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US Post Office--Whitinsville Main, photograph from the federal nomination
US Post Office--Whitinsville Main, photograph from the federal nomination

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

US Post Office--Whitinsville Main

Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1987. 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

one of 500 National Register listings in Worcester County · listed in 1987 · category: Building · one of 1 National Historic Landmarks in Worcester County.

Sources: 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 as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. 58 Church St., Northbridge, 01588
  • When was it listed? 1987-10-15
  • Category. building
  • Township. Northbridge town
  • National Register reference number. 86003433 - 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.

Fires near this property

64 since 2003

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 64 fires within 5 miles of US Post Office--Whitinsville Main between 2003 and 2020, burning about 49 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
Smoking15
Debris and open burning14
Missing data/not specified/undetermined13
Recreation and ceremony11
Railroad operations and maintenance4
Arson/incendiarism3
Equipment and vehicle use2
Misuse of fire by a minor1
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

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
8 September 2015Smokingunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
19 September 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
9 August 2015Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
31 August 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
30 August 2020Recreation and ceremonyunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
2 August 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
26 July 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named
21 July 2020Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreMassachusetts Bureau of Forest Fire Controlnot named

Every fire recorded in Worcester County

Specimens collected near this property

12 of 501 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. Museums hold 501 specimens collected within 10 miles of US Post Office--Whitinsville Main between 1844 and 1974: 258 Plantae, 188 Animalia, 41 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 SpeciesYear Collected by Where, as recorded
Specimen of Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh.Chilonectria coryli (Fuckel) Ellis & Everh.1896Henderson
Specimen of Coryneum pulvinatum KunzeCoryneum pulvinatum Kunze1897D. Murray
Specimen of Sceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) LyonSceptridium dissectum (Spreng.) Lyon1899H. H. Scudder
A photograph of the species Trichophorum planifolium, not of this specimenTrichophorum planifolium (Spreng.) Palla1844Collector unspecifiedUxbridge
A photograph of the species Carex vesicaria, not of this specimenCarex vesicaria L.1848J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Potamogeton epihydrus, not of this specimenPotamogeton epihydrus Raf.1848J. W. RobbinsUxbridge
A photograph of the species Potamogeton bicupulatus, not of this specimenPotamogeton bicupulatus Fernald1854W. J. RobbinsUxbridge
A photograph of the species Carex brevior, not of this specimenCarex brevior (Dewey) Mack.1855J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Carex normalis, not of this specimenCarex normalis Mack.1855J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Carex siccata, not of this specimenCarex siccata Dewey1855J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Carex straminea, not of this specimenCarex straminea Willd. ex Schkuhr1855J. W. Robbins
A photograph of the species Hyla versicolor, not of this specimenHyla versicolor LeConte, 18251857Weinland, David Friedrich

All 501 specimens within 10 miles, at the Global Biodiversity Information Facility.

Mines and quarries near this property

10 of 29 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 29 workings within 5 miles of US Post Office--Whitinsville Main: 24 past producers, 4 producers, 1 unknown. 4 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
A H Marando and SonsSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Armour PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Bannister PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Barnett Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Boston Road PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
De Gaetano Brothers IncSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Direnzo Brothers Sand and GravelSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast ProducerSedimentary
Douglas PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Gilbon Mountain PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Guiou PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionUnknown

Every working recorded in Worcester County

Storms near this property

9 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Northbridge, the town this property stands in, in 9 storm reports between 1997 and 2023: 4 thunderstorm wind, 3 hail, 1 heavy rain, 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
July 2006LightningNorthbridge$10,000no account filed
August 2006Thunderstorm WindNorthbridge$10,000no account filed
July 2019Thunderstorm WindNorthbridge$2,000A tree was downed on Forest Street.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindNorthbridge$1,000In Northbridge, trees were down blocking a road.
October 2020Thunderstorm WindNorthbridge$500In Northbridge, a tree was down on School Street.
June 2017HailNorthbridge-At 454 PM EST, dime size hail was reported in Northbridge.
March 2000Heavy RainNorthbridge-no account filed
July 1997HailNorthbridge-no account filed
July 1997HailNorthbridge-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

6,237 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.

Description of the property

Located on Church Street, the eastern approach to the Village Center, the Whitinsville Post Office borders Memorial Park, an attractive wel1-planted Green and occupies a prominent site at the Gateway to Whitinsville. The Post Office also borders upon the Whitinsville Historic District, a heritage area that encompasses many buildings of historic

Statement of significance

BUILDER/ARCHITECTLouis A. Simon, Sup. Arch't. Blauner Construction Co. Although less than fifty years old, The Whitinsville Post Office possesses integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship as well as significant association with the efforts of the Federal Government to releive unemployment and stimulate the economy through the rapid construction of governmental structures during the depression era. Additionally, it is locally significant as visual and tangible evidence of the Federal Government's activist role and a symbolic representation of its strengths and ideals. The Whitinsville Post Office thus meets the National Register Criteria A and C. Whitinsville, and its post office, is a latter-day manifestation of the power and vision of one family.

Originally part of the Plantation of Medham, Northbride and Uxbridge opted for separate town charters in 1727. Northbridge, of which Whitinsville is the main village and commercial district, became a separate town in 1772. The distances that the citizens had to travel to the established town churches was the main reason that new towns, and churches developed during these times. In 1790, Paul Whitin arrived at one of the hamlets, called South North- bridge, and founded an iron works on the banks of the Mumford River. Formerly a farming community, the area grew under the economic benefits created by Mr. Whitin who, upon controlling the water rights by 1810, established the first cotton mill in the area. The small hamlet by this time had become "Whitin's Village", or Whitinsville.

With the continued development of water power on the river and the associated ponds, Whitin, now the Whitin Company, expanded the economic diversity of the community by manufacturing the mill and loom machinery required by the developing mill industry in New England.

Read the complete 6,237-word case file.

The whole case file for this property - 6,237 words, 30 pages, reproduced complete.

Quoted from the National Register nomination for reference 86003433, 30 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
Whipple, A., House1.1 miles1983
Butler Block1.4 miles1983
Taft, Samuel, House1.4 miles1983
Brown, E., House1.6 miles1983
Williams, N., House1.6 miles1983
North Uxbridge School1.8 miles1983

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 86003433 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.