{"nrhp_refnum":"80000603","name":"Wesson, Franklin, House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"8 Claremont St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Worcester","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.25456616100007,"lon":-71.81662518299999,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1980-03-05","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state","local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A two-and-one-half storey brick house at 8 Claremont Street, Worcester, Massachusetts, built in 1874 to a design by A.P. Cutting for Franklin Wesson.","why_significant":"It is described as Worcester's most elaborate High Victorian Gothic house, with a three-and-one-half storey tower, pointed-arch openings and decorative brickwork. It was built for Franklin Wesson, a founder of Worcester's arms industry whose firm became Harrington and Richardson. Its plans and elevations were published in Bicknell's Wood and Brick Buildings With Details in 1875.","narrative":"Built in 1874 and first occupied between 1874 and 1875, this brick house at 8 Claremont Street in Worcester is described as the city's most elaborate example of High Victorian Gothic design. A.P. Cutting was the architect. The two-and-one-half storey building rises from a hammered granite plinth to a hipped roof of hexagonal-pattern slates, and its side-hall plan is entered through a three-and-one-half storey tower with buttresses and a pointed-arch doorway. Pointed-arch windows with sandstone keystones and springers, belt courses of decorative brick and varied dormers with open strapwork add to the detail. A dressed granite retaining wall surrounds the lot. The house was built for Franklin Wesson, a founder of Worcester's arms industry, whose 1871 partnership to make a shell-ejecting revolver later became Harrington and Richardson. Its plans were published in a national pattern book in 1875. Apart from a two-storey wooden porch, it remains in original condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":"A.P. Cutting","architectural_style":"High Victorian Gothic","criteria":[],"status_note":"Present use is residential; the form also lists a lodging house as the present subsequent use. Apart from a two-storey wooden porch at the northeast corner, the building is in original condition.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:11:54.884087-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/21/7930/63793021/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/80000603.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000603/1993191b93-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/80000603/1993191b93-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"TM","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FranklinWessonHouse.JPG\" rel=\"noopener\">TM</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:FranklinWessonHouse.JPG"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793021","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_Wesson_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q14715479"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/wesson-franklin-house-80000603/"}