Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. 21 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1886.
One of 686 National Register listings published here for Worcester County · listed in 1983 · category: Building.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
The chapter on Mendon Town in History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889 names Uxbridge. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
On the 15th day of May, 1867, in a small town iu the southeastern part of Worcester County, ''a vast assemblage," as one of those addressing it justly de- scribed it, were gathered together. Orators, poets, distinguished jurists, clergymen, statesmen and men of military renown were present, or regretfully sent excuses for their absence. The inhabitants of Milford, Blackstone, Uxbridge, Northbridge, Upton and Bellingham, with hundreds from more remote parts of the State and nation, had met to celebrate the two hundredth anniversary of the incorporation of what they lovingly called the "Mother Town of Mendon." The distinguished speakers seemed to feel it a high' privilege to recount the story of the ancient town, and found the day far too short for their purpose. Several of them had names borne by six generations of Mendon's inhabitants now passed away, as well as by many of its present citizens, and they felt they were telling the story of their ancestors as they narrated how the Aldrichs, Staples, Holbrooks, Thompsons, Chapins, Tafts and others painfully made their way from the coast to this fertile, hilly region, established homes, church, schools, and laid the foundation for all the abounding life of these busy towns of to-day.
Passage source: History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, published 1889.
Thelaborsof theapostleEliothadbeen untiring, and bands of praying Indians had been organized at Wacantuck (now Uxbridge), Hassanamisco (Grafton) and elsewhere. One indication of Eliot's influence is probably seen in the Indians' signatures to the Mendon deed by such names as William, John and Jacob, to which signatures, indeed, the Eliots, senior and junior, are witnesses.
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 Mendon Town - 9,723 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 106 fires within 5 miles of Richard Sayles House between 2002 and 2020, burning about 79 acres in total. None started naturally. 3 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 | 37 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 26 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 16 |
| Smoking | 15 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 5 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
| 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 8 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 8 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 3 September 2018 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 29 September 2002 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachussetts State Fire Marshal's Office | not named |
| 28 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | BELLINGHAM |
| 27 September 2015 | Smoking | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | BELLINGHAM |
| 27 September 2015 | Recreation and ceremony | 1.0 acres | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | BELLINGHAM |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 370 specimens collected within 10 miles of Richard Sayles House between 1844 and 1974: 194 Plantae, 131 Animalia, 31 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.
| Image | Species | Year | Collected by | Where, as recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh. | 1896 | Henderson | |
 | Coryneum pulvinatum Kunze | 1897 | D. Murray | |
 | Trichophorum planifolium (Spreng.) Palla | 1844 | Collector unspecified | Uxbridge |
 | Carex vesicaria L. | 1848 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Potamogeton epihydrus Raf. | 1848 | J. W. Robbins | Uxbridge |
 | Potamogeton bicupulatus Fernald | 1854 | W. J. Robbins | Uxbridge |
 | Carex brevior (Dewey) Mack. | 1855 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Carex normalis Mack. | 1855 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Carex siccata Dewey | 1855 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Carex straminea Willd. ex Schkuhr | 1855 | J. W. Robbins | |
 | Hyla versicolor LeConte, 1825 | 1857 | Weinland, David Friedrich | |
| Sterna hirundo hirundo Linnaeus, 1758 | 1892 | Babbitt, J P | Massachusetts |
All 370 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 14 workings within 5 miles of Richard Sayles House: 10 past producers, 3 producers, 1 unknown. 3 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candlewood Recreation Area | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Carl A Molinari | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Carl A. Molinari Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Helca Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Oliveira Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| R A Bergesson and Sons | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Rosenfeld Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Sand & Gravel Operation | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Schnorr Const Inc Sand and Gravel | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Schnorr Constr. Co., Inc. Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Uxbridge, the town this property stands in, in 6 storm reports between 1996 and 2021: 4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Uxbridge | $800 | In Uxbridge, a tree was down on wires on High Street. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | North Uxbridge | $500 | In Uxbridge, a tree was down on Hartford Avenue West. |
| August 2006 | Hail | Uxbridge | - | no account filed |
| June 2000 | Hail | Uxbridge | - | no account filed |
| July 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Uxbridge | - | no account filed |
| May 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Uxbridge | - | 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.
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 reproduced in full on its own page, word for word and 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.
The whole case file for this property - 1,595 words, 9 pages, reproduced complete.
Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 83004131, 9 pages, held by the National Archives in Record Group 79. See the catalogue record.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Southwick-Daniels Farm | 1.7 miles | 1995 |
 | Nathan C. Aldrich House and Resthaven Chapel | 1.7 miles | 2006 |
 | E. Albee House | 1.8 miles | 1983 |
 | W. Aldrich House | 1.9 miles | 1983 |
 | Mendon Center Historic District | 2.1 miles | 2003 |
 | Waucantuck Mill Complex | 2.3 miles | 1984 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 83004131 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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