Major Bibliographical References 1. Haywood, W. S., History of Westminster. Lowel1, 1983. 2. Holmes, Clay W., Geneaology of the Descendants of William Wood. Elmira, N.Y., 1901. 3. Massachusetts Historical Conmission, Historic and Archaeological Resources of Central Massachusetts. Boston, 1985. 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property - Quadrangle name - Gardner UTM References 4 Quadrangle scale 1: 25,000 A19262480 #7A,1819 Zone Easting Northing CLULLILL LLLLL ELJLLILLL GLULLILLLILILLL Verbal boundary description and justification BL Zone LILL LALL Easting Northing -L LLILLL Llill FLULLILE LILILLL bibilil See assessor's map. List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code county code 11.
Form Prepared By Betsy Friedberg, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Conmission, name/title with Kristine Haney, Westminster Historical Conmission organization Massachusetts Historical Commission date November, 1986 street & number 80 Boylston Street telephone 617-727-8470 city or town Boston state Massachusetts 12. State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national -- state local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National 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.
State Historic Preservation Officer signature Tork R ayant Deputy title Massachusetts Historical Conmission State Historic Preservation Officer date DSHPO 1117/87 For NPS use only I hereby certify that this property is included in the National Register date Keaper of the National Register Attest: Chief of Registration date S00 NATHAN WOOD HOUSE 164 Worcester Road Westminster, Massachusetts Property Map #3 Scale: 1" = 500' PROPERTY MAP TOWN OF WESTMINSTER WORCESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS PREPARED 8Y JAMES W.
SEWALLCO OLD TOWN, MAINE MAR 3 87800375 WASO Form - 177 ("R" June 1984) UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Subatantive Rovies Wood, Nathan, House Worcester County MASSA CHUSETTS resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Substantive Review: Reviewer's comments: -sample Jrequest -appeal Aee the follownig Nomination returned for: technical corrections cited below .substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition Status Accessible 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes -no 7. Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins Junexposed Check one J unaltered altered FEB 2 1987 Working No. Fed. Reg.
Date: Date Due:3/6/82-3/19/87 Action: -_ACCEPT . LRETURN 3-17-87 _REJECT_ Federal Agency: _ ANR decision Cotuur Reviewer _ Discipline Date _ 3/17787 Aualtistox _ see continuation sheet Present Use Check one J original site moved date _ Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance Dx the C.1820 bana considered summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection foebatind noncontibuting? 8.
Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception with uference Nistoric archeological Rig 0 enjustified-please provide ca desig ee decatectd naceao sig. inthe resulmissos As istlecase co/ the Qhizal Wond tedauunentati laue/io applicolilits o citecion A far the pig. of the typical of many citizens unthe 18th+ /9centenies." 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property. Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12.
State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state -local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other LMaps Photographs - Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to - poth Sauge (907) 343-9550 Signed Patuck Andues - Date 3/1/82 - Phone: - GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet NPS Form 10-900 (3-82) No: 100--1-89 United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form See instructions in How to Complete National Register Forms Type all entries-complete applicable sections 1. Name For NPS use only received AUG 6 1987 date entered SEP | 6 1987 historic Nathan Wood House and or common 2.
Location same street & number 154 Worcester Road N/A - not for publication Westminster city, town N/A vicinity of Massachusetts state 3. Classification Category Ownership - district - public _ building(s) private structure both site Public Acquisition object N/A in process being considered 025 code Worcester county code 027 Status 1 unoccupied work in progress Accessible X yes: restricted - yes: unrestricted .no Present Use - agriculture - commercial educational entertainment - government industrial - military _ museum park - private residence _ religious scientific transportation _ other: 4. Owner of Property name Walter M. and Kristine E. Haney street & numbed64 Worcester Road city, town Westminster N/A - vicinity of 5. Location of Legal Description state Massachusetts courthouse, registry of deeds, etc. Fitchburg Registry of Deeds street & number P.O.
Box 983 city, town Fitchburg state Massachusetts 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Inventory of the Historic Assets of title the Commonwealüh of Massachusetts #63 has this property been determined eligible? - yes X _ no 1974 date _ tederal X state .county - - local depository for survey records Massachusetts Historical Cormission, 80 Boylston Street Boston city, town Massachusetts state 7. Description Nathan Wood House, Westminster, Massachusetts Condition X excellent - good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one X unaltered _ altered Check one X original site _ moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance The Nathan Wood House, Westminster, is located in a rural setting on a four-acre lot on the corner of Worcester Road and Patricia Road, about a mile southeast of the town center.
The house is a vernacular Georgian-style res idence whose well-preserved exterior appears little changed since the building was constructed ca.1756. The timber-frame house with graduated clapboard exterior rises 2 1/2 stories from a fieldstone foundation. It is five bays wide, with a central pedimented entrance. The central chimey is located forward of the gable roof's ridge. The roof is presently asphalt-covered. A single-story rear ell, shingle-sheathed, was added in the late 19th century. The house is set back about twenty teet from the road, behind a low, dry-laid fieldstone wall covered with rosebushes. A barn, built ca. 1820, stands to the north of the house. Several large maple trees, beauty bushes, and old lilacs surround the house. To the south and east is a sloping lawn with an extensive perennial border; beyond this is an open field conta ining several beeh ives.
The remaining three acres are wooded. The Ahijah Wood House, located south of the Nathan Wood House and also being nominated to the National Register is not visible. The main (west) facade is well proportioned, and distinguished by its central The doorway is topped by a five-light transom and set with in a classical frame of incised pilasters supporting entablature and deeply molded, dentilated pediment. Symmetrically aligned fenestration consisting of 8/12 sash with plain sills is elaborated on the first story with molded cap cornices. Windows on the second story are set flush with the building's simple cornice. Most of the sash retains original lights. Narrow corner boards finish the otherwise unadorned facade. The large chimey's varicolored brick suggests that it was rebuilt at some point.
The north and south elevations are similar but not identical: three bays deep with a slightly off-center door. On the north, this door is flanked by a single 8/12 sash at the northwestern corner and, close by the door to the northest, a paired 6/9sash joined by a single cornice cap (these were undoubtedly added later). Fenestration, including two windows on the second story and a single window in the gable peak, is again 8/12. The molded cornice caps seen on the main facade's first story are present on all side elevation windows as well as above the door. The gable, with narrow cornice, is finished with shallow returns. The southern elevation echoes the north's arrangement of windows and doors, except that the first story's rear window is a single opening with 6/9 sash.
Also visible on the northern side is the single-story pitched roof ell, a late 19th century addition which extends from the northeast corner of the main block. On its northern side, the ell has paired 8/8 sash. The ell is shingle-sheathed. On the east, the ell features a band of modern fixed windows, while on the south, a large window group with fixed and movable sash is located beside a small late 19th century window and panelled door. continued NPS Form 10-900-8 (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Nathan Wood House Continuation sheet Westminster, Massachusetts Item number OMB No. 1024-0018 Expires 10-31-87 For NPS use only rakaived date entered 7 1 Page The main block's rear (eastern) facade has sustained several changes.
The ell mentioned above obliterates half of the building's original first story; beside it, a large first-story window is a 20th century alteration. The second story retains three 6/9 sash windows, evenly placed. The house retains its mid 18th century plan, with the center entrance opening onto a small lobby with staircase. To the left and right are parlors, while a kitchen is located across the rear of the building. Interior finishes remain, including four fireplaces with raised panelling, wainscoting, raised panel doors with original hardware, wide-board floors of pine and chestnut, and horse-hair plaster walls. The second floor hallway's panelling is particularly noteworthy. A single outbuilding survives on the property, to the north of the house: a coray olinf tra ce 1 5 oma r e. It is considered contributing.
A second barn was at one time located south of the house, but south of the house. Archaeology While no prehistoric sites are currently recorded on the property, it is possible that sites are present. Located on rolling uplands adjacent to Smith Brook, the area would have been attractive to native people for its resource potential and for short term settlement. Since no prehistoric sites are curreritly reported in the town, any surviving sites would be significant. There is also a high potential for significant historical archaeological Controlled testing and excavation may assist in documenting the construction and addition/alteration sequence for the main house. The location and dimensions of barns and other outbuildings, and the changes in layout and configuration of the farmstead as it evolved dur ing the later 18th and 19th centuries.
Occupation related features (trash pits, privies, wells) are lively around the house and can provide detailed information on the changing social, cultural, and economic patterns that characterized a prosperous and influential family over the course of three generations. Buildings Structures Sites Ob jects Contributing 2 0 0 0 Noncontributing 0 0 0 8. Significance Period prehistoric 1400-1499 1500-1599 1600-1699 X 1700-1799 X_ 1800-1899 1900 1756-1898 Areas of Significance-Check and justify below .... archeology-prehistoric _ community planning archeology-historic conservation - agriculture economics X architecture education _ art engineering commerce exploration/settlement communications industry invention Specific dates ca. 1756 Builder/Architect Unknown Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) . landscape architecture -.
religion law science literature sculpture military social/ music humanitarian philosophy theater politics/government X transportation other (specify ommunitv develoomeni The Nathan Wood House, Westminster, retains integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and association. Awell-preserved vernacular mid-Georgian style building retaining original finishes on both exterior and interior, the house holds associations with a local family of some significance to the history and development of Westminster and remained in their possession for more than a century and a half. The Nathan Wood House thus fulfils Criteria A and C of the National Register of Historic Places on the local level.
The town of Westminster was one of seven townships des ignated in 1733 as part of a land grant made in 1728 by the General Court: this grant fulfilled a commitment made in 1685 to veterans of King Philip's War and their survivors. Located just north of Wachusett Mountain in north-central Massachusetts, the township, then known as Narraganett, No. 2, received its first European settlers 1n 1/3/. A meetinghouse site was established in 1739. Settlement proceeded slowly despite the inducements of $40 bounty and construction of a gristmill (1741) to lure families. By 1741, nineteen families had settled in the town.
With hostilities resulting from the French and Indian War, settlement was slow in the 1740s (ten houses are known to have been fortified due to frontier warfare); and by 1750, only thirty-two families had erected houses and cleared their mandated three acres on lots of sixty acres each. It was not until after 1750, when the Legislature ordered meeting of proprietors to be held in the township and decisions were rendered allowing public improvements (especially highways) that new residents were retained. A poor agrarian community, Narragansett No. 2 was incorporated as Westminster in 1759. In April 1770, the town was granted representation in the Legislature. A committee authorized to subdivide the township began to lay out lots early in 1734.
In 1739, six acres were set aside on a hill north of Wachusett Mounta in, in the southeast section of the township, for a meetinghouse, burying ground, and training field. Located near 156-acre Meetinghouse Pond, the area, the present Academy H1l1 Common, formed the center of the new (The remaining core of the original village settlement was nominated to the National Register in 1983 as the Academy Hill Historic District.) A marker locates the site of the original meetinghouse. Westminster's first schoolhouse was erected in 1766 at the northeast corner of the meetinghouse lot. continued 9. Major Bibliographical References 1. 2. 3. Haywoad, W.S. History of Westminster, Lowell, 1983. HoTmes, CTay IT, Geneaology of the Descendants of William Wood. Elmira, N.Y., 1901. Massachusetts Historical Comnission, Historic and Archaeological Resources of Central Massachusetts. Boston, 1935. 10.
Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property - 4 Quadrangle name Gardner Quadrangle scale - 1: 25,000 UTM References AL491242/4,810 1417/111/31110/ Zone Easting Northing ELL GLULLIL Verbal boundary description and justification See assessor's map. LIlILIL Zone Easting Northing DLIJ LLILu Lhlu FLIJ LLILLL LLILLL Lilu List all states and counties for properties overlapping state or county boundaries state N/A code county code state code county 11. Form Prepared By Betsy Friedbero, Preservation Planner, Massachusetts Historical Conmission name/title with Kristine Haney, Westminster Historical Commission code organizationMassachusetts Historical Conmission street & number 80 Boylston Street dateNovember, 1986 telephone (617) 727-8470 Boston city or town state Massachusetts 12.
State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: X national -_ state local As the designated State Historic Preservation Officer for the National 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. State Hlstoric Preservation Oticer signature Valeui K Talmag ixecutive Directc Massachusetts Historical Conmission title State Historic Preservation Officer july 30,1287 For NPS use only I hereby certity that this property is included in the National Register Yatuck Anduus (o) Koapor of lho National Register Attest: Betht Savage Chief of Registration.
GPO 911-399 date 9/16/87 date 9/16/87 NPS Form 10-900-8 (3-82) United States Department of the interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Nathan Woods House Continuation sheet Westminster, Massachusetts !tem number OMB No. 1024-0014 Expires 10-31-87 FarNºS usa oniy recaived date antered 8 Page With the settlement of a town center in Westminster in the 1750s, presettlement trails were improved. From the Common, a street four rods wide (now Main Street) was laid out for more than one mile in a northwest-southeast direction. On each side of the street were arranged the first house lots, 60 x 160 rods in size. Today's Worcester Road was established soon after settlement as a major route joining Lancaster and Athol to the west and east with Worcester to the south.
It ran north of Meetinghouse Hill and then turned south to run between Meetinghouse Pond and Wyman Pond. In 1743, a second group of lots was platted; Nathan Wood's property, located on the Worcester Road, a quarter mile from Wyman Pond, was among this latter division. Nathan Wood (1723-1777), born in Concord, arrived in Westminster in 1756 to build the nominated property on a proprietor's lot located southeast of the town center on the Worcester Road. Wood was a descendant of William Wood, whose 1634 New England Prospect is said to have been one of the first to provide an eyewitness account of early Massachusetts Bay. Nathan Wood established a farm on his property and built the nominated residence ca. 1756. He quickly became a prominent member of this new community.
With in a year of his settlement in Westminster, Wood was elected to the standing 1759 Act of Incorporation, he served for five years as an assessor and nine years as a selectman. He was a member of the first,"second, and third Provincial Congresses and was, on July 10, 1775, elected as Westminster's first representative to the General Assembly. Wood also served as a deacon of the church. He and his wife had fifteen children, all but one of whom lived to maturity. Upon Wood's death at the age of 54, his third son, Abel, assumed ownership of the property. Like his father, farmer Abel Wood (1755-1846) held many public offices, among them Representative to the General Court for four successive terms. He was also a justice of the peace and a Colonel in the Massachusetts Militia. The third owner of the property was Abel's son, Benjamin Frankin Wood (1791-1874).
It was he who engineered the building of the barn (ca. 1820). Ben jamin also held public office and was deacon of the church for 24 years. In addition to maintaining the farm, he also was a cooper and manufactured furniture. In 1839, Benjamin Franklin Wood formed the Worcester Northeast District Temperance Union, which he served as the first president. continued NPS Form 10.900-a (3-82) United States Department of the Interior National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form Nathan Wood House Continuation sheet Westminster, Massachusetts Item number Exp.vo: 20-31-87 Expires For NPS usa only date entered 8 Page The original farm was divided in 1898, and the nominated property and immediately surrounding land were sold to H. Davis in that year.
The property changed hands only two more times before being bought in 1978 by Walter and Kristine Haney. is once again being worked as a farm. The primarily significance of the Wood House lies in its well-preserved Georgian styling, plan, and original finishes. It is one of the oldest and most intact 18th centur y residences in Westminster. With its central chimney flanked by two parlors and fronted by a lobby and stair, the timber-framed 2 1/2-story house is typical of the area's period residences, and indeed, is a type found throughout Worcester County. The five-bay facade was also quite common - The kitchen--a leanto in earlier buildings in the region--was fully incorporated into the house frame in the Wood House as in others, and accounts for the end elevation's symmetrical form but asymmetrical window and door placemerit.
Described as a "l 1/2 pile" plan, this too was typical of the region in the mid 18th century. Three other houses of the period that survive in Westminster, the Reuben Miles House at 34 Carter Road, The Whitney Homestead, 260 Davis Road (1752), and the John Whitney House at 98 Lanes Road (ca. 1754) display similar pedimented en tr ywa ys. There are three other houses associated with the Wood family, of which the nominated property 1s the oldest. Of the remaining two, one, the Ahijah Wood House, built ca. 1795, is located down the road from the nominated property and was the home of one of Nathan Wood's fifteen children. It is also being nominated to the National Register. The third Wood-associated property, a 1 1/2-story cottage located south of the Nathan Wood house, was moved in 1977 and has lost its chimney.
The third, the Erza wood House, the Federal period house of a descendant of Nathan Wood, was listed on the National Register in it was threatened with demolition following a 1980 road improvement project. 4AC. 500 NATHAN WOOD HOUSE 164 Worcester Road Westminster, Massachusetts Property Map #3 Scale: 1" = 500' PROFERTY MAP TOWN OF WESTMINSTER WORGESTER COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS PREPARED BY JAMES W. SEWALL CO OLD TOWN, MAINE MAP 3 iInch=500° WASO Form - 177 ("'R" June 1984) Wood, Nathan, House Worcester County MASSACHUSETTS RESUBMISSION UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR NATIONAL PARK SERVICE NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES EVALUATION/RETURN SHEET Setal resubmission nomination by person or local government owner objection appeal Working No._ 2-2-87 Fed. Reg. Date: 2/2 /88 Date Due: - 20/82 Action: _LACCEPT.
_RETURN 276 -82 _REJECT - Federal Agency: - Substantive Review: J sample Lrequest Jappeal *NR decision Reviewer's comments: wel-presewved veranular Seorgian residence assoriated with samily Recom./Critekaerzs acpt Axd some local pignigicance yor vver uchaegtmal Histay hitial retarn conmenta have been adequately se Nomination returned for: - technical corrections cited below _substantive reasons discussed below 1. Name 2. Location 3. Classification Category Ownership Public Acquisition Status Accessible Present Use 4. Owner of Property 5. Location of Legal Description 6. Representation in Existing Surveys Has this property been determined eligible? yes no 7.
Description Condition excellent good fair deteriorated ruins unexposed Check one -unaltered altered Check one - original site moved date Describe the present and original (if known) physical appearance summary paragraph completeness clarity alterations/integrity dates boundary selection 8. Significance Period Areas of Significance-Check and justify below Specific dates Builder/Architect Statement of Significance (in one paragraph) summary paragraph completeness clarity applicable criteria justification of areas checked J relating significance to the resource context relationship of integrity to significance justification of exception other 9. Major Bibliographical References 10. Geographical Data Acreage of nominated property Quadrangle name UTM References Verbal boundary description and justification 11. Form Prepared By 12.
State Historic Preservation Officer Certification The evaluated significance of this property within the state is: national state local State Historic Preservation Officer signature date title 13. Other Maps Photographs Other Questions concerning this nomination may be directed to _ Signed - Date - Phone: - GPO 918-450 Comments for any item may be continued on an attached sheet Nathan Wood House 164 Worcester Rd Westminster, MA 01473 Photo: K. Haney; 11/84 neg: 164 Worcester Rd 2 of 2; front angle view Nathan Wood House 164 Worcester Rd Westminster, MA 01473 photo: K. Haney; 11/84 neg: 164 Worcester Rd 2 of22; front view fose amCRac The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Office of the Secretary ot State Michael Joseph Connolly, Secretary Massachusetts Historical Commission Valerie A.
Talmage Executive Director State Historic Preservation Officer July 29, 1987 Carol Shull, Keeper National Register of Historic Places Department of Interior National Park Service P.O. Box 37127 Washington, D.C. 20013-7127 Dear Ms. Shull: Enclosed please find six nominations that were returned to the MHC for technical and substantive corrections. The following nominations are enclosed: Boston (Roxbury), Abbotsford, 300 Walnut Avenue Brockton, Brockton Edison Electric Illuminating Company Power Station Richmond, Nichols-Sterner House Westminster, Ahijah Wood House, 174 Worcester Road Westminster, Nathan Wood House, 164 Worcester Road Winchendon, Old Centre Historic District All corrections have been made.
Sincerely, Betsy Fredheg Betsy Friedberg National Register Director Massachusetts Historical Commission Enclosures AUG 6 1987 80 Boylston Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116 (617) 727-8470
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