By-gone Days
Take a stroll through Northborough's past and experience a landscape that no longer exists. All of the homes and public buildings depicted here have disappeared. The photos and descriptions have been taken from Images of America: Northborough courtesy of the Northborough Historical Society.
Click on the images for a larger version of the picture.
Northborough Hotel. Dating from the Civil War era, the Northborough Hotel faced Main Street just west of the Church Street intersection. In 1911, selectman Philip Hilliard staged a one-man raid on the hotel after learning that it was dispensing alcohol in an officially dry town. The building, later known as the Northborough Inn, was destroyed by fire in late 1926. As a sure sign of changing times, a gasoline station was erected on the site of the old hotel.
Gibson Mill. This mill is usually referred to as the Gibson Mill, after another of Northborough's comb makers. It stood behind what is today the building at 2 Whitney Street.
Warren Moore House. A bearded Warren Moore and his wife pose stiffly outside their farmhouse in 1897. For many years it was the only house on what would be known as Moore Lane. By the mid-20th century, the house had fallen into ruin.
Page's Block. In 1871, Northborough's Great Fire destroyed several houses on both sides of South Street near Main Street, clearing the way for new commercial buildings. At the west corner of the intersection, Page's Block (later known as the Devine building) is pictured here not long after its construction in 1882. It housed a variety of businesses until another fire consumed it in 1979.
Newton Homestead. Deacon Paul Newton and Paul Newton Jr. marched from this home with the Northborough minutemen in the Revolutionary War. Late in the 19th century, the property became the DeArmond family farm. It is now the site of the Marguerite Peaslee School.
Munroe Tavern. This tavern and inn dates back to Revolutionary War times. After the Civil War, Capt. Cyrus Gale purchased it and moved it northward on its block to 31 Blake Street in order to make way for the new town hall. The building was torn down around 2004 and replaced by a similar-looking structure.
Jothan Bartlett Home. In 1740, Jothan Bartlett built a house on the site that eventually became 412 Main Street, using lumber from the Samuel Goodenow garrison across the road. Norman Balcom and his family pose for this 1897 photograph.
Columbus Eames Farm. This farm stood on Main Street one-half mile east of the town center. This farm disappeared in 1882 when Eames sold the acreage to the wealthy firearms manufacturer Daviel Wesson, who wished to build a summer home. A short distance from here, Wesson's older brother had once worked as a gunsmith.