{"nrhp_refnum":"89000564","name":"Cheney, J. M., Rental House","other_names":[],"category":"building","location":{"address":"32 Edwards St.","address_restricted":false,"city":"Southbridge","county":"Worcester County","state":"MA","lat":42.07895342300003,"lon":-72.03559454899994,"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 late-19th century single-family house at 32 Edwards Street in Southbridge, Massachusetts, built between 1878 and 1898 in the Victorian Vernacular style. The architect is unknown, and it was probably built by J. M. Cheney.","why_significant":"The house is tied to Southbridge's late-19th century real estate development in the Hamilton Street area. It also adapts the familiar gable-front form to the Queen Anne style, with an eclectic mix of Italianate, Gothic Revival, Stick Style and Queen Anne details. The form states it meets criteria A and C at the local level.","narrative":"This clapboard house at 32 Edwards Street in Southbridge was built between 1878 and 1898 on a three-bay, side-hall, gable-front plan, a form widely used for middle and upper-middle class homes in the later 19th century. Its eclectic design combines Italianate window caps and a round-arched gable window, a Gothic Revival pointed window in the side gable, Stick Style ornament in the gables, and a porch mixing bracketed Italianate and lacy Queen Anne trim. The original slate roof, 2/2 sash and trim remain intact. The house reflects a second stage of development in the Hamilton Street area, when large lots of earlier mansions were divided and smaller houses were added. It apparently stood on part of a neighboring side yard. J. M. Cheney, treasurer of the Litchfield Shuttle Company, probably built it, and it was likely a rental property, though no documents confirm this. It was listed for its link to local real estate growth and its architecture.","period_of_significance":"1878-1898","architect_builder":"Architect unknown; J. M. Cheney apparently built the house","architectural_style":"Victorian Vernacular","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Present use is residential; condition is excellent, with no major alterations and no outbuildings.","vacant_flag":false,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:12:59.81342-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/87/7935/63793587/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/89000564.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000564/b0aed9cead-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/89000564/b0aed9cead-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY 3.0","author":"John Phelan","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:J.M._Cheney_Rental_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:J.M._Cheney_Rental_House,_Southbridge_MA.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63793587","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/J.M._Cheney_Rental_House","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q6104220"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/worcester-county/cheney-j-m-rental-house-89000564/"}