East Blackstone Village Historic District
Why it's listed
East Blackstone Village is a small historic district in Blackstone, Massachusetts, strung along Elm Street and around its junction with Summer Street. It grew along the early road linking Providence and Worcester. The district covers about 33 acres and includes fourteen houses, two barns, a former store, a former schoolhouse, a stone arch bridge and several mill sites. The oldest building is the Seth Kelly Sr. House, built about 1760. Other landmarks include the three-story Stone Store of about 1800, the brick schoolhouse of about 1830 and a series of Greek Revival cottages, some built by the Ray brothers. Italianate and Queen Anne houses show later growth. Ruins of grist, saw and cotton mills, a forge site from 1716 and dams along the Mill River recall the industries that supported the village. The Kelly family shaped much of this development. Together, the buildings and landscape show how a nineteenth-century self-sufficient village was arranged and how it worked.
Significance in brief: The district preserves the layout and buildings of a self-sufficient nineteenth-century mill and farm village, with small house lots near the road, farmland behind and the Mill River water course. Its houses, former store and school, and the remains of mills, dams and races show how the community grew around the Kelly family and its industries. Archaeological potential is also high.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 95001040, listed September 6, 1995. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly, area along Elm St. at the jct. with Summer St., Blackstone |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | September 6, 1995 |
| Reference number | 95001040 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | Ray Brothers, Benjamin and Joseph (built four Greek Revival cottages) |
| Architectural style | Georgian, Federal, Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Bungalow, Cape |
| Areas of significance | Historic - Non-Aboriginal, Architecture, Community Planning and Development |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Most contributing buildings are houses still in residential use; the former schoolhouse is now a residence. The Methodist church and train depot are gone, and the mills survive only as remnants. |
| Acreage | 33 |
| Coordinates | 42.04520, -71.51748 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 95001040.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5327880
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.