Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005. 20 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1887.
One of 686 National Register listings published here for Worcester County · listed in 2005 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
The ground this property stands on, surveyed 110 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.
The chapter on Sterling Town in History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names Sterling. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
The history of Sterling previous to the year 1781 is inwoven with the history of Lancaster, of which it formed a part known at first by its Indian name, Chnckseit, and secondly and until the above date, as the "West Precinct of Lancaster," and lastly by its incorporated name - Sterling.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
There is also North Wiccapicca Hill, a remarkably well-rounded, steep, sharp-pointed eminence, on the north line of the town, owned principally by Mr. William C. Divol. It is cleared land, except a single clump of trees near the summit, which serves as a landmark for miles around. Rocky Hill, mostly in Leominster, projects into Sterling, on its northern border. South Wiccapicca is a precipitous ridge, running northerly from near the village to Pratt's Junction.
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 Sterling Town - 10,343 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 79 fires within 5 miles of Stephen Hastings House between 2004 and 2020, burning about 43 acres in total. None started naturally. 7 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 burning | 41 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 11 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 11 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 7 |
| Smoking | 4 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 September 2016 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 25 August 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 21 August 2017 | Debris and open burning | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 July 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 4 July 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 24 July 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 23 July 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 22 July 2016 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 874 specimens collected within 10 miles of Stephen Hastings House between 1848 and 1973: 424 Plantae, 334 Animalia, 103 Fungi, 5 Unrecorded, 4 Chromista, 4 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. Ferrett, A. G. Chandler, A. K. Harrison 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 | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Porella platyphylla (L.) Pfeiff. | 1895 | James F. Collins | South spur, Mount Wachusett |
 | Athyrium filix-femina subsp. angustum (Willd.) R.T.Clausen | 1900 | Davenport | Pine Hill; Medford |
 | Pooecetes gramineus gramineus (J.F.Gmelin, 1789) | 1900 | Roscoe I. Giles | |
 | Tamias striatus lysteri (Richardson, 1829) | 1848 | L Agassiz | PARSONS ISLAND |
 | Hygrophorus coccineus (Schaeff.) Fr. | 1856 | D. Murray; C. J. Sprague | [Presumably Massachusetts] |
 | Condylura cristata cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1859 | E S Wheeler | BERLIN |
 | Dryobates pubescens medianus (Swainson, 1832) | 1861 | not recorded | Bolton |
| Clemmys insculpta Fitzinger, 1835 | 1864 | Agassiz | ||
 | Ripiphorus fasciatus (Say, 1824) | 1867 | not recorded | |
 | Carex complanata Torr. & Hook. | 1878 | not recorded | Worcester |
 | Carex cristatella Britton | 1878 | T. E. N. Eaton | Worcester |
 | Carex foenea Willd. | 1878 | W. Boott | Wachusett Mountain |
All 874 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Stephen Hastings House: 9 past producers, 3 producers, 2 prospects. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Peat, Tungsten, Iron. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Luciani Prospect | Tungsten | Prospect | ||
| Pandolf Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Sterling Peat Co | Peat | Past Producer | Peat | |
| Sterling Prospect | Iron, Zinc | Prospect | ||
| Baldarelli Bros. Sand & Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Baldarelli Brothers Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| John D Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Landfill Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Landfill Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sterling, the town this property stands in, in 14 storm reports between 1993 and 2023: 7 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 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.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $6,000 | Trees and wires were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| August 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $5,000 | A tree was downed into a parking lot off of Route 62. |
| September 2014 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $5,000 | A tree on Newell Hill Road was downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2009 | Flash Flood | Sterling | $5,000 | Numerous streets were closed in Leominster, Sterling, and Fitchburg due to flooding. In Sterling, multiple roads were washed out and several homes were flooded. A car was stuck in flood waters on Shay Street in Fitchburg. |
| June 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | West Sterling | $1,300 | In Princeton, trees and wires were down on Sterling Road near Town Farm Road. |
| September 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | $1,000 | At 3:25 PM EST, wind brought a tree down on Kendall Hill Road in Sterling. |
| September 2023 | Hail | Sterling | - | In Sterling, there was 1 inch hail. |
| August 1993 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | - | A funnel was sighted by a police officer and shortly thereafter strong thunderstorm winds knocked down a large oak tree which in turn tore down wires and knocked out power to the southwest section of town. |
| August 2015 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| August 2014 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Sterling | - | no account filed |
| June 2001 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sterling | - | no account filed |
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.
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 | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Sawyer Homestead | 1.7 miles | 2000 |
 | Wachusett Dam Historic District | 1.9 miles | 1990 |
 | Sterling Center Historic District | 2.2 miles | 1988 |
 | Woodlawn Cemetery | 2.6 miles | 2013 |
 | Bigelow Carpet Company Woolen Mills | 2.6 miles | 1983 |
| Clinton Wire Cloth Company Historic District | 2.7 miles | 2024 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 05001363 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Worcester County | All 686 listed properties in this county. |
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