{"nrhp_refnum":"89000544","name":"Wheeler, Albert H., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"219 South St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Southbridge","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.07615697500006,"lon":-72.04587815699995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Community Planning and Development","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A Victorian Queen Anne style house at 219 South Street in Southbridge, Massachusetts, built between about 1887 and 1896 as a residence. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the house is significant for its association with the town's late-19th-century real estate development and for adapting the familiar gable-front form to the Queen Anne style. It is also tied to Albert H. Wheeler, a Civil War veteran and Globe Village dry goods merchant. It is cited under criteria A and C at the local level.","narrative":"Built between about 1887 and 1896 at 219 South Street in Southbridge, this L-shaped Victorian house combines Queen Anne character with a familiar gable-front form. Victorian Gothic details include king-post ornament in the high-pitched gables and paired pointed windows on the second floor. Though modest beside larger Victorian homes in town, its quality detailing and ample lawn set it apart from typical middle-class houses of its day. Synthetic siding, added in the 1980s, has not obscured the detailing. The house is tied to Albert H. Wheeler, a Union Army veteran who ran a dry goods and clothing store in Gothic Hall in Globe Village, first as Bugbee & Wheeler in the 1880s and later as A.H. Wheeler Company. His widow lived here as late as 1928. The American Optical Company later owned it and housed employees there until the late 1940s. It was listed for its link to local real estate development and its architecture.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Victorian / Queen Anne","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residence; condition is described as good-fair, with synthetic siding that has not impaired the detailing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.789438-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/45/7932/63793245/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000544.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000544/58a72ff1a5-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000544/58a72ff1a5-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_H._Wheeler_House,_Southbridge_MA.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">John Phelan</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albert_H._Wheeler_House,_Southbridge_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793245","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_H._Wheeler_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q4710385"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/wheeler-albert-h-house-89000544/"}