{"nrhp_refnum":"05001363","name":"Hastings, Stephen, House","other_names":["Hastings-Jones-Wheaton House"],"category":"building","location":{"address":"20 Squareshire Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Sterling","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.408071859000074,"lon":-71.74001067499995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"2005-12-06","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Community Planning and Development"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large brick Federal-style single dwelling at 20 Squareshire Road in the southeast corner of Sterling, Worcester County, Massachusetts, traditionally dated to 1794-95 and built for farmer Stephen Hastings, on a 7.2-acre lakeside parcel.","why_significant":"The house is described as the finest and one of the largest dwellings of its era in Sterling, and probably the town's earliest historic brick building. Its interior holds the town's most sophisticated Federal detailing, drawn from period builders' guides. It is also tied to Stephen Hastings, a leading farmer, militia officer and local figure whose farm was the most valuable in Sterling by the late 1820s.","narrative":"Built in the 1790s for Stephen Hastings, this large brick house at 20 Squareshire Road in Sterling, Massachusetts, is a Federal double house with four rooms on each floor around a central hall. Its main facade is laid in Flemish bond and has a narrow elliptical-arched entry beneath a large fanlight. The upper roof and many windows reflect mid-19th-century Greek Revival changes. Inside, carved mantels, reeded cornices and sliding window blinds draw on builders' guides by William Pain and Asher Benjamin. A movable partition on the second floor once opened two chambers into a gathering space. Hastings was a major farmer, militia officer and local leader, and his farm was Sterling's most valuable by the late 1820s. The 7.2-acre property keeps a granite-walled garden, an early well capstone, two early 20th-century outbuildings and more than 600 feet of shoreline on East Waushacum Lake. The house is still a private residence.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Early Republic: Federal","criteria":[],"status_note":"Still in use as a single dwelling; a 1985-86 kitchen ell and several dormers were added, while the main facade remains little changed.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:04.575209-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/2/7973/63797302/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/05001363.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001363/9fa68526f6-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/05001363/9fa68526f6-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SterlingMA_StephenHastingsHouse.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">User:Magicpiano</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SterlingMA_StephenHastingsHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63797302","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stephen_Hastings_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7609439"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/hastings-stephen-house-05001363/"}