Built in 1717 (First Period). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. 20 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1887.
One of 1,353 National Register listings published here for Middlesex County · listed in 1986 · category: Building · built in 1717, First Period.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
The chapter on Holliston Town in History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1890 names Sherborn. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
The town of Holliston reaches to the southern point of Middlesex County, and forms a large part of its boundary in that direction. The boundary line separates it from Medway and Millis, in the county of Norfolk, and from a portion of Milford, in the county of Worcester. It is a daughter of Sherborn, having been formed entirely from that ancient town. The history of Sherborn is therefore the history of Holliston until the date of incorporation of the latter town, in 1724.
Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1890.
The second [)lanter was William Sheffield, who, with his brother Edmund, bought in 1662 the grant of Lieutenant Joshua Fisher, of Dedham, at "(!habboquasset," in the southeast quarter of the present town. He took possession, but did not settle there probably until 1674. Edmund Sheffield does not appear to have settled there at all. Of this land no deed had been obtjiined in 1688, Lieutenant Fisher having died in 1G72, before he had completed a deed to the Sheffields. William was in much trouble on this account, and, as he did not know what action to take, presented the following petition "on a training day" in Sherborne, November 22, 1688, "to y" fathers, with all the inhabitants ofSherborn:" "Wm. Sheffield, of Sherborn, the aged, your humble petitioner, doe humbly intreat you to show your love to me, to give, grant or confirm my land which I bought of Lt. Fisher, ol Dedham, to confirm to me and mine, I shall be very thankful to you forever; for I am like a man having myself half in the mire, and want to be holpen, help I pray you and damnifie no man with it." In answer to this "request the inhabitants then present did generally by their vote, grant and confirm to him the said land soe far as they had any interest in it." He seems by an order of the Court to have obtained his deed at a later date. He had extinguished the Indian title to his tract in 1675. He became a wealthy man for those days, and in 1686 was rated the third highest in Sherborn. He was a selectman in the early years of HoUiston and served on the first board. His son, William Sheftield, bought Hopper's farm of 280 acres in the west part of Holliston.
Passage source: History of Middlesex County, Massachusetts, with Biographical Sketches of Many of Its Pioneers and Prominent Men, published 1890.
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 Holliston Town - 22,152 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 100 fires within 5 miles of Deacon William Leland House between 2016 and 2020, burning about 36 acres in total. 3 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 | 40 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 30 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 12 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 7 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 3 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Fireworks | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 September 2019 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 5 September 2018 | Recreation and ceremony | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 26 September 2020 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 24 September 2019 | Power generation/transmission/distribution | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 17 September 2020 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | not named |
| 11 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MEDWAY |
| 10 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MEDWAY |
| 10 September 2016 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Massachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Control | MEDWAY |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 1,044 specimens collected within 10 miles of Deacon William Leland House between 1898 and 1975: 826 Animalia, 152 Plantae, 65 Fungi, 1 Chromista. 12 distinct Species records are shown. Collected by A. B. Seymour, A. L. Bosworth, A. M. Ottley 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Actaea pachypoda Elliott | 1898 | Ernest Charles Smith | |
 | Antennaria howellii subsp. canadensis (Greene) R.J.Bayer | 1898 | Williams, E.F. | |
 | Antennaria parlinii subsp. fallax (Greene) R.J.Bayer & Stebbins | 1898 | not recorded | |
 | Antennaria plantaginifolia (L.) Hook. | 1898 | not recorded | |
 | Aquilegia canadensis L. | 1898 | M. I. Gunn | Natick |
 | Agonopterix atrodorsella Clemens, 1863 | 1900 | E. J. Smith | Sherborn |
 | Apantesis Walker, 1855 | 1900 | E. J. Smith | Sherborn |
 | Apatelodes torrefacta J.E.Smith, 1797 | 1900 | E. J. Smith | Sherborn |
 | Archips cerasivorana (Fitch, 1856) | 1900 | E. J. Smith | Sherborn |
 | Bleptina caradrinalis Guenée, 1854 | 1900 | E. J. Smith | Sherborn |
 | Buglossoides arvensis (L.) I.M.Johnst. | 1900 | C. H. Knowlton | Natick. |
 | Caenurgina crassiuscula Haworth, 1809 | 1900 | E. J. Smith | Sherborn |
All 1,044 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 28 workings within 5 miles of Deacon William Leland House: 21 past producers, 4 producers, 3 plants. 7 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Stone. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawkridge Bros--Ashland, Ma. | Iron | Plant | ||
| Needham Pit | Stone | Past Producer | ||
| Ashland Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Holliston Plant | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Plant | ||
| Simeone Stone Corp | Granite | Past Producer | Granite | |
| Trimount Bituminous Prod | Granite | Past Producer | Granite | |
| Ashland Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Plant | ||
| Ashland Plant | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Ashland Sand and Gravel Co | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Bird Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sherborn, the town this property stands in, in 9 storm reports between 2002 and 2021: 8 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning. 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2002 | Lightning | Sherborn | $200,000 | no account filed |
| February 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sherborn | $20,000 | Trees and wires were downed throughout Sherborn. |
| February 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sherborn | $15,000 | Three trees on Hunting Lane and North Main Street were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| February 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sherborn | $5,000 | A large tree was downed in Sherborn. |
| February 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sherborn | $5,000 | A tree between Morse Road and Eliot Street in Sherborn was downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sherborn | $5,000 | Two trees on Washington Street were downed by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sherborn | $2,000 | A tree was downed on Lake Street. |
| July 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sherborn | $1,000 | A tree on Lake Street was downed across the road by thunderstorm winds. |
| July 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | South Sherborn | $500 | In Sherborn, a tree was down on South Main Street (Route 27) at Bullard Street (Route 115). |
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 - 1,162 words, 9 pages, reproduced complete.
Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 86000503, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Addington Gardner House | 0.6 miles | 1990 |
 | Bullard Farm | 0.9 miles | 1995 |
 | Morse-Tay-Leland-Hawes House | 1.1 miles | 1986 |
 | Woodland Farm-Leland House | 1.3 miles | 1986 |
 | East Holliston Historic District | 1.3 miles | 2002 |
 | H. G. Vaughn House | 1.4 miles | 1986 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 86000503 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Middlesex County | All 1353 listed properties in this county. |
Block
