Jonah Warren House - Westborough MA - Pre-Victorian Historic Homes on Waymarking.com

The Jonah Warren House is a historic house at 64 Warren Street in Westborough, Massachusetts. Estimated to have been built in the 1720s, this 2.5 story wood frame house is one of the oldest buildings in Westborough. It was built along what was known as the Old Connecticut Path, a former Native American trail. Jonah Warren, the owner and probable builder, moved to Westborough in 1719. A tanner by trade, he also helped to build the first meetinghouse in Westborough.

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The house has a post-and-beam frame with wooden sheathing, covered by wooden clapboards. The roof is of side-gable form, and is covered by wooden shingles. The house frame rests on a stone foundation that is free from mortar. Large rectangular granite blocks carry the sills; smaller, irregular granite slabs make up the walls of the cellar. An unusual granite tunnel, 23 feet in length, leads from the cellar to the backyard. The 51' continuous wall on the south side of the house, which resulted from the building of the ell, was given architectural treatment that makes it as prominent a facade as the (west-facing) facade of the main house. The house thus appears to have two fronts, an earlier one facing onto Warren Street and a later one facing onto the Old Connecticut Path. This suggests that both roads were important, and that the house was effectively sitting on a corner in the 18th century.

The Old Connecticut Path began as an east-west Native American trail between the Massachusetts Bay and the Connecticut River valley. The word "Connecticut" in the name of the path relates to the river, not the state, which did not exist in the 17th century. Great Trail of New England (1940), Harral Avres points out that the Path was not straight, but instead routed travelers through high (and therefore dry) land, easy fords over rivers, and important Native American settlements like Hassanamesit (Grafton, Massachusetts), which was the principal seat of the Nipmuck tribes.

In The Bay Path and Along the Way (1919), Levi Badger Chase describes the route that the Old Connecticut Path took through this section of Westborough: it ran through the Warren property to Mount Pleasant (p. 190), he says, then to Pay Mountain, and on towards Hassanamesit (Grafton).

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In the gallery the picture that shows the modern day driveway with its two granite posts and gate, is in fact the Old Connecticut Path that is referred to in the above.

Earliest Recorded Date of Construction: 01/01/1720 Additional Dates of Construction: In 1957, a number of alterations were made. Architectural Period/Style: Colonial Architect (if known): Warren, Jonah Type of Building e.g. Country House, Stately Home, Manor: Country House Interesting Historical Facts or Connections: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places The property retains the last remaining segment of the Old Connecticut Path in Westboro. One of the oldest buildings in Westborough Main Material of Construction: Wood Private/Public Access: Private Rating: Landscape Designer (if known): Not listed Listed Building Status (if applicable): Not listed Admission Fee (if applicable): Not Listed Opening Hours (if applicable): Not listed Related Website: Not listed

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