Forbes, William Trowbridge, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1898 at 23 Trowbridge Road in Worcester, this two-and-one-half-storey house is a neo-Tudor residence with an asymmetrical plan. Its exterior combines stucco and wood, with decorative half-timbering, steeply pitched and paired gables, a gabled entry porch, bay windows, diamond-pane sashes on the third storey and a stone terrace on the south side. A garage stands on the grounds. The local firm Barker & Nourse designed it, and it ranks among that firm's most elaborate works. The house remains in nearly original condition. It was built for William Trowbridge Forbes, a Worcester lawyer who served as a district court justice, state representative, state senator and Judge of Probate. His wife, Harriette Forbes, wrote a history of Westborough and a short biography of the architect Elias Carter, and helped found the Worcester Equal Franchise Club in 1912 at the house. Their daughter Esther Forbes, author of Johnny Tremain, later lived there. Local tradition says it replaced an earlier concrete house.
Significance in brief: The nomination calls it an exceptional local example of neo-Tudor architecture and one of the most elaborate designs by Barker & Nourse, still in nearly original condition. It is also tied to William Forbes, a Judge of Probate, his wife Harriette Forbes, and their daughter, the author Esther Forbes.
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 80000636, listed March 5, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 23 Trowbridge Rd., Worcester |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | March 5, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80000636 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architect / builder | Barker & Nourse |
| Architectural style | neo-Tudor |
| Areas of significance | Politics/Government, Architecture, Social History |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Listed as a residence; the form gives present use as residence and states the house remains in nearly original condition. |
| Acreage | 1 |
| Coordinates | 42.27246, -71.81051 (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 80000636.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q8019534
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.