standing, burned down and was rebuilt at least once--in 1848, a few days after theinsurance on it had expired.

Edward Holyoke worked at his trade until he was over eighty years old. A loyal resident of the LakeWilliams area, he was fond of saying he had moved only once in his life, from his father's house to thisone, using a wheelbarrow to move his household goods. He is said to have built this house before hisfirst marriage, to Angela Toombs of Boylston in 1838. They had five children, and after she died, hemarried again and had one son, Edward C. Holyoke, who inherited the house after his mother's death.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES [] see continuation sheetMaps and atlases: 1853, 1856/571875, 1889.Bigelow, Ella. Historical Reminiscences of Marlborough. 1910.Hudson.Marlborough Vital Records.Marlborough Directories and Real Estate valuations.Marlborough Historical Society: House files.

[] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completedNational Register Criteria Statement form is attached.

INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community Property

Marlborough CommonwealthArmory


Area(s)C

Form No.82

Additional information by Anne Forbes, consultant to Marlborough Historical Commission,3/31/94:

ASSESSOR'S # 69-265

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION, cont.This armory is the epitome of many built by the commonwealth in the early years of this century.Virtually unchanged since it was constructed in 1905, (except for the replacement of its doors,) it isa heavy, fortress-like brick structure on a fieldstone foundation, evoking a mixture of revivalist styles.The main block, primarily Gothic Revival in its massing, is a two-story rectangle with a hipped slateroof, its main entrance through a wide, keystoned flat archway in a projecting center pavilion. Banksof three tall, narrow, segmental-arched windows on the facade are set off by heavy quoining at thebuilding corners and in the central pavilion, which is crowned by a wide segmental arch under a highdouble brick parapet. Corbeled brick parapet sections also top the building corners, and prominintcorbeling emphasizes the roof cornice. The windows are six-over-six-sash, with stone sills and splayed-brick lintels. Stone also appears in the name plate over the door, and in the keystone of the entryarch. Flanking the entry is a pair of small bronze or brass octagonal wall fixtures. East of the entrya 1952 bronze wall plaque honors the memory of the members of Company F, 6th Regiment, MVMas of April, 1917.

A long two-story drill shed with a slate gambrel roof extends to the rear. Its sides are arranged in sixbays of paired 4-over-4-sash windows, divided by shallow brick buttresses.

NARRATIVE HISTORY, cont.The Commonwealth Armory in Marlborough was built by the state in 1905, and was designed by J.Lawrence Berry, one of the architects who designed the City Hall (see Form #64). The buildingstands on the site of two former factories, the Chase & Merritt (briefly Chase, Merritt & Blanchard)Shoe Factory, and the 1872 building of Page & Parsons' (at other times Exley & Parsons, or HenryParsons') Machine shop. The latter company manufactured steam engines, elevators, and sole-cuttersfor the shoe trade. At the rear of the parcel, on Gay Street, were a pre-1889 hose house of theMarlborough Fire Department, and a small iron foundry associated with the machine shop.

BIBLIOGRAPHY, cont.Maps and atlases: Sanborn maps from 1906.Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Middlesex County, Mass. 1890.Annual Reports of the City of Marlborough

[ X] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completedNational Register Criteria Statement form is attached.

INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET


Community Property

Marlborough CommonwealthArmory

Area(s)C

Form No.82

~ .. ~. -----------~-~-


Community Property Address

Marlborough Lincoln Street

Area(s) Form No(s).

C 82-----

National Register of Historic Places Criteria Statement Form

Check all that apply:

[x] Individually eligible [ ] Eligible only in a historic district[x] Contributing to a potential historic district [] Potential historic district

Criteria: [x] A [] B [x] C [] D

Criteria Considerations: [] A [] B [J C [] D [] E [] F [] G

Statement of Significance by __ -=F....=;o.;:....rb=--'e=-=s'-'I_S=.c=-=h.::..:u=le.=rO-- _The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

The State Armory meets Criteria A and C of the National Register for its well-preservedrepresentation of a military structure built in many Massachusetts towns between the Spanish-American and First World Wars. The heavy fortress-like brick structure is the only one of its kindin Marlborough and displays a castellated form with buttressed walls, heavy comer quoins, and aslightly parapetted central projection. The building retains integrity of location, design, setting,materials, workmanship, feeling and association.


Frye BuildingMarlborough


Area(s)C

Form No.102


ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION, cont.When the four-story, L-shaped Frye Building was constructed in 1892, not only was it the largestcommercial building in the city, but it incorporated several features that were the height of style inNew England's downtowns at the time. In a corner building, the double facade with a continuouswall curving around the corner was becoming increasingly common. The cast-iron frieze, cornice, anddecorative pilasters that still remain at the first story are an illustration of how iron was being usedto highly decorative effect in the 1890's. Although common elsewhere, the brownstone lintels, sills,band-coursing and corner quoins here are unusual in Marlborough's commercial blocks.

ASSESSOR'S # 69-263.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES, cont.Maps and atlases: Sanborn Maps from 1896 to 1938.Bigelow, Ella. Historical Reminiscences of the Early Times in Marlborough. 1910.Directories.


FORM B - BUI~DING'

TvLA-SSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSIONOffice 01 the Secretary, state House, Boston

In Area no. Form no.

110

"

wn

'dress

Marlborough

520 Lincoln Streetj~me Pine Acres

!esent use Pro spec tor-East Saloon,1partments

-e sent owner rv;r. Robert Kays

iscr-ipti on.

1880

Source Current owner

ylef'r ene h Renaissance Revival---~---.-

."""~~- ;;:~'ch.itect-r , !'letl!. l..JJ. a. \'V ~I'\.'t;; LvU VJ.. -.JU.l J.U~U5 .1.V~a.""LVU

in relation to nearest cross streets andother buildings. Indicate north. Exterior wall fabric Shingle

Outbuildings (describe) _

Other features Mansard roof with

dormers, four-story building.

Altered Renovated Date 1974

Moved Date

5. Lot size:

One acre or less -X- Over one acre _

Approximate. frontage 3_5_' _

Approximate distance of building from street

8'

6. Recorded by~\v~'_,~C:_j~h~h_.Q~n~R _

Organization i..~rl-cnrn Tl?nnin.r "p~jL

Date

(over)

37}.~""'7-77



Marlborough 342 Lincoln Street

Area(s) Form No(s).

C 102



[ ] Individually eligible [ ] Eligible only in a historic district[x] Contributing to a potential historic district [] Potential historic district


Criteria Considerations: [] A [] B [] C [] D [] E [] F [] G

Statement of Significance by __ F_o~r~b_es_I_S_ch_u_l_e_r _The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

The Frye Building meets Criteria A and C of the National Register. It was the largest commercialblock at the time of construction and representative of the growing prosperity of Marlborough.Constructed by the owner of the Frye Boot Company, (MHC#116), it had first-story storefrontsand three stories of hotel rooms. The size, scale, and detail including cast-iron frieze, cornice andpilasters were unique at the time of construction and are important architecturally. In spite of thestore front alterations the property retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials,workmanship, feeling, and association.


Marlborough Marlborough WireGoods


Area(s)C

Form No.115


ASSESSOR'S # 68-108, -109.

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION, cont.This large three-story flat-roofed building is in relatively intact condition, save for the filling in of mostof its original window openings to accommodate smaller sash. Twelve of what are apparently originalmulti-light frosted glass windows remain in the east section, however, and six in the west. This is anextremely simple building, with virtually no adornments. The sills of the window openings are stoneor brick; all the lintels are brick. The main north-side entry has a modern glass and aluminum doorrecessed under a tall round-arched opening with granite keystone and imposts. Between 1929 and1938 the building was twice enlarged, first with a seven-bay wing on the west end, and in 1938, withthe addition of the entire section along Winthrop Street. The latter construction necessitated thedemolition of the old Forest Hall, a building which had housed the Russell & Alley (later O.H.Russell) Shoe Factory in the late nineteenth century, and had a meeting hall on the upper floor.

The architect for both the original building and the later additions was O.E. Nault & Sons, who alsodesigned the additions to St. Anne's Academy about a year later (see Form #95.) The buildingcontractor was L. Rocheford.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont.Marlborough Wire Goods provides an outstanding example of a success story involving the son of oneof Marlborough's immigrant shoe workers. Hector Eli Moineau, first president and general managerof the company, was born in 1881, the son of a French-Canadian immigrant, Isaie Moineau. He beganhis career with the S.H. Howe Shoe Company. After a period as an apprentice in the machinist tradein Springfield, he returned to Marlborough to further develop his skills at the Parsons MachineryCompany. In 1907 he entered business for himself, first on Lincoln Street, then in the Wood &Willard factory at 293 Lincoln Street (see Form#119). He then became manager of the Electro WeldCompany, until 1918, when he resigned to become manager of the Marlboro Metal Works, whichmanufactured ammunition. After World War I, with the munitions business declining, Mr. Moineaureturned to manufacturing wire goods and bathroom fixtures as president and manager of theMarlborough Wire Goods Company. In 1921, the company opened its first facility in either the Rice& Hutchins Cotting Avenue factory building or the former Frank & Duston box factory on LincolnStreet. In 1923-1924 the main part of the present building was constructed, providing 150 x 70 feetof floor space for 70 employees. In 1941 the company expanded again, acquiring the former Morse& Bigelow store building across the street, at #419 Lincoln Street, which it used for many years as awarehous. (See Form #145).

In 1994 the building is still used for manufacturing, by Space Age Electronics.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES, cont.Maps and atlases: Sanborn Maps from 1929.Directories.Conklin. Middlesex County and its People. 1927.Marlborough Historical Society: Moineau Photo Collection.

[ ] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completedNational Register Criteria Statement form is attached.

7. Original owner (if known) L~ohn ;)oUCV

Original use ,\r8r -t rr c: r· t h()1) ~::,':-,/ ::: a1a0r

subseque nt uses (if any) and dates S8 [f,e

8. Themes (check as many as applicable)

AboriginalAgriculturalArchitecturalThe ArtsCommerceCommunicationCommunity development

RecreationReligionScience/

inventionSocial!

humanitarianTransportation

x

ConservationEducationExploration/

settlementIndustryMilitaryPolitical

x

x

9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above)

This apartment house and saloon was constructed c. 1880. One ofthe first owners was IVJr.John Soucy of lV:arlborough. For manyyears t the establishment was known as " Fine Acres, ,.and ownedby Mr. Edward Brizzard.

It is currently o\~ed by ~r. Robert Kays, who is responsible for thecompletion of extensive renovations made recently. The remodelingcost $7,000, and included paint, carpetinp, and new pine floorsin 1974. The saloon is on the first floor, and has been addedto. The addition serves as a function room. The top three storiesof this four story buioding are used as apartments, and wererenovated in 1977, at a cost of $5,000.

In the past, the street floor was used as a butcher shop,and, according to reputation, as a speakeasy during the 1920's."Pine Acres" is known and remem~Jered by many ~r,arlborou€hresidents and surrounding towns.

10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records,early maps, etc.)

Interview: Adolph Paquin - Marlborough residentInterview: Robert Kays - current owner of the building

Marlborough Directory - 1900 (Marlborough Public Library)

/

. Originalowner (ifknown) 12rlboro.'Jirc (oorie Co.

Originaluse

8. Themes (checkas many as applicable)Aborigin.alAgriculturalArchitecturalThe ArtsCommerceCommunicationCommunity development

x


inventionSocial/


x


settlementIndustryMilitaryPoliticalx

9. Historicalsignificance(includeexplanation ofthemes checked above)

This symmetrical, red brick building has an arched brick mainentrance and is partially covered with Boston Ivy in summer.~he building was constructed and completed in 1924, and stillhouses the same firm, Marlboro Aire Goods Co.~arlborough ~ire originally fabricated lamp and sprinkler system~uards. Today they manufacture the only Factory-Mutual approvedsprinkler guard used in North America. Presently, the companysupplies a wide range of companies with items such as laboratoryproducts for medical, educational and industrial fields, fuardsand motor mounts, racks, wickets and decorative lightine fixtures.Approximately fifty years ago, I'ilarlboroufh·,.[iremanuf ac t.ureoproducts for the lighting, shoe, bakery, optical and medicalfields. This was followed by activity in the filter, air condition-ing, aircraft and electronic industries. More recently, thecompany has associated with automotive, computer, copier andenvironmental firms. Marketing and merchandising consultantsfrom many industries are becoming acquainted with the capabilitiesof the new supply rack division formed in 1975. In its fifty-fiveyear history, OCarlboro Wire Goods has taken its place in theindustrial growth of the City, along with the late shoe industries.

10. Blbliographyand/or references(suchas localhistories,deeds, assessor'srecords,'earlymaps, etc.)

History of Marlborough Wire Goods Company - pamphlet from firm~arlborough Enterprise - Tercentennial Edition

(Marlborough Public Library Archives)On site inspection.


Marlborough "Clapp & Billings" factory(Wood & Willard factory)


Area(s)H

Form No.(s)119, 186, 187


ASSESSOR'S # 69-341, 342, 343

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION, cont.This factory is actually an accumulation of several buildings, which were enlarged and eventuallyattached to each other. The main section (MHC#119) is a large 3-story wood-frame, asbestos-sidedblock of 1890-91, with a shallow-pitched gabled roof and brick foundation. The first story of its 3-story shed-roofed rear wing was added between 1929 and 1938. The three-bay section east of thetower, apparently added at about the same time, is two stories high, flat-roofed, with a "false-front"parapet along its street front. The east wall of an earlier section to its rear, (also two-story, but witha shallow-pitched gabled roof,) is slanted back to the northwest, echoing the former line of therailroad. The windows in the main block are arranged in bands--of paired 4-over-4-sash along thestreet facade, and paired 6-over-6-sash on the west end. The southwest corner of the west wall isoccupied by large late-twentieth-century loading doors at first and second story levels; an iron fireescape abuts the middle part of the wall. In the east part, the high mansard roof of the tower hasbeen replaced since 1979 by a gabled roof. The east end of the building has an assortment of large6-over-6-sash windows.

A one-story 20th-century wing extends to the rear of the main block, connecting it to a long 2 1/2-story, wood-frame gable-roofed manufacturing building of ca. 1868 (MHC #187). A one-story ellabuts its east end. This building, which stands on a brick foundation and today is covered withasphalt siding, is one of few, if any, survivors of the first generations of Marlborough's industrial era,when small wooden gable-roofed factories were numerous throughout Marlborough center. Itswindows are 6-over-6-sash.

Attached to the west end of the main factory via a narrow, two-story addition is the very alteredmansard cottage of E.C. Whitney, ca. 1863 (MHC#186). Like the main building, it stands on a brickfoundation, and is covered with asbestos siding. In spite of a large rear addition, the replacementof its windows and doors and the removal of its front porch, it retains some of its original SecondEmpire character in its general proportions, roof, and recessed, shed-roofed dormer windows.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, Cont.Although the bulk of this complex was, as the 1979 inventory form states, built in the early 1890's,it was not built for the Clapp & Billings Shoe Company. The firm of Clapp & Billings, whichmanufactured boys' shoes, was only in existence from 1864 through 1879, when J.B. Billings boughtout his partner. His company continued until the turn of the century in their two buildings on MainStreet, after which it was apparently consolidated under Frank Billings, who relocated here.

The property also incorporates some earlier buildings that were associated with other owners anduses. The small mansard cottage at 301 Lincoln (MHC#186), now connected to the west wall of thefactory, was built in the early 1860's as the residence of E.C. Whitney. He was the first cashier of theFirst National Bank, coming to Marlborough from Lancaster at the time of the bank's inception in1863. He was Chief Engineer of the fire department from 1873 to 1875, and a founder of theMarlborough Board of Trade in 1878. (Cont.)

FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no.

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION 115

] Marlborough

406 Lincoln Street

me Marlboro Wire Goods Co.

lese nt use Manut actur in go torIutomotive,computer firms.

Jresent owner Marlboro Wire Goods Co,

~scription:j

1924

Source Marlborough Enterprise

-l . Map , Draw sketch of building locationin relation to nearest cross streets andother buildings. Indicate north.

Architect

Exterior wall fabric red brick

Outbuildi ngs (de scribe) ---------Other features Ivy-covered walls.

DO Altered Date

Moved Date--------- -----5. Lot size:

One acre or less ----.X- Over one acre __

Approximate frontage __ ~8~Q~' _

Approximate distance of building from street

8 '

6. Recorded by ~J. Gibbons

Organiz.at ion 1",;11' 1'coro Flann io{' i)ept:.

Date 6/29/79

(over)

37H-7-77

INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET


Community Property

Marlborough WireGoods

Marlborough

Area(s)C

Form No.115



Marlborough "Clapp & Billings" factory(Wood & Willard Factory)

Area(s)H

Form No.(s)119, 186, 187

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont.This complex, along with a much altered building to its east, is all that remains of what was once athriving side street along the railroad tracks called "Mechanics Square." Among other establishmentshere were the long coal sheds of Charles L. Fay, and Cate & Walker's lumber yard, (begun byGeorge Cate in 1856), located across Lincoln Street. To the rear of this property was the carriage-making and blacksmith shop of Levi Taylor, which was built sometime before 1871.

In the mid-1890's the Fitchburg Railroad built a railroad spur leading southwest from the oldFitchburg tracks to a new depot at the corner of Lincoln and Mechanic Streets, which fundamentallychanged the character of this area, isolating it into a triangle bordered on one side by Lincoln Street,and on two sides by railroad tracks. At that time, except for the Whitney House, the houses on thisside of the block were demolished, and the railroad built the long building at #305-307 LincolnStreet (see Form 188) for a freight house.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES, cont.Maps and atlases: Walling, 1871; Beers, 1875; Bailey & Hazen, 1878; Walker, 1889; Sanborn Maps

from 1881 to 1938.Bigelow, Ella. Historical Reminiscences of the Early Times in Marlborough. 1910.Conklin. Middlesex County and its People. 1927.Hurd, D. Hamilton. History of Middlesex County. 1890.Pictorial Marlborough. 1879.Marlborough Directories.Marlborough Enterprise. 1890.Marlborough Historical Society: Moineau Photo Collection.

/

\

.~-•. ~[ X] Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completed

National Register Criteria Statement form is attached.


Marlborough "Clapp & Billingsll factory(Wood & Willard Factory)

Area(s) Form No.(s)H 119, 186, 187


HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cant.Map evidence, along with an engraving in Pictorial Marlborough, shows that this once stylish propertyalso included a larger Second-Empire house to the west, a carriage-house to the northwest, asummer-house (gazebo) in the front yard, and, along the streetfront, a long wooden fence withdecorative, saw-cut pickets. The Whitney property was owned in 1889 by J. James.

The 2 1/2-story gable-roofed building that is today attached to the rear of the main factory by a one-story wing, is apparently the rear section of one of Marlborough's earliest surviving manufacturingbuildings, Hall, Sandiford, & Watson's machine shop, built between 1868 and 1871 for themanufacture of sole-cutters and other machinery used in shoe factories. (MHC#187). From 1875to 1878 it was run by Bevan & Alden, and as Bevan & Davey until 1880, when it became Davey &Exley. Henry Exley continued here until 1887. Parts of the building were occupied at various timesby other manufacturing concerns, including Thomas Jackson's Marlborough Last Factory, the J.F.Desmond Shoe Factory, and the machine shop of Julian P. Wood, who had been manufacturingpunch-machines and other shoe machinery since 1879. He went into partnership with HerbertWillard in 1887, and, although the building is shown in 1889 under the ownership of George A. Howe,who had a box factory on Florence Street, it is likely that, by ca. 1890, Wood & Willard had actuallyacquired the property.

In the early 1890's, Wood and Willard put up the main part of the three-story factory, the Wood &Willard Factory (MHC#119) along the street, with the four-story stair tower at its southeast corner.Their machine shop occupied the basement and first floor. DeWolfe & Bagnell's last factory waslocated on the second floor, and the Wheeler Machine Shop on the third. (The latter business, underM.C. Wheeler, also operated a machine shop further east on Lincoln Street, at the east corner ofProspect.)

For a short time the property was under the ownership of David H. O'Connell, former superintendentof the O'Connell Shoe factory. That company had been discontinued by his father, John O'Connell,and his brothers, but, before he was stopped by ill health, David had hoped to reengage in shoe-manufacturing at this location. By 1901 both the 1890's and ca. 1868 factory buildings were vacant.By 1906, however, the three-story building had become the Frank Billings Shoe Heel Factory. By1912 Billings was occupying both buildings.

In about 1920 the property became the home of the Indian Head Shoe Company, apparently stillunder the ownership of Frank Billings. The older front wing of the rear building was torn down, andits surviving section used for storage. The company acquired the former Whitney property to thewest, on which was standing the Whitney house and the Boston & Maine (formerly FitchburgRailroad) freighthouse at 305/307 Lincoln Street (see Form #188.) Several years later the wholecomplex was acquired by the Johnson-Claflin Corporation, which opened here in 1925. In the 1930'sthey built the first story of the large rear wing of the front building for the manufacture of metalgauges. They attached the Whitney house to the main building, using it for a company office, andused the old rear building for a paint-spraying facility. Press- and screw machines were located inthe former freight house. Johnson & Claflin later branched out to produce gas and oil kitchenranges. (Cont.)




Area(s) Form No(s).

H 119, 186. 187



[ ] Individually eligible [ ] Eligible only in a historic district[x] Contributing to a potential historic district [1 Potential historic district


Criteria Considerations: [] A (] B [] C [] D [] E [] F [] G

Statement of Significance by __ F_o_r_b_es_I_S_ch_u_l_e_r _The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

The Wood and Willard Factory meets Criteria A and C of the National Register. Thecomplex, which is a series of attached buildings of various uses, demonstrates the evolution ofone of the only remaining shoe related industries. The main three-story factory built by Woodand Willard in the early 1890s housed machine shops and later a shoe heel company. This partof the complex retains some of its architectural integrity. Other parts of the complex arereminiscent of small businesses of the mid to late 1800s. The property retains integrity oflocation, setting, feeling and association.

FORM B - BUILDING In Area no. Form no.

MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION" 119

Marlborough

293 Lincoln Street

me Clapp & Billings Factory!resent use Light manu! actur ing,1

JOBY I Inc.

scription:

c. 1890

~arlborough Pictori&~i879" -----

,I

:yle }'rench Renaissance Revival

4. Map. Draw sketch of building locationin relation to nearest cross streets andother buildings. Indicate north.

Architect

Exterior wall fabric cla pboard & sh ingle

Outbuildings (describe) _

Other features Slate roof I IVlansard

roofs (office and steeple)

Altered Date--------- -~ ------

Mo~d D~e--------- -----

DODD 5. Lot size:

One acre or less __ Over one acre---.X..-

Approxi mate fr ontage __ J,-"o......,o,"--' _

t Approximate distance of building from street

II p'

6. Rec orded by-"'-.!..•..--,-\_lur..:...b'-'." :>t.QJ-lnf':-- _

Date

(over)

37J.-':-7-77

7. Original owner (if known)

Original use 1 ~\.-•..I '...i ~.-

Subsequent uses (if any) and dates

8. Themes (check as many as applicable)

x


inventionSocial!


AboriginalAgriculturalArchitecturalThe ArtsCommerceCommunicationCommunity development

x


settlementIndustryMilitaryPoliticalx x

9. Historical significance (include explanation of themes checked above)

This buildin~ oripinally housed the Clapp & Billinps Shoe Factory.It was popularly ref errf~d to as the ,.Lnd ian Head " shop.The first two Clapp and Eillin&s factories were built on ~ain St.by 3.F. Lo~{'ley in IP62 and 186f, respectively. Approximately1700 pairs of shoes were produced daily under B.F. Greely,Superintendent.l\fter the demise of the shoe industry in N:arlborough, this buildingserved as the Boston & Waine Preirht Station and a Coal Company.The firm of JohnGon and Claflin be~an in 1934 with GustaveJohnson and Fred Claflin as partners. The business originallyoperated as a machine shop for the production of stove parts.Herb Johnson, son of the founder, later operated the shop inair filter production.The building itself features a low-pitched main roof with tower.The tower has a Mansard roof-line, and the adjacent office buildinghas a traditional mansard roof. The buildinr is in need of repairpresently, and was just recently sold to JOGY, Inc. There areno plans for renovations at this time.

10. Bibliography and/or references (such as local histories, deeds, assessor's records,early maps. etc.)

Historical Reminiscences of Marlborough. Ella Bigelow, 1910 Marlborou§

.Marlborough Pictorial Vol. I, #1 1879 (Marlborough Public Library)

Interview: JOBY, Inc. - new owners.

On site

FORM B - BUILDING lMassachusetts Historical Commission80 Boylston StreetBoston, Massachusetts 0211~

Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s)

I 69-91 I I Marlborough I I cForm Number

I 144, 145


L-1~uJ

N

Recorded by Anne Forbes consultant;


Date 3131/94

Town Marlborough


West YjJlage

Address 419 I inca]n Street

Historic Name Morse & Bigelow Store

Uses: Present manufacturing firm

Original general/department store

Date of Construction ca 1886-88

Source Maps; style

Style/Form Shingle Style

Architect/Builder __ .•.•lI.•.•n.••.k.•.•n•.•ow.•.•.•..n _

Exterior Material:

Foundation not visible

Wallffrim wood shingle

Roof not visible


Ca 1886 brick storage building at rear

Major Alterations (with dates) _

attached to fanner early-20th Crear out-

building

Condition __ ---'f.•..a..•.iro...- _

Moved [Xl no [ ] yes Date __ N/A _


Setting In mixed 19th-early 20th-C residen-

tiallcommercjal!jndJlstrial area Parking to

W' wood-frame former 19tb.C botel to S;

BUILDING FORM

ARCHITECfURAL DESCRIPTION [] see continuation sheetDescribe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildingswithin the community.

The original part ofthe Morse & Bigelow Store (MHC#144), constructed ca. 1886, is a large squaretwo-story shingled, flat-roofed structure with prominent projecting, skirted facade comers at second-story level. The building has two main entrances (their doors replaced), one in each front comer,and a line of ten fixed 6-pane sashes across the lower part of the facade. One 6-over-l-sash appearsin the southeast comer. The upper story of the facade is completely devoid of windows, while thesides have four pairs of double, multi-light sash at the second story, and four fixed 6-pane sash atthe first. Today, the only adornments here consist of a pair of long, shallow brackets under the frontcomers of the projecting second story sections, and the molding that runs across the facade andaround each corner just above the first story. When it was built, however, this building was a muchmore stylish structure, and quite an oddity in Marlborough. Each comer was crowned with amoorish-roofed turret, an elaborate wooden balustrade edged the main roof, and a band of scallopedshingles animated the upper wall. Three large Palladian windows were located at the second-storyfacade; between them were pairs of 12-over-12-sash windows. The first floor facade was a truestorefront, with large display windows and three entries.

To the northwest rear of the building is a small brick gable-roofed storehouse, (MHC #145), whichprobably dates to about the same time as the main building. Although its windows and main doorhave been replaced, it retains the form, lines, and fenestration openings typical of this type ofbuilding at that period. Its relateively fire-proof brick construction is undoubtedly related to itsfunction as a grain-storage building for Morse & Bigelow.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE [X] see continuation sheetExplain history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of thebuilding, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community.

The Morse & Bigelow store was the most significant retail store in Marlborough for many decadesspanning the turn of this century, and probably the longest-lived retail business in the history of thecity. In continuous operation for over 100 years, from its origins as one of the West Village's earlygeneral stores, it grew to become one of the region's largest department/grocery stores.

The business began in 1822 as a small store kept by Lambert Bigelow and, for a short time, hisbrother, Levi, in the old "Bigelow long house" on the first block of Pleasant Street. (See Area FormL, "Lower Pleasant Street.") Mr. Bigelow's affairs prospered, and in about 1840-46 he built himselfa grand Greek Revival house further north on Pleasant, opposite the West Church. From at least1846, the year that his daughter, Maria, married William Morse, the store operated in a wingattached to the house. It grew to include a sizeable butcher division, and eventually encompassedseveral outbuildings on the property, which included this parcel. William Morse joined his father-in-law in operating the store, which became Morse & Bigelow, the name it was to carry until its demisein this century. (He and his wife built their own residence just to the south of the old "long house"in about 1861. [See Form #50: 40 Pleasant Street.]) (Cont.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES [ ] see continuation sheetBigelow, Ella. Historical Reminiscences of the Early Times in Marlborough. 1910.Felton, Cyrus. Record of More than 450 Events in Marlborough and Vicinity. 1879.Hudson, Charles. History of the Town of Marlborough. 1862.Maps and Atlases: Walker: 1889; Sanborns from 1890.Marlborough Directories.Marlborough Historical Society: Moineau Photo Collection.



Marlborough Morse & Bigelow Store

Massachusetts Historical Commission80 Boylston StreetBoston) Massachusetts 02116

Area(s)C

Form Nos.144, 145

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont.Lambert Bigelow died in 1863, and William Morse continued the business. It was probably he whoexpanded it to include hardware, crockery, furniture, and drug departments. Maria and William hadtwo sons) William L., and E. Irving Morse, who also joined Morse & Bigelow) and eventuallysucceeded their father.

The store closed in 1932. In 1941 the building was acquired, and used for many years as awarehouse, by Marlborough Wire Goods, which had been located in the factory across the street at406 Lincoln since 1923-24. (See Form #115)

\

FORM B - BUILDING Assessor's number


68-164

//

/ /(

\oj

I.'

He theIhOlO.gative heret.

i?- ~.~ - -:',:-.."-_ s within

it. Number eac property Jar which l~dlv'i.aualinventory forms have been completed. Label streets,including route numbers, if any. Attach a separatesheet if space is not sufficient here. Indicate north.

'?j~

~6~cJ

00 0 8TQ~~L-- \ t---1Co L- to 0

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Recorded by Anne Forbes


Date 3/31/94

USGS Quad Area(s) Form Number

I Marlborough I D 158

Town Marlborollgb


French HilI

Address Lincoln Street

Historic Name St Ann's Cbllrcb

Uses: Present Roman Catbolic CbJ)[ch

Original same

Date of Construction __ 1,,-9~3,,-3~ _

Source Centennial '90

Style/Form modern Bomanesql!e Revival

Architect/Builder Raymond Gorranj archt

Exterior Material:

Foundation concrete

Wall/Trim brick

Roof slate \\ritb some asphalt shincrle> 0


none

Major Alterations (with dates) .•.. _

Side entrances enclosed. 1960's: metal

marqnee across main doonvay

Condition good

Moved [X] no ] yes Date N/A


Setting At corner of Gibbon St in commer-

cial/residential district Altered former store-

block/meetin~ ball to west




Area(s) Form No(s).

C 144, 145



[x] Individually eligible [ ] Eligible only in a historic district[ ] Contributing to a potential historic district [] Potential historic district



Statement of Significance by __ F_o_r_b_e_s_1_S_c_hu_l_e_r _The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

The Morse & Bigelow Store meets Criterion A of the National Register for its association withthe most significant retail store in Marlborough, thus important in the understanding of thedevelopment of the commercial history. The Store and the brick storehouse (behind) meetCriterion C for their representation of commercial functional architecture of the late nineteenthcentury. The Store displays the Shingle Style with some remaining detail of skirted comers andshallow brackets. The property retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials,workmanship, feeling, and association.

BUILDING FORM

ARCHITECTURAL DESCRIPTION [] see continuation sheetDescribe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildingswithin the community.

The smallest of Marlborough's three historically significant Catholic churches, sr. Ann's is a compact,two-story gable-roofed, multi-colored brick building, built in a style reminiscent of an ItalianRomanesque country church. It has no steeple, but a square bell tower, its yellow brick uppersection pierced by double-arched openings, abuts the church's southeast rear corner. Most of thebuilding's architectural trim is executed in concrete, including a simple water table above the first(basement) story, in caps on shallow buttresses along the sides, and in an exaggerated, scalloped rakedetail in the main facade gable. The facade has a wide, slightly-projecting central pavilion flankedon either side by a ver narrow, round-arched window. The main, center entry, in a round-archedconcrete surround, has a double-leaf, five-panel wood door with leaded-glass transom, and an imageof cross and hands in the tympanum. Above it in the upper wall is a concrete, colored-glassmedallion window.

Along the shallow-buttressed side walls of the church are four round-arched, leaded, colored-glasspictorial windows set into wood frames, with one medallion window toward the rear of the wall. Aone-story extension spans the rear of the building.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE [X] see continuation sheetExplain history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of thebuilding, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community.

If the Immaculate Conception Church can be associated with the wave of Irish immigrants who cameto Marlborough in the middle of the nineteenth century, and St. Mary's Parish reflects the influx ofFrench Canadians fifteen years later, (see Forms 98 and 96,) St Ann's signifies the presence of thecity's Italian-American population in the early part of the twentieth century. Its origin dates to theformation of the Italian Society of Mutual Aid of Santa Anna in 1906, an organization establishedby local Italian immigrants to provide help to others from their home country who were arrivingdaily, attracted by the prospect of work in the Marlborough boot and shoe factories.

,

S1,Ann's became a separate parish in 1921, after William Cardinal O'Connell, Archbishop of Boston,petitioned the Superior of the Franciscan community of St. Leonard's in Boston's North End toorganize a parish for Marlborough's Italianan-speaking residents. Its first mass was celebrated bythe Superior himself, Father Anthony DeCarolis, in one of the meeting halls of the west part ofMarlborough center. Father DeCarolis, assisted by Father Marcellino Segenti, an assistant at St.Leonard's, remained or returned here regularly for several months to organize the parish.

Shortly thereafter, the parish built a small church on South Street, on land owned by FranciscoValianti. The Society of Santa Anna acquired the property here at the comer of Lincoln andGibbon Street, on which was standing a small 1890 wood-frame protestant church that had beeninbuilt by the French Evangelical Mission. The parish purchased it from the French Huguenotsociety in 1922. (Cont.)

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES [] see continuation sheetMaps and Atlases: 1938 Sanborn.Centennial '90: Marlborough the City. 1990.The Marlborough Enterprise. Undated article, 1971.

[ ] Recommended for listinz in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, a completedNational Register Criteria Statement f017~ is attached.

INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET Community

Marlborough

Property

S10Ann's Church


Area(s)D

Form No.158

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE, cont.With the subsequent purchase in 1925 of the parish rectory at 466 Lincoln Street (MHC#D-315)under Father Daniel Schiavone and his successor, Father Alexander Scapigliati, the intersection ofGibbon and Lincoln Streets was permanently established as the center of parish activity.

In 1933, as the result of father Scapigliati's efforts, the new church of S10Ann's was built on the siteof the former Huguenot church. The architect was Raymond Gorrani of Worcester, and the builderwas John Capobianco. Father Scapigliati was succeeded in 1937 by Father Cosmo Cirino. In 1940Father Felix Mancini became pastor of S10Ann's. In 1944 he established the Congregation ofVenerini Sisters of Worcester, which was at first located at 466 Lincoln Street, and later purchasedthe building at 60 Gibbon Street. He was replaced in 1946 by Father Henry Borelli, who moved theconvent to the house behind the church at 60 Gibbon Street, and reestablished 466 Lincoln Streetas the rectory. He was also responsible for the outdoor shrines on the lawns of both the church adnthe rectory. In 1949 the Rev. Daniel Schiavono returned as pastor. The tradition of Franciscanpriests in the church has continued until the present time.

In the 1960's the adjacent Moose Hall was purchased and remodeled by Father Aloysius Costa intoa Parish Social Center, and land to the southwest acquired for a church parking lot.

#.> /'

, ./.-.. ' /"-- /'

.' /'

/'

Assessor's number USGS Quad Area(s)

I 69-340 I IMarlborough I I H

FORM B - BUILDING\



N

Recorded by Anne Forbes

0rganization for Marlboro Hist Comm

Date 4/30/94

Form Number

I 188

Town Marlborough


Address 305/307 I incol" Street,

Historic Name Fitchburg RR FreightboJlse

Uses: Present light industrial

Original rai1road freight bouse

Date of Construction ca 1893

Source Maps; style

Style/Form utilitarian

Architect/Builder.Lc.nn .•.•k•.•n•.•.o.•.•wn~ _

Exterior Material:

Foundation granite block

Wall/Trim asbestos and vertical board

Roof slate


none

Major Alterations (with dates) Fonner

loading pJatfunns filled in; 1-s cross-gabled

rear addjtjon; windows, doors replaced' 20thcentury.

Condition fair

Moved [X] no [ ] yes Date __ N...•.•.•./A _


Setting In 19th-early 20tb-C industrial area

opposite ]jne of late-19th-C gable-end houses

Parking to F; vacant lot to W

BUILDING FORM

ARCHITECfURAL DESCRIPTION [] see continuation sheetDescribe architectural features. Evaluate the characteristics of this building in terms of other buildings withinthe community.

This building, though altered by the filling in of both its loading platforms, is notable as an example ofa rapidly-vanishing building type, the nineteenth-century railroad freight house. It is a long, Jow 1 1/2-story structure on a high granite-block foundation, with a gabled slate roof. It is situated end to thestreet, with its long side facing the line of the former railroad spur. One interior end chimney remainsat the south end.

The most well-preserved part of the building is the south end. Although the loading platforms alongthe lengths of both sides have been filled in, here their exterior wall stops short of the end of thebuilding, where the roof, supported on large angled wooden braces, still overhangs the original wallplane. The four-bay end-wall retains its original tall window openings with flat board surrounds.(Recent replacement sash windows fill the bottom sections of the openings; above them are 18-panerectangular transoms of uncertain date.)

A one-story attached shed at the rear of the building was added as a storage building between 1912 and1920. The rear, one-story sheds were apparently added sometime after that.

HISTORICAL NARRATIVE [] see continuation sheetExplain history of the building. Explain its associations with local (or state) history. Include uses of thebuilding, and the role(s) the owners/occupants played within the community.

By the end of the nineteenth century, many New England railroads had built freight houses near theirmajor stations. Early in this century there were two others in Marlborough, one at the terminus of theFitchburg tracks at Prospect and Washington Street, the other on Florence Street at the end of the old"South Branch" tracks, then belonging to the New York, New Haven, & Hartford Railroad. This one,located on a spur built south from the Marlborough Branch of the former Fitchburg line in the early1890's, is the only one to survive. It was part of a complex, stretching from the former E.c. Whitneyestate (MHC#186--see Form 119) to the corner of Mechanic Street, which included a second spur anda new passanger depot to replace the small old one at Prospect and Washington Streets.

The Fitchburg line was leased to the Boston & Maine in 1900, which continued to add railroad facilitiesin Marlborough, including a large roundhouse and turntable off Jefferson Street. For a while freighttraffic continued at a heavy pace, even near the end of a branch line such as this, and the railroadadded a large loading platform to the rear end of the building between 1906 and 1912. Freight activitydeclined steadily after the advent of the automobile, however, as more and more shipments were hauledby truck instead of train. Freight service on all the local railroads increased for a brief period duringWorld War II, but by the middle of this century, many of the old freight houses were standing vacant,and most have since been demolished. This one has fortunately been saved by its conversion to light-manufacturing uses. The depot that was located just to the west across the tracks, however, was tomdown in 1987.

The conversion of this freight house took place relatively early. It was acquired during the 1930's bythe Johnson-Claflin Corporation, which operated a machine shop in several buildings at #293-301Lincoln Street, just to the west. (See Form #119.) Johnson-Claflin converted the freight house tohouse its press and screw machines.

BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES [ ] see continuation sheetMaps and atlases: Sanboms from 1896.Humphrey, Thomas, and Clark, Norton. Boston's Commuter Rail, the First 150 Years. Cambridge:

Boston Street Railway Association, 1985.


I./

I

J



Marlborough 305-307 Lincoln St.

Area(s) Form No(s).

H 188



[ ] Individually eligible [ ] Eligible only in a historic district[x] Contributing to a potential historic district [] Potential historic district



Statement of Significance by __ F_o_r_b_e_s~/~S~c=hu_l~e_r _The criteria that are checked in the above sections must be justified here.

The Fitchburg Railroad Freighthouse meets Criteria A and C of the National Register. It isthe only surviving freighthouse of several that once stood in Marlboroough, and is important forits articulation of the development of the railroad, of commerce associated with local industry,and reuse of obsolete structures. In the 1930s when no longer used by the railroad, thestructure was converted to a machine shop. The long low freighthouse with loading platforms isa unique building type and important for its form as well as historical context. The propertyretains integrity of location, design, setting, workmanship, feeling and association.

Lincoln Street

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