Nomination for Old Stone Church

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

E6/8/L NOILON 1S NI PHO0O6515 Form 10-300 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR (Rev. 6-72) NATIONAL PARK SERVICE HB Ne UTr STATE: Massachusetts COUNTY: LOCATION STREET AND NUMBER: Moz. Ol Route 140 CITY OR TOWN: West Boylston STATE NATIONAL REGISTER COUNTY: 3.

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM (Type all entries complete applicable sections) NAME COMMON: "Old Stone Church" AND/OR HISTORIC: Worcester ENTRY DATE gL110 RECEVED JAN 1 0 1973 FOR NPS USE ONLY APR 1.3 .1973 CODE CODE Massachusetts 025 Worcester 027 CLASSIFICATION CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUS (Check One) District x Building Site Structure Object Public Private Both Public Acquisition: - In Process Being Considered Occupied X Unoccupied - Preservation work in progres: ACCESSIBLE TO THE PUBLIC Yes: Restricted Unrestricted No PRESENT USE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Agricultural Government Commercial Industrial Educational Military Entertainment Museum OWNER OF PROPERTY OWNER'S NAME: Park Private Residence Religious Scientific - Transportation *Other (Specify) part of watershed area - Comments Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Metropolitan District Commission STREET AND NUMBER: 20 Somerset Street CITY OR TOWN: ISTATE: CODE 025 Boston Massachusetts LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION COURTHOUSE, REGISTRY OF DEEDS, ETC: Worcester County Registry of Deeds (Also: M.D.C.) STREET AND NUMBER: 2 Main Street CITY OR TOWN: COUNTY: STATE Worfester Mass.

CODE 025 REPRESENTATION IN EXISTING SURVEYS TITLE OF SURVEY: Inventory of the Historic Assets of the Commonwealth DATE OF SURVEY: 1970 - Federal X State - County DEPOSITORY FOR SURVEY RECORDS: - Local Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: APR 1 3 1973 ENTRY NUMBER 40 Beacon Street CITY OR TOWN: Boston TSTATE: Massachusetts CODE 025 DATE FOR NPS USE ONLY 7 DESCRIPTION (Check One) Deteriorated Excellent - Good O Fair [* Ruins - Unexposed CONDITION (Check One) (Check One) Altered X Unaltered Moved X] Original Site DESCRIBE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL (if known) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Description of the property

The granite ashlar "Old Stone Church" stands near the shore of the Wachusett Reservoir in a sloping meadow scattered with tall, deciduous trees. A crenellated entrance tower projects from the north corner, of this rectangular building whose long and steeply pitched roof is pierced by small triangular dormers. The side facades have two ranges of rectangular windows which define the first and basement stories. part by the lintels of the basement windows, visually separates the basement from the auditorium area. Within each gable is located etther a round or an HEossiun atat idhten sach gal On each elevation a granite course, formed in arched opening (formerly windows). Butresses project from the corner of each exposed wall of the tower and from each end of the long walls where they extend three quarters of the wall height.

On the gable ends the fenestration consists of large openings centered within the gable and narrow rectangular windows located at the basement and first story levels. The opening in the main gable end is round and louvered, outlined by granite block voussoirs, and windows are evenly spaced on the wall at the first story level. The opposite end contains an elliptically arched opening and, at the basement level, the windows are spaced in pairs. The side walls of the church contain two ranges of rectangular windows, one at the basement and the other at the first story level. On the wall facing the Reservoir each range contains eight windows which are spaced in pairs. On the opposite side, the first story wall contains only six windows due to the projecting tower, while at the basement level,, the range is incom- plete and the windows differ in size, due to the slope of the land.

A heavy granite course runs the legnth of each wall under the eaves, and forms the lintels of the first story windows. From the wall of the main gable end and from the northeast side wall, the entrance tower projects through a portion of the roof. The two entrances are surmounted by round arches filled with coursed blocks. Round arched and louvered openings are located below the crenellated parapet. The building is a ruin. Doors and windows have been destroyed or have deteriorated; the roof is in a state of collapse, and most of the wood interior has decayed behond repair. Structurally the southeast and southwest walls are buckling. Restoration of the building is not contemplated; however, stabili- zation of the structure as a ruin is being considered. 91011 IIIT) RECÊIVED JAN 1 O 1973 121 NATIONAL REGISTER - - U C Z -

From the form

The catalogue entry the section above was filed under.

SIGNIFICANCE PERIOD (Check One or More as Appropriate) Pre-Columbian! 15th Century 16th Century 17th Century L 18th Century [ 19th Century -] 20th Century SPECIFIC DATE(S) (If Applicable and Known) 1891 AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE (Check One or More as Appropriate) Aboriginal Education Prehistoric Engineering Historic Industry Agriculture Invention Architecture Landscape Art Architecture Commerce Literature Communications - Conservation Military Music Political Religion/Phi- losophy Science Sculpture Social/Human- itarian Theater Transportation Urban Planning X Other (Specify) _community develop- ment, symbol ef STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Statement of significance

The "Old Stone Church" is the only structure of the old center of West Boylston remaining on its original site. Recognizing the significance of the Church, which symbolizes the community as it existed prior to 1895, the twon has made it the major feature in the town seal. The Baptists constructed the church in 1891 of hand-cut stone from a local quarry at Malden Hill. It overlooks a section of the old town that was inundated by the construction of the Wachusetts Reservoir. This was the largest construction of its kind in the United States when the project started in 1895. To the residents of West Boylston the church is a link with the past, tragic in that this is the only building of the old center to remain after sixty percent of the town's land was flooded.

To the visitor, the church, which resembles an English country church, is part of a picturesque 19th century landscape, beautiful in its setting on a point of meadow at the reservoir's shore and against the evergreen background of the watershed. ECEIVED JAN 1 O 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER

The rest of the file

Bibliography, boundary description, and the people who prepared and reviewed the nomination.

MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES Town Meeting Records: 1835-1846; 1891-1900. Keyes, Houghton, et al. "History of the Baptist Church Society", History of the Town of West Boylston. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATEs DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY R CORNER LATITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds LONGITUDE Degrees Minutes Seconds LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES Degrees.

42 LATITUDE Minutes 22 LONGITUDE Seconds 292 Degrees 71 Minutes 46- Seconds 59 " NW NE " SE SW "_ APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: 5 acres ILIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNIY BOUNDARIES STATE: CODE COUNTY CODE STATE: g) CODE COUNTY: STATE: CODE COUNTY: STATE: CODE COUNTY: RECÊNEO JAN 1 023 NATIONAL REGISTER CODE CODE CODE FORM PREPARED BY NAME AND TITLE: Anne R Wardwell, Survey Director ORGANIZATION DATE Massachusetts Historical Commission STREET AND NUMBER: May 22, 1972 40 Beacon Street CITY OR TOWN: STATE CODE Boston [T2.

STATE LIAISON OFFICER CÉRTIFICATION Massachusetts NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION 025 As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na- tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (Public Law 89-665), I hereby nominate this property for inclusion in the National Register and certify that it has been evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set forth by the National Park Service. The recommended level of significance of this nomination is: I hereby certify that this property is included in the Nationa1 Register.

Robestu Utlu Director, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation tKNan Secretary of the Commonwealth and Chairman, Massachusetts Historical Commission Date 4/13/73 ATTEST: Date May 24, 1972 Date rodold Keeper of The National Register Aprel 9147 GPO 931-894 19/270860 4694940 UTM ReF PROPERTY "Old Store Church" WORKING NUMBER 1.10.73.2093 TECH REVIEW Photos_ Maps STATE MASS. 73000329 Worcester CONTROL REVIEW naf 2-26-23 HISTORIAN ARCHITECTURAL HISTORIAN she restored. appears to me very M0sse5s/h Accept. arch.slgn.-a ould bef nice to see AML Sall 3/2pexmf513 Beautiful building!

Would Whe to ACCEPT 44/73 ARCHEOLOGIST REVIEW UNIT CHIEF BRANCH CHIEF KEEPER Olues 4/9/77 National Register write-up Federal Register entry _ 6-5-73 Send-back Re-submit Entered APR 1 3 1973 nice photegraph west Boglst Church FORM 10-301 A (6/72) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM (Type all entries - attach to or enclose with photograph) 1. NAME COMMON "Old Stone Church" 2. L.OCATION STATE Massachusetts STREET AND NUMBER Route 140 3. PHOTO REFERENCE PHOTO CREDIT Massachusetts Historical Commission 4. IDENTIFICATION DESCRIBE VIEW, DIRECTION, ETC. AND/OR HISTORIC, RECEIVED 0 COUNTY Worcester NATIONAL REGISTER DATE October, 1972 NUMERIC CODE (Assigned by NF APR TOWN West Boylston NEGATIVE FILED AT Mass.

Historical Com 40 Beacon Street Boston, Massachusett: View of exterior from North; Thomas Basin of Wachusett Reservoir in background GP 72.486 Form 10-301 (July 1968) - UNITED STATTIDNAL PARE SERVICEE INTERIOR NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES PROPERTY MAP FORM (Type all entries - attach to or enclose with map) AND/OR HISTORIC 1. NAME COMMON "Old Stone Church" 2. LOCATION STATE Massachusetts STREET AND NUMBER Route 140 COUNTY Worcester 3. MAP REFERENCE SOURCE INUMERIC CODE (Assigned by NPS) APR 1 3 1973 TTOWN West Boylston DATE SCALE U.S.G.S. Worcester, 1960 North, Mass- REQUIREMENTS: NOTRO,PI PROPERTY BOUNDARIES, WHERE REQUIRED, AND NORTH ARROW: RECENET JAN 1 O 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER GPO 932.010 47'30" est Boylston WESTMINS PALEYS MI -WORCESTER NORTH QuADrangLE MASSACHUSETTS-WORCESTER CO.

7.5 MINUTE SERIES (TOPOGRAPHIC) FITCHBURG 13 M 272 530 000 FEET 6668 | NW (CLINTON) 71°45' 42°22'30" 5warin oodale 13 uhas Basin Gates ACHUSETT WEST BOYLSTON Wac Coun WEST BOYISTON, MASSACHUSETTS OID STONE CHURCH U.S.G.S. Worcester, North, Mass. N4215 - W7145/7.5 Pleasant Valley W E 1960 AMS 6668 IV SE-SERIES V814 42 71 22' 294" 46' 59" Gates V 564 Summi HREWSBURY HOSPITAA -Water COUNTY SANATORIUM I EWortester Couatry Cub aSch BRISTOL! -gPenal Sewage Fakm Disposal/ "STREEE BLUE Standplece od. 005100d Frenich Hill, 1500 000 FEET Sholan Pt Dávenport Pt 386 RV 4I0. Dover Bay South 600 HARYLANP 650 ASktimntion Preparatory Sch Morningdale Neuton REHASE rk St Fxxm CENDALE Greendale Burncoat AUSINET Great Brobk _Valley Bros 4694 4693 5iiG SHREWSBURY 4.2 MI UPTON 17 MI 20 BOYLSTON CENTERoI (SHREWSBURY) 668 | SW 19 RECEVED JAN 1 O 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER 1Z SSE BETTACHLACDOAT John F. X.

Davoven Pecretary of the Commonwealth The Commonwvealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission ***xx Boston, Mass. 02108 40 Beacon Street January 3, 1973 National Register of Historic Places Department of the Interior National Park Service 18th and C Streets, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20240 RECEiVED JAN 1 O 1973 NATIONAL REGISTER Attention: Mr. Jerry Rogers CERTIFIED MAIL Dear Jerry: Enclosed is a National Register submission for: Worcester County, West Boylston, "Old Stone Church" This has been declared eligible for submission by the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the State Review Board, and has been signed by Secretary of the Commonwealth John F. X. Davoren, Chairman of the Massachusetts Historical Commission and designated the State Liaison Officer. Cordially, Bob Robert B.

Rettig Executive Director Massachusetts Historical Commission RBR: pm Encl. 4 ENTRIES IN THE NATIONAL REGISTER STATE MASSACHUSETTS APR 1 3 1973 Date Entered Name Cambridge Comson Historic District Wenhas Historic Distriet "01d Stone Church" Hlamiiton Historie Distriet Cyclorana Building Location Cambridge Wdddlesex County Wenham Essex County West Beyiston Worchester County Haniiton Essex County Bostoa (South End) Suffolk County Also Notified Hon. Edward M. Kennedy Kon. Edward W. Brooke Hon. Thonas P. 0'Nes11, Jz. Eon, Iiehael J. Harrington Hon. Bobert Deinan Mr. Floyd H. Hyde, HUD Director, Northeast Region PHR State Historic Preservation Officer Hon. John I.&. Davoren Secretary of the Cosmonvealth Chaizman, Massachusette Historical Comadesion 40 Beacon Street Boston, Hassachusettts 02108 NRowland: pcl 4/27/73