BlockBefore
Decorative drawing: an ornate nineteenth-century American house. Not a photograph of this place.

Fernside--Vacation House for Working Girls

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2002. A historic map-sheet match is not published yet. The record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary.

From the record

one of 500 National Register listings in Worcester County · listed in 2002 · category: Building · one of 1 National Historic Landmarks in Worcester County.

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

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 3 buildingss, 1 object as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 162 Mountain Rd., Princeton, 01541
  • When was it listed? 2002-06-27
  • Category. building
  • Township. Princeton town
  • National Register reference number. 02000695 - 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

5,742 words

The chapter on Princeton Town in History of the Town of Princeton, in the County of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1759-1915, published 1915 names Princeton. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

ABBOT Isaac, with wife Marah or Mary, came from Pomfret, Connecticut, in November, 1769, with seven children. These were recorded in Princeton, where four others were afterwards born and recorded. The family then disappears from the town records and no further information is obtainable. The children were:

Passage source: History of the Town of Princeton, in the County of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1759-1915, published 1915.

Several distinct families of this name are recorded in Princeton, the ancestry of only one of which has been determined ; that of Moses, a lineal descendant of Walter^ Allen of Old Newbury, 1640, who with his wife Rebecca and family moved to Watertown prior to April, 1662, at which time he was a proprietor and was one of a Coroner's Jury, July 19, 1663. On Oct. i, 1673, by deed of gift he conveyed lands in Watertown to his sons Daniel and Joseph and soon after moved to Charlestown where he engaged in business as a "haberdasher of hats." Here he Married (2d) Nov. 29, 1678, Abigail Rogers and died July 8, 1681. His oldest son John^ lived in Sudbury and had Benjamin^ whose son Zebediah^ was father of Jonathan^ The latter moved to Barre in 1750, and there died at the age of loi.

Passage source: History of the Town of Princeton, in the County of Worcester and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 1759-1915, published 1915.

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 Princeton Town - 5,742 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

28 since 2015

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 28 fires within 5 miles of Fernside--Vacation House for Working Girls between 2015 and 2020, burning about 51 acres in total. None started naturally. 1 was 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 burning19
Missing data/not specified/undetermined3
Recreation and ceremony2
Equipment and vehicle use2
Arson/incendiarism1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
22 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 August 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
22 July 2016Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
18 July 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
19 June 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
15 June 2017Debris and open burning1.5 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
5 May 2015Debris and open burning1.0 acresMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 May 2020Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 520 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 520 specimens collected within 10 miles of Fernside--Vacation House for Working Girls between 1848 and 1973: 297 Plantae, 108 Fungi, 105 Animalia, 4 Protozoa, 3 Unrecorded, 3 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. Ferrett, A. J. Stone 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 Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff.Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff.1895James F. CollinsSouth spur, Mount Wachusett
Specimen of Athyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.ClausenAthyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.Clausen1900DavenportPine Hill; Medford
Specimen of Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789)1900Roscoe I. Giles
A photograph of the species Tamias striatus, not of this specimenTamias striatus lysteri (Richardson, 1829)1848L AgassizPARSONS ISLAND
A photograph of the species Hygrophorus coccineus, not of this specimenHygrophorus coccineus (Schaeff.) Fr.1856D. Murray; C. J. Sprague[Presumably Massachusetts]
A photograph of the species Hylesinus aculeatus, not of this specimenHylesinus aculeatus Say & T., 18241872unknownFitchburg
A photograph of the species Carex foenea, not of this specimenCarex foenea Willd.1878W. BoottWachusett Mountain
A photograph of the species Merulius lacrymans, not of this specimenMerulius lacrymans (Wulfen) Schumach.1879Howes, A.Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Sibbaldiopsis tridentata, not of this specimenSibbaldiopsis tridentata (Aiton) Rydb.1879Bailey, W.W.summit of Mt. Wachusett
A photograph of the species Diploschistes scruposus, not of this specimenDiploschistes scruposus (Schreb.) Norman1880Alex Walther[illegible]
A photograph of the species Calla palustris, not of this specimenCalla palustris L.1883G. F. WhittemoreFitchburg
A photograph of the species Myosotis laxa, not of this specimenMyosotis laxa Lehm.1883Collector unspecifiedLeominster.

All 520 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Fernside--Vacation House for Working Girls: 2 past producers, 1 producer, 1 prospect. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Tungsten. 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
Luciani ProspectTungstenProspect
Holden Pit & MillSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Holden Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Princeton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this property

12 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Princeton, the town this property stands in, in 12 storm reports between 1997 and 2020: 6 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 1 tornado, 1 flash flood. 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 2001Tornado (F1)Princeton$25,000Brief F1 touchdown
May 2009Thunderstorm WindPrinceton$2,000Trees were downed by thunderstorm winds.
September 2018Thunderstorm WindPrinceton$1,000At 2:55 PM EST, wind brought a tree down on Princeton Road in Sterling.
July 2020Thunderstorm WindPrinceton$500In Princeton, a tree was down on Mountain Road.
August 2014Flash FloodEast Princeton-Several roads were closed due to two feet of water flooding the roads.
July 2007Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Trees blown down in straight line off of Gleason Road just south of Route 140 and Route 31.
February 1997Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-Trees and wires were reported down in Princeton.
August 2015HailPrinceton-no account filed
August 2014HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 2001HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 2001HailPrinceton-no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindPrinceton-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Worcester County

Map coverage status

No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.

From the nomination file

26,059 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.) X A 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. X C 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, Massachusetts County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) ARCHITECTURE ENTERTAINMENT/RECREATION SOCIAL HISTORY Period of Significance 1835-1952 Significant Dates 1835- original construction of house 1870- first use as summer boarding house 1890- 1°t use as vacation inn by Working Girls' Club Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) n/a Cultural Affiliation N/a Architect/Builder N/a 9.

The whole case file for this property - 26,059 words, 110 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 02000695, 110 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
Wood, Ahijah, House3.8 miles1987
Wood, Nathan, House3.9 miles1987
Willard--Fisk House6.2 miles1996
Manning--Ball House6.2 miles1995
Hubbardston Town Common Historic District6.2 miles2000
Hubbardston Public Library6.3 miles1998

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 02000695 in Record Group 79.
Worcester CountyAll 500 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.