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Bullard House, photograph from the federal nomination
Bullard House, photograph from the federal nomination

Photographs from the nomination case file, National Park Service records.

Bullard House

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2011. 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

“Motor-cars dash through the streets, their inmates scattering thousands of white leaflets, 'Vote for this or that man," whilst clouds of them come flying down from the blue sky where, high above the noise and discord of the streets, a flyer is skimming like some great white bird. Berlin, the cleanest and most orderly of European towns, is now the most disorderly, and a perfect bedlam into the bargain.”

An English Wife in Berlin; a Private Memoir of Events, Politics, and Daily Life in Germany Throughout the War and the Social Revolution of 1918 (1920). Machine-read text.

one of 500 National Register listings in Worcester County · listed in 2011 · category: Building · one of 1 National Historic Landmarks in Worcester County.

Sources: the county history on the Internet Archive · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building, 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 4 Woodward Ave., Berlin, 01503
  • When was it listed? 2011-09-15
  • Category. building
  • Township. Berlin town
  • National Register reference number. 11000664 - 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

109,926 words

The chapter on Berlin Town in An English Wife in Berlin; a Private Memoir of Events, Politics, and Daily Life in Germany Throughout the War and the Social Revolution of 1918, published 1920 names Berlin. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.

We reached the Hook about 5 o'clock, and found a special train waiting for us, which conveyed us eventually straight to Berlin without a single change, which was one of the greatest distinctions and luxuries that we could possibly have had. For I heard from our friends afterwards of the discomforts of their journeys. The very highest in the land were subject to delays and irregularities when not attached to the Embassy. Some of them, it seemed, were turned out every hour to make place for troops, and had to show their passports, sometimes ten or twenty times a day, and were crowded into third-class carriages without any regard for their first-class tickets and their passports. All had to give way to the troops which were hastening to the front.

Passage source: An English Wife in Berlin; a Private Memoir of Events, Politics, and Daily Life in Germany Throughout the War and the Social Revolution of 1918, published 1920.

We had many interesting conversations during the journey. The sadness and bitterness of all these Germans leaving England struck me intensely. Here we are, they say, being dragged away from the country that has been our home for years, to fight against our best friends. They all blamed the officials in Berlin, who had, they said, grossly mismanaged the negotiations. It had been an obsession in some of the German officials' minds for years past, that Russia meant to attack them. "Well then," said someone of the party, "why not wait until they do it? Why commit suicide to avoid being killed?"

Passage source: An English Wife in Berlin; a Private Memoir of Events, Politics, and Daily Life in Germany Throughout the War and the Social Revolution of 1918, published 1920.

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 Berlin Town - 109,926 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.

Fires near this property

126 since 2004

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 126 fires within 5 miles of Bullard House between 2004 and 2020, burning about 72 acres in total. None started naturally. 12 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 burning55
Missing data/not specified/undetermined23
Recreation and ceremony20
Arson/incendiarism12
Smoking9
Misuse of fire by a minor4
Power generation/transmission/distribution2
Equipment and vehicle use1

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
7 September 2016Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire ControlMARLBORO
7 September 2015Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
5 September 2016Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
28 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
23 September 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
20 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
20 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
16 September 2020Arson/incendiarismunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 1,645 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,645 specimens collected within 10 miles of Bullard House between 1858 and 1973: 1,103 Animalia, 296 Plantae, 235 Fungi, 5 Unrecorded, 3 Chromista, 3 Protozoa. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. C. Gibson, 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 SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. ex Hook.Chrysosplenium americanum Schwein. ex Hook.1899E. F. Williams
A photograph of the species Quercus velutina, not of this specimenQuercus velutina Lam.1858E. S. HoarRoad to Marlboro, Concord.
A photograph of the species Condylura cristata, not of this specimenCondylura cristata cristata (Linnaeus, 1758)1859E S WheelerBERLIN
A photograph of the species Dryobates pubescens, not of this specimenDryobates pubescens medianus (Swainson, 1832)1861not recordedBolton
A photograph of the species Clemmys insculpta, not of this specimenClemmys insculpta Fitzinger, 18351864Agassiz
A photograph of the species Bromus sterilis, not of this specimenBromus sterilis L.1879C. E. Faxon
A photograph of the species Merulius lacrymans, not of this specimenMerulius lacrymans (Wulfen) Schumach.1879Howes, A.Massachusetts
A photograph of the species Potamogeton gramineus, not of this specimenPotamogeton gramineus L.1879T. MorongLake Quinsigamond
A photograph of the species Potamogeton berchtoldii, not of this specimenPotamogeton berchtoldii subsp. berchtoldii1880T Morong
A photograph of the species Potamogeton vaseyi, not of this specimenPotamogeton vaseyi J.W.Robbins1880Faxon, E.; Faxon, C.E.Worcester, Lake Quinsigamond
Arphia sulphurea (Fabricius, 1781)1892unknownWellesley
A photograph of the species Castilleja coccinea, not of this specimenCastilleja coccinea (L.) Spreng.1892E. C. SmithMarboro.

All 1,645 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 18 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 18 workings within 5 miles of Bullard House: 15 past producers, 3 producers. 3 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Stone, Dimension, Stone, Crushed/Broken. 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
Berlin Stone Co QuarryStone, DimensionProducer
Gneiss QuarryStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Bates Sand and Gravel Co.Sand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Berin PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Berlin PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Berlin Town PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Bolton PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
C and M EnterprisesSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Casaceli TruckingSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Casaceli Trucking PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this property

7 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Berlin, the town this property stands in, in 7 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 4 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 hail, 1 tornado. 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
July 2014LightningSouth Berlin$100,000A four unit senior housing building was struck by lightning, setting it on fire. No injuries occurred as a result of the fire.
August 2003Thunderstorm WindBerlin$20,000no account filed
July 2009Thunderstorm WindBerlin$10,000Trees were downed by thunderstorm winds.
September 2025Tornado (EF0)West Berlin$5,000EF1 tornado touched down west of Barnes Hill Road in Berlin, MA and traveled ENE crossing Derby road and West street. Many soft or hardwood trees snapped at the trunk or uprooted.
August 2022Thunderstorm WindSouth Berlin$2,500In Berlin, a tree was down on a guardrail on Coburn Road and West Street. A tree was down on Pleasant Street and a large limb was down at Pleasant Street and Kendall Lane. A tree was also down on Bridge Road at River Road West.
July 2021HailBerlin-In Berlin, half dollar size hail was reported.
May 1995Thunderstorm WindBerlin-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

13,567 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 thepast 50years. Norcester, MF County and Stat Areas of Significance (Enter categories from instructions) ARCHITECTURE COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMERCE Period of Significance ca. 1780 te 1961 Significant Dates ca.

1780 (construction) Significant Person (Complete if Criterion B is marked above) N/A Cultural Affiliation N/A Architect/Builder Narrative Statement of Significance (Explain the significance of the property on one or more continuation sheets.) 9.

The whole case file for this property - 13,567 words, 39 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 11000664, 39 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
Berlin Town Hallunder 500 feet2011
Bowers School3.1 miles1983
First Methodist Church3.4 miles1990
Corcoran School3.4 miles2000
Bigelow Carpet Mill3.4 miles1978
Felton Street School3.5 miles1986

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 11000664 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.