Willard House and Clock Museum

The Willard House stands in a rural section of the village of North Grafton. This colonial period farnhouse faces south, overlooking 9 1/2 acres of open land on the west side of Willard Street. Today the Willard House presents a 2 1/2 story, saltbox form with an asymmetrical, 3 bay facade -- an appearance that reflects the physical growth of the building. As originally constructed in 1718, the Willard House consisted of only one room with a sleeping loft above. It is thought that the western side of the house and the second story were added ca. 1760, and that the leanto was added in a third construction phase of unknown date. A gabled, two story ell was added at the northwest corner in 1970, when the house was restored.

Built on a fieldstone foundation, the house's post and beam frame is sheathed in clapboard and enclosed by a gable roof. A large chimney is placed just behind the ridgepole and slightly off center. On the main block of the house, narrow 6/9 windows are set in projecting frames, those on the first floor having bold cornices. The doorways on the facade and east side have similar cornices. On the rear (north) elevation are a single 6/9 window and a small entrance vestibule. The northwest ell has smaller 6/6 windows in flush frames, with a modern bay window on its northern elevation. The interior of the Willard House retains its period design.

Major features include a narrow center stairway with a closed stringcourse, feather-edge panelling, origina] mantelpieces, and exposed post and beam construction. In 1968 the Willard House was purchased for use as a museum.

(in one paragraph) Builder/Architect Joseph Willard The Willard House is significant for its associations with four famous clockmakers of the 18th and early 19th centuries and as an example of evolving colonial period architecture in Grafton. The property retains integrity of design, setting, and location and meets criteria B and C of the National Register of Historic Places. The Willard House was built in 1718 by Major Joseph Willard -- a farmer, militiaman, and one of the earliest settlers in town. He was a descendant of Major Simon Willard, the founder of Concord, Mass. Somewhat later, Joseph's son and daughter-in-law, Benjamin and Sarah Willard, also occupied the house with their 10 children.

Four of Benjamin and Sarah's children became famous as clockmakers; all four were born in the Willard House between 1743 and 1757. Benjamin the third child and oldest son, was born in 1743 and died in 1803. The west side of the house was given to Benjamin in 1764, and the clockshop was built for him in 1766. Benjamin may have apprenticed to the Cheneys of East Hartford, Conn., and probably taught his younger brothers the clockmaking trade; he worked in Grafton, Lexington and Roxbury, Mass. Several musical clocks by Benjamin are known. Simon, the 8th child (1753-1848), worked in Grafton and Roxbury, making his first clock at the age of 17.

The most prominent of the Willard clockmakers, Simon invented a clock-powered jack for roasting meats, patented the lighthouse clock, and produced tall clocks, Massachusetts shelf clocks and tower clocks. Of his 11 children by his second wife, three became associated with the clock business; many of his apprentices became notable in the craft. Ephraim (1755-?) was the 9th child of Benjamin and Sarah Willard.