Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008. 20 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1887.
One of 686 National Register listings published here for Worcester County · listed in 2008 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
An account from the chapter on Leominster city. The inset identifies its exact source book and publication year.
Leominster haa an honorable war record. She would, indeed, be unworthy both of her ancestors and the times of her birth, if in all the struggles for liberty, she had not made full proof of her patriotism. It is true that the first settlers of the town had no personal experience of the tomahawk and the scalping-knife; but the story of what their fathers had suffered was a close remembrance ; and these hardy pioneers had barely time to build their rude homes, " establish God's house in the wilderness," connect the hill-tops by roads and erect here and there a mill to grind their corn and saw their logs, when the alarm of war sounded at the North, and the sword did not, for the next ihirty-and-five years, rest easy in its scabbard.
The chapter on Leominster City in History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889 names Leominster. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
The next pastor was the Rev. Moses Harrington. In the first part of his ministry (June 28, 1837) the " branch " was organized as an independent church. Twenty-eight persons constituted this iofant church. The ministry of Mr. Harrington continued until 1840, and his succes.sor, David Goddard, Jr., was ordained on June 3d of that year. He continued in the office here until Feb. 4, 1843. Of Mr. Goddard the Rev. Mr. Mason says : " He was a reformer, taking high ground against slavery, intemperance and worldly amusements. He led the church as a body to pledge themselves to total abstineuce and the disfellowshiping of slave-holders. He also framed the following clause which was inserted in the church covenant: 'We will also carefully refrain from spending our time idly at tKverns, in parties of worldly pleasure, or in trifling company.' He preached a sermon, which is represented as a powerful discourse, against the wearing by the sisters of roses in their bonnets; and such was the effect that every sister immediately dismantled her head-gear of all ornaments, and put them back again within three weeks." His grave is in Leominster.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., published 1889.
The other pastors of this church were David Goddard, Sr., William S. Wilder, Isaiah C. Carpenter, David Taylor and B. H. Clifts. With the end of this last pastorate the Leominster Baptist Church cea,sed to be ; the last entry in its records bearing date October 27, 1849, three weeks after the resignation of Rev. B. H. Clifts. The difficulties were too many and the burdens too heavy for their strength. The people refused to contribute longer to the repairs of a church so badly located and to the support of preaching in a house not fit for public worship. The church was (lisbalided. At this distance of time and under our changed circumstances it would not be well to pass judgment on the wisdom of this action ; but it does not seem wholly clear why it was necessary to disband the old church and lose all its associations if a new church of the same faith was to be organized within six months. Perhaps it was a matter of local necessity.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts : with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men., 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 Leominster City - 21,669 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 173 fires within 5 miles of Frances H. and Jonathan Drake House between 2015 and 2020, burning about 196 acres in total. None started naturally. None 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 burning | 75 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 61 |
| Smoking | 24 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 12 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 5 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 3 September 2017 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 24 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 3.4 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MONOOSNOC HILL |
| 22 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 19 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 18 September 2016 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 9 August 2016 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,584 specimens collected within 10 miles of Frances H. and Jonathan Drake House between 1861 and 1974: 1,059 Animalia, 336 Plantae, 169 Fungi, 8 Unrecorded, 8 Chromista, 4 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. C. Gibson, A. Ferrett 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 |
 | Dryobates pubescens medianus (Swainson, 1832) | 1861 | not recorded | Bolton |
| Clemmys insculpta Fitzinger, 1835 | 1864 | Agassiz | ||
 | Hylesinus aculeatus Say & T., 1824 | 1872 | unknown | Fitchburg |
 | Carex foenea Willd. | 1878 | W. Boott | Wachusett Mountain |
 | Bromus sterilis L. | 1879 | C. E. Faxon | |
 | Merulius lacrymans (Wulfen) Schumach. | 1879 | Howes, A. | Massachusetts |
 | Sibbaldiopsis tridentata (Aiton) Rydb. | 1879 | Bailey, W.W. | summit of Mt. Wachusett |
 | Hypericum gentianoides (L.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb. | 1881 | Fredrick L Sargent | Lunenburg |
 | Icterus galbula (Linnaeus, 1758) | 1881 | G. L. Brigham | Bolton |
| Arthuriomyces peckianus (Howe) Cummins & Y.Hirats. | 1892 | W. B. Hosmer |
All 1,584 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 11 workings within 5 miles of Frances H. and Jonathan Drake House: 4 past producers, 3 producers, 2 occurrences, 1 prospect. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Tungsten, Lithium, Tin. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fitchburg Area | Tin, Lithium | Occurrence | ||
| Leominster | Lithium, Tin | Occurrence | 1824 | |
| Leominster Pit | Geothermal | Past Producer | ||
| Luciani Prospect | Tungsten | Prospect | ||
| Keating Quarry & Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Unknown | ||
| Keating Quarry and Mill | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Luenburg Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| P J Keating | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Sterling Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Tanzio Road Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Leominster, the town this property stands in, in 28 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 12 thunderstorm wind, 8 flash flood, 3 lightning, 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| March 2010 | Flood | North Leominster | $2,700,000 | The Nashua River at Clinton rose to flood stage after three to six inches of rain fell across Worcester County. Two factories in Clinton were closed after ten feet of water flooded the basements. In addition, two to three hundred feet of railroad tracks were washed out. Several cars were submerged in flood waters throughout Clinton. Two sections of Clinton were flooded: the Main and Church Streets area, where Coachlace Pond overflowed a culvert and the Water Street section near the Nashua River. Many streets were closed and several businesses along Main Street were damaged by floodwaters. The U-Haul storage facility on High Street was flooded. Several apartments throughout town were evacuated, but no concrete numbers were reported. The overflow from Coachlace Pond washed out a rail bed, dislodging the tracks and halting trains.||Several smaller brooks and streams also overflowed their banks resulting in basements, parking lots, and yards flooding in Leominster, Clinton, and Westminster. Near the Mall at Whitney Field in Leominster, two vehicles were submerged and their drivers rescued when the Monoosnock Brook overflowed its banks, one was an armored car. Several roads in Leominster, Lancaster, Fitchburg, Sterling, and Westminster were closed due to flooding. |
| May 2007 | Lightning | Leominster | $300,000 | A lightning strike sparked a large house fire at 41 Bicentennial Drive in Leominster on the 16th. A family pet (dog) was killed in the fire. The fire caused nearly $300,000 in damage to the house. |
| August 2016 | Flash Flood | North Leominster | $40,000 | Leominster: Lancaster Street under the bridge was flooded. Cars were stuck in flood waters on Route 117 by the shopping plaza. Manhole covers were pushed out by flooding on West Street. The police department parking lot was flooded. Three cars were stuck in flood waters on Mechanic Street. Central Street was flooded with three feet of water.||Fitchburg: Water was a foot deep on John Fitch Highway and the adjoining parking lot. |
| July 2004 | Flash Flood | Leominster | $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 2009 | Flash Flood | Leominster | $20,000 | Several roads were flooded with water up to the car bumpers and people being rescued. Two homes were also flooded, one on Willard Street and another on Johnson Street. Phone service was out at these homes. |
| May 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | $15,000 | Wires on University Avenue were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | $15,000 | no account filed |
| July 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | $15,000 | no account filed |
| June 2018 | Flood | Leominster | $10,000 | At 5:34 PM EST, a car was trapped in flood waters on Water Street in Leominster, and a second car was trapped in flood waters on Graham Street. |
| October 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | $10,000 | Trees on Main Street and Manchester Street were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | $5,000 | no account filed |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | $1,000 | In Leominster there was a tree and wires down on Devin Rd. |
| October 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | $500 | In Leominster, a tree was down on Mountain View Road. |
| July 2023 | Flash Flood | Leominster | - | In Leominster, Washington Squre was flooded and impassable. |
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | Leominster | - | In Leominster, two cars were flooded and disabled. |
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | Leominster | - | In Agawam, numerous roads were flooded and impassable with water rescues. |
| September 2023 | Flash Flood | Leominster | - | In Leominster, multiple roads was flooded and impassable. |
| September 2023 | Flood | Leominster | - | In Leominster, Exchange St was flooded with basement flooding also occurring. |
| August 2015 | Hail | Leominster | - | Quarter to ping pong ball size hail fell in Leominster. |
| June 2007 | Hail | Leominster | - | Penny size hail. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | - | Trees down on River Street, partially blocking the road. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | - | Trees down blocking Elm Street. |
| April 2000 | Flash Flood | Leominster | - | Phillips Brook |
| July 2004 | Lightning | Leominster | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Lightning | Leominster | - | no account filed |
| May 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Leominster | - | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Jewett Piano Company Building | 0.3 miles | 2019 |
 | Monument Square Historic District | 0.4 miles | 1982 |
 | Wachusett Shirt Company | 0.5 miles | 1982 |
| W. S. Reed Toy Company-Wachusett Shirt Company Historic District | 0.5 miles | 2021 | |
 | Cluett Peabody & Company | 0.5 miles | 1989 |
 | Whitney & Company | 0.6 miles | 1989 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 07001488 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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