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Photograph of Tuttle Square School
Photograph by John Phelan, CC BY 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Tuttle Square School

Built in 1922 (American Craftsman). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. 20 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1889.

From the record

One of 686 National Register listings published here for Worcester County · listed in 2002 · category: Building · built in 1922, American Craftsman, by http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/69d6c944f3030a153818dfa682412338, http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/667508917b66850b28efe742889276d7.

Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 41 South St., Auburn, 01501
  • When was it listed? 2002-03-08
  • Category. building
  • Town. Auburn town
  • When was it built? 1922
  • Architectural style. American Craftsman
  • Architect. http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/69d6c944f3030a153818dfa682412338, http://www.wikidata.org/.well-known/genid/667508917b66850b28efe742889276d7
  • National Register reference number. 02000129 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

The ground it stands on

5,419 words

The chapter on Auburn Town in History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names Auburn. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

ToPOORAPHirAi,. - Auburn lies on the map an irregular pentagon in form, its eastern boundary and base line touching Millbury, with Worcester on the north, Leicester on the west and Oxford on the south. Its area covers about 10,000 acres, with a diameter of five miles in its extreme length. The centre, or the Congregational Church, lies five miles distant south by west from Worcester City Hall. The Norwich and Worcester Railroad threads the eastern side of the town, with depots at Auburn and Stone's Crossing ; the Boston and Albany Railroad runs through the western part. It has no station, but Jamesville and Rochdale depots are respectively within a half-mile and a mile of the town line. In 1885 the Webster Branch was opened, whose junction with the Albany road is in Auburn. This branch has a station at West Auburn. Thus railroad facilities are good.

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.

The surface is hilly, though without very high summits. The water-courses, trending northerly and easterly, join their channels to make the southern branch of the Blackstone River. These brooks and ponds are frequented by anglers, and three water privileges serve manufacturing uses and have for nearly a century. Pakachoag Hill extends two miles in the easterly part of Auburn, passing into Worcester, where it is crowned by the College of the Holy

Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.

Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.

Read the whole chapter on Auburn Town - 5,419 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

91 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 91 fires within 5 miles of Tuttle Square School between 2015 and 2020, burning about 68 acres in total. None started naturally. 5 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning27
Recreation and ceremony21
Missing data/not specified/undetermined12
Smoking12
Railroad operations and maintenance7
Arson/incendiarism5
Equipment and vehicle use3
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Other causes1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
8 September 2015Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
3 September 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
25 September 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
15 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
15 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
14 September 2016Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
26 August 2020Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,665 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,665 specimens collected within 10 miles of Tuttle Square School between 1839 and 1974: 935 Plantae, 462 Animalia, 245 Fungi, 16 Unrecorded, 5 Protozoa, 2 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A E WOODHEAD, A. A. Eaton, A. B. Seymour and others. Each is a physical object with a catalogue number, and each entry opens the museum's record. This is what was collected and kept, not a survey of what lives here - nothing can be concluded from a species being absent.

Image SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) LyonSceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon1899H. H. Scudder
A photograph of the species Ochrolechia tartarea, not of this specimenOchrolechia tartarea (L.) A.Massal.1839E. Tuckerman
A photograph of the species Carex laxiflora, not of this specimenCarex laxiflora Lam.1840Thomas NuttallCambridge.
A photograph of the species Carex vestita, not of this specimenCarex vestita Willd.1840Thomas NuttallCambridge.
A photograph of the species Mycobilimbia hypnorum, not of this specimenMycobilimbia hypnorum (Lib.) Kalb & Hafellner1848E. Tuckerman
A photograph of the species Cladonia cornucopioides, not of this specimenCladonia cornucopioides F.Wilson1850J. L. RussellLeicester
A photograph of the species Geranium maculatum, not of this specimenGeranium maculatum L.1850not recorded
A photograph of the species Packera aurea, not of this specimenPackera aurea (L.) Á.Löve & D.Löve1850not recorded
A photograph of the species Carex aperta, not of this specimenCarex aperta Boott1853W. BoottMassachusetts
Elymus repens (L.) Gould1892Arthur B. SeymourCambridge.
Festuca pratensis Huds.1892Arthur B. SeymourCambridge.
Hepatica americana (DC.) Ker Gawl.1892Clarence Kinney

All 1,665 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 14 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Tuttle Square School: 10 past producers, 2 producers, 2 plants. 4 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Titanium, Metal. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Crucible Spec. Metals--Auburn, Ma.IronPlant
Worcester B Plant TiTitanium, MetalPlant
Auburn PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Crossover PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Donald P Graves Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Highway PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Lind PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Oxford PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Oxford Quarry Plant #8Sand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Scavone Construction CoSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this property

15 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Auburn, the town this property stands in, in 15 storm reports between 1995 and 2021: 7 hail, 5 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2001LightningAuburn$15,000no account filed
July 2021Thunderstorm WindAuburn$5,500In Auburn, a utility pole and wires were down on Rock Avenue.
August 2016Thunderstorm WindAuburn$5,000Wires were downed onto the ramp to Interstate 90 at Bryn Mawr Avenue by thunderstorm winds.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindAuburn$5,000Large branches and wires on Central Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindAuburn$3,000Wires on Rochdale Street were downed by thunderstorm winds.
August 2020HailAuburn-In Auburn, dime sized hail was reported.
July 2019HailAuburn-Quarter sized hail.
July 2018Flash FloodWest Auburn-At 3:10 PM EST, a downpour over Auburn flooded the intersection of U.S. Route 20 and Southbridge Street. A water depth of 18 inches was reported on Route 20.
May 2009HailAuburn-Penny to quarter sized hail fell in Auburn.
July 2009HailAuburn-Penny size hail fell in a swath from Auburn to Worcester.
May 2011HailAuburn-no account filed
May 2009HailAuburn-no account filed
July 2006HailAuburn-no account filed
April 1996Flash FloodAuburn-no account filed
July 1995Thunderstorm WindAuburn-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Worcester County

Maps showing this location

20 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

From the nomination file

11,203 words on record

When this property was proposed for the National Register, someone wrote the case for it: what the building is, and why it matters. That document is a federal record in the public domain. It is quoted below word for word, never summarised. The text was read off the scanned case file by machine, so the occasional stray character is the recogniser's and the 1970s typewriter's.

Statement of significance

Applicable National Register Criteria (Mark "x" in one or more boxes for the criteria qualifying the property for National Register listing.) xA Property is associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history. _B Property is associated with the lives of persons significant in our past. XC Property embodies the distinctive characteristics of a type, period, or method of construction or represents the work of a master, or possesses high artistic values, or represents a significant and distinguishable entity whose components lack individual distinction. - D Property has yielded, or is likely to yield, information important in prehistory or history.

Criteria Considerations (Mark "x" in all the boxes that apply.) Property is: -A owned by religious institution or used for religious purposes. _ B removed from its original location. _C a birthplace or grave. - D a cemetery. _E a reconstructed building, object, or structure. - F a commemorative property. _G less than 50 years of age or achieved significance within the past 50 years.

Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) _Worcester, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) ARCHITECTURE EDUCATION Period of Significance 1922-1951 Significant Dates 1922 - CONSTRUCTION 1933 - LAST REGULAR USE OF BUILDING AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) Cultural Affiliation Architect/Builder Harry L. Meacham, Worcester, MA 9.

The whole case file for this property - 11,203 words, 40 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 02000129, 40 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Joseph Stone House0.5 miles1986
Goddard Rocket Launching Site2.2 miles1966
Hope Cemetery3.1 miles1997
Malvern Road School3.2 miles1984
Hudson House3.4 miles1978
Christina Nelson Three-Decker3.5 miles1990

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 02000129 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Worcester CountyAll 686 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Specimens. Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF), https://www.gbif.org/. Only records licensed CC0 or CC BY are used. Records licensed CC BY-NC are excluded because this site carries advertising. Images are checked individually and any whose licence is non-commercial, no-derivatives or unreadable is refused.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.