Smith, Elliot, House
Why it's listed
Built in 1889 for grocer Elliott T. Smith, this house at 839 Main Street in Worcester is a two and one-half storey frame building in the Queen Anne style. It has an asymmetrical plan and facade, clapboard and shingle walls, and first and second floor porches with elaborate wood turnings. Other features include a high granite stoop with original iron railing, decorative shingling, an off-center gable, an exterior chimney with sandstone and terracotta trim, and a stained glass oriel window on the south wall. The original stable has a rounded corner tower and a ventilator cupola. Smith, born in Maine in 1833, came to Worcester in 1849 and built a grocery and wholesale business. After his death in 1913 the house went to a city police surgeon, and in 1945 it passed to a veterans' organization. It is valued as a good local example of the style and as one of few survivors of the prestigious Main Street south neighborhood.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents it as a good example of the Queen Anne style house popular in Worcester in the 1880s and 1890s. It is also one of the few houses surviving from the nineteenth-century development of Main Street south as one of Worcester's most prestigious residential neighborhoods.
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 80000629, listed March 5, 1980. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | 839 Main St., Worcester |
|---|---|
| County | Worcester County |
| Listed | March 5, 1980 |
| Reference number | 80000629 |
| Resource type | Building |
| Architectural style | Queen Anne |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Architecture |
| Level of significance | State, Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Described as currently well-maintained and in use as a veterans' organization post (club). |
| Acreage | 0.1 |
| Coordinates | 42.25445, -71.81420 (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 80000629.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q5365566
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.