Built in 1790 (Federal architecture). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009. 21 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1886.
From the record
“Significant Dates N/A Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) N/A Cultural Affiliation N/A Architect/Builder N/A”
Narrative Statement of Significance, National Register nomination for Benjamin Thayer House. Machine-read text.
One of 686 National Register listings published here for Worcester County · listed in 2009 · category: Building · built in 1790, Federal architecture.
National Register reference number.09001174- 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.
To the whole of the purchase then made the name of Mendon was soon afterwards given. The town of Blackstone, the last of several towns carved, in whole or in part, out of that territory, was really marked out by the estaldishment of the so-called South Precinct in 1766, but it was nearly eighty years later before the town was incorporated.
The town has no natural lakes or large ponds, and the area occupied by its streams is stated by Mr. Walling to be ninety acres. The highest land is found in the extreme northwest, in the hills collectively known as Chestnut Hill. More isolated are the Daniels Hill, north of the centre of the town, and Waterbug Hill, a little southwest of the centre. East of Mill River, Candlewood Hill stretches north and south a distance of about two miles. Pond's Hill overlooks the village of Waterford, and presents abrupt sides, both towards Fox Brook on the west and Blackstone River on the south.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The
federal wildfire occurrence database
lists 148 fires within 5 miles of Benjamin Thayer House
between 2002 and 2020, burning about 108 acres in total. None started naturally. 24 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
Missing data/not specified/undetermined
43
Debris and open burning
33
Recreation and ceremony
25
Arson/incendiarism
24
Smoking
14
Equipment and vehicle use
4
Railroad operations and maintenance
2
Power generation/transmission/distribution
1
Misuse of fire by a minor
1
Other causes
1
The most recent of
them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service
that recorded it.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. Museums hold 279 specimens
collected within 10 miles of Benjamin Thayer House between 1844 and 1974: 138 Plantae, 102 Animalia, 25 Fungi, 9 Protozoa, 3 Unrecorded, 2 Chromista.
12 distinct Species records are shown.
Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele, A. R. Hodgdon; F. L. Steele 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.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists
16 workings within 5 miles of Benjamin Thayer House: 12 past producers, 2 occurrences, 1 unknown, 1 prospect.
None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Iron, Titanium, Metal, Vanadium, Molybdenum. Distance is straight-line from the
map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring
settlement's page as well.
Regional context, not property-specific
evidence. The National Weather Service names
Blackstone, the town this property stands in, in 11 storm reports between 1999 and 2020: 3 thunderstorm wind, 3 flood, 2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain.
The reports record 1 injury. 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.
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.
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. 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, MA County and State Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) COMMUNITY PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT ARCHITECTURE Period of Significance Ca.
1790-1959 Significant Dates N/A Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) N/A Cultural Affiliation N/A Architect/Builder N/A 9.
Quoted from the National Register nomination
for reference 09001174, 26 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.
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.
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