Farnum, Coronet John, House
Why it's listed
Built between about 1710 and 1727, this one and one-half story timber frame house on Mendon Street in Uxbridge, Massachusetts, was the home of Cornet John Farnum, who came to Mendon in 1701 and acquired the land before 1710. It has a rectangular plan, a massive central brick chimney, a fieldstone foundation, clapboard siding and a wood-shingled gambrel roof. The south facade has a symmetrical five-bay arrangement with a pilastered entrance holding a four-panel door. The house matters for its architecture, as a well-preserved example of a popular early eighteenth-century house type that has become rare in surrounding towns. It also matters for local government: Uxbridge's first two town meetings, in July and August 1927 by the town's calendar of 1727, were held here, where voters chose a meeting-house site and elected the first town officers. The Town of Uxbridge acquired it in 1968 and is restoring it as a museum, open to the public since 1977.
Significance in brief: It is a well-preserved example of an early to mid eighteenth-century house type of which few examples remain in the area. It is also associated with the formation of Uxbridge, since it hosted the town's first two town meetings in July and August 1727. The form also notes the site may hold archaeological material on rural life in the Early Historic Period.
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 80001682, listed May 7, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence high).
Key facts
| Address | Mendon St., Uxbridge |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | May 7, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80001682 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Period of significance | c. 1710-1727 |
| Architectural style | Early 18th-century vernacular domestic architecture (gambrel-roofed, central-chimney house) |
| Areas of significance | Exploration/Settlement, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Owned by the Town of Uxbridge and undergoing gradual restoration and conversion to a museum; first floor replastered and partly furnished, opened to the public in 1977. |
| Acreage | 0.9 |
| Coordinates | 42.07697, -71.62743 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
National Register listing is honorary for a privately owned home: it does not by itself restrict what an owner may do with their own money, and it does not require public access. Restrictions come from local landmark or historic-district ordinances, which are separate (how they differ).
Owner-occupied houses are not eligible for the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit, which applies to income-producing buildings, but many states offer credits for homeowners. Listing also opens the door to preservation easements and to buying a plaque. Start with what listing means for homeowners, renovating a listed house and selling one.
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 80001682.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5172297
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.