BlockFrom the record
One of 686 National Register listings published here for Worcester County · listed in 2016 · category: Building.
Sources: the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
First Baptist Church of Northborough
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2016. 19 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1887.
The listing
- What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 4 objectss, 1 building as contributing to the listing.
- Address. 52 Main St., Northborough, 01532
- When was it listed? 2016-02-26
- Category. building
- Town. Northborough town
- National Register reference number. 16000157 - assigned by the National Park Service when the property was listed.
The ground it stands on
9,074 wordsThe chapter on Northborough Town in History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names Northborough. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
September 21, 1767, the district " concur with the church in giving Mr. Pei;er Whitney a call to settle as minister and pastor of the church and congregation in Northborough." The sum of one hundred and sixty pounds was voted " for settlement," to be paid in two installments, at the beginning and end of the first year, and an annual salary was granted of sixty pounds to be paid "in Spanish milled dollars, 6s. each, or in the several species of coined gold and silver," as enumerated. In accepting this proposal Mr. Whitney writes:
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
Mr. Whitney (son of Rev. Aaron Whitney, the first minister of Petersham) was born September 17, 1744; graduated at Harvard University in 1762; and was settled as minister of Northborough November 4, 1767. "Distinguished for the urbanity of his manners, easy and familiar in his intercourse with his people, hospitable to strangers, and always ready to give a hearty welcome to his numerous friends ; punctual to his engagements, observing an exact method in the distribution of his time, having a time for everything and doing everything in its time, without hurry or confusion ; conscientious in the discharge of his duties as a Christian minister ; catholic in his principles and in his conduct, always taking interest in whatever concerned the prosperity of the town and the interestsof religion, he was for many years the happy minister of a kind and aifectionate people. At length, having continued in the work of the ministry almost half a century, he suddenly departed this life February 29, 1816, in the seventy-second year of his life and the forty-ninth of his useful ministry.'" He was an eager and outspoken advocate of the patriotic efforts of '75 and '76, which his father as strongly opposed, and was the author of a " History of Worcester County," still held in much esteem. Of his ten children, the most widely known was Rev. Peter Whitney, of Quincy (1800-43, born 1770).
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 Northborough Town - 9,074 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Fires near this property
74 since 2015Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 74 fires within 5 miles of First Baptist Church of Northborough between 2015 and 2020, burning about 42 acres in total. None started naturally. 9 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 | 28 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 21 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 9 |
| Smoking | 8 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 5 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 2 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 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 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MARLBORO |
| 16 September 2020 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 11 September 2017 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MARLBORO |
| 1 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 1 September 2017 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MARLBORO |
| 8 August 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 26 August 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 26 August 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
Specimens collected near this property
12 of 1,127 shownRegional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,127 specimens collected within 10 miles of First Baptist Church of Northborough between 1850 and 1975: 498 Plantae, 482 Animalia, 135 Fungi, 5 Chromista, 4 Protozoa, 3 Unrecorded. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A E WOODHEAD, A. G. Chandler, A. H. Chivers 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon | 1899 | H. H. Scudder | |
 | Geranium maculatum L. | 1850 | not recorded | |
 | Packera aurea (L.) Á.Löve & D.Löve | 1850 | not recorded | |
 | Quercus velutina Lam. | 1858 | E. S. Hoar | Road to Marlboro, Concord. |
 | 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 | ||
 | Magnolia × soulangeana Soul.-Bod. | 1866 | J. Mekenes | |
 | Leathesia marina (Lyngb.) Decne. | 1875 | Mrs. H. A. C. | Worceseter |
| Arphia sulphurea (Fabricius, 1781) | 1892 | unknown | Wellesley | |
 | Castilleja coccinea (L.) Spreng. | 1892 | E. C. Smith | Marboro. |
| Hepatica americana (DC.) Ker Gawl. | 1892 | Clarence Kinney |
All 1,127 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Mines and quarries near this property
9 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 9 workings within 5 miles of First Baptist Church of Northborough: 7 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bates Sand and Gravel Co. | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Berin Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Berlin Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Berlin Town Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| C and M Enterprises | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| E L Dauphanis Inc | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| E. L. Dauphinais, Incorporated | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Haynes Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Northboro Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Storms near this property
17 since 1998Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Northborough, the town this property stands in, in 17 storm reports between 1998 and 2021: 10 thunderstorm wind, 4 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 lightning. The reports record 2 injuries. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | 1 hurt, $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | 1 hurt, $25,000 | no account filed |
| June 1998 | Flash Flood | Northborough | $570,000 | West Branch of the Assabet River |
| August 2003 | Flash Flood | Northborough | $50,000 | no account filed |
| August 2004 | Hail | Northborough | $25,000 | no account filed |
| May 2001 | Lightning | Northborough | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | $8,000 | In Northborough, siding was blown off the side of a house at the intersection of Brigham Street and South Street. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | $5,000 | A tree and large branch on Meadow Road were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2015 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | $5,000 | A tree on Route 20 was downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | $5,000 | Wires on Otis and Davis Streets were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | $5,000 | no account filed |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | $1,000 | A tree limb on Meadow Road was downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | $500 | In Northborough, a trees was down on School Street. |
| July 2009 | Hail | Northborough | - | no account filed |
| May 2002 | Hail | Northborough | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Northborough | - | no account filed |
| July 1999 | Hail | Northborough | - | no account filed |
Maps showing this location
19 surveysUnited 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.
- 1887 USGS Marlboro quadrangle1:62500
- 1889 USGS Marlboro quadrangle1:62500
- 1896 USGS Marlboro quadrangle1:62500
- 1898 USGS Marlboro quadrangle1:62500 - 8 printings
- 1908 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000 - 3 printings
- 1943 USGS Quinsigamond quadrangle1:125000
- 1943 USGS Shrewsbury quadrangle1:31680 - 3 printings
- 1948 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Shrewsbury quadrangle1:31680 - 2 printings
- 1953 USGS Shrewsbury quadrangle1:24000
- 1956 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000 - 6 printings
- 1958 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
- 1961 USGS Boston quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
- 1969 USGS Shrewsbury quadrangle1:24000 - 3 printings
- 1969 USGS Shrewsbury quadrangle1:25000
- 1975 USGS Shrewsbury quadrangle1:25000
- 1983 USGS Marlborough quadrangle1:25000 - 3 printings
- 1985 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000
- 1989 USGS Boston quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings
Listed places nearby
6 within 8 milesOther 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Lyman School for Boys | 2.1 miles | 1994 |
 | Westborough State Hospital | 2.1 miles | 1994 |
 | Maples Cottage | 2.4 miles | 1980 |
| Nathan Fisher House | 2.5 miles | 1980 | |
 | Joseph Lothrop House | 2.6 miles | 1980 |
| Gen. Artemas Ward Homestead | 3.4 miles | 1976 |
Sources for this property
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 16000157 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. |
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.