{"nrhp_refnum":"89000553","name":"Wells, John M., House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"491 Eastford Rd.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Southbridge","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.05851849900006,"lon":-72.0485245455996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1989-06-22","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Industry","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A large French Chateau style residence at 491 Eastford Road in Southbridge, Massachusetts, built in 1927 of stone and brick on a 15.8-acre landscaped lot. The architect is unknown.","why_significant":"The house is tied to the early 20th century development of Southbridge's rural outskirts and is a stylish example of French Chateau design. It was the largest and most imposing residence built in the town since the first decade of the 1900s. It meets criteria A and C at the local level.","narrative":"Set well back from Eastford Road on 15.8 acres of landscaped grounds, this 1927 house in Southbridge was built in the French Chateau style. Its walls are stone and brick, and it has a turret at the corner of the facade ell, casement windows and a large slate roof. A stone entrance gate marks the grounds. The house was built for John M. Wells, son of an American Optical Company figure, who later founded Harvey-Wells Communications in 1940. It stood on part of Cohasset Farm, where a country club opened in 1919 and a second Wells house followed in 1932, marking the area's gradual shift from rural to suburban. At the time it was the largest and most imposing residence built in town in nearly two decades. Its historical European styling contrasts with the International Style house a cousin built nearby in 1932. The property has seen no major alterations and remains in excellent condition.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"French Chateau","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residence; condition stated as excellent, with no major alterations. A 1970s garage is noted as non-contributing.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:01.933918-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/73/7934/63793473/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000553.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000553/6264a88dd4-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000553/6264a88dd4-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"User:Magicpiano","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SouthbridgeMA_JohnMWellsHouse.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:SouthbridgeMA_JohnMWellsHouse.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793473","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_M._Wells_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6246003"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/wells-john-m-house-89000553/"}