Westborough in Worcester County, Massachusetts — The American Northeast (New England)

The Jonah Warren House

1720

Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 30, 2024

1. The Jonah Warren House Marker

Inscription. The Jonah Warren House has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Department of the Interior

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Colonial Era • Indigenous Peoples and Communities • Roads & Vehicles. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1720.

Location. 42° 14.895′ N, 71° 36.191′ W. Marker is in Westborough, Massachusetts, in Worcester County. It is on Warren Street north of Gable Ridge Road, on the right when traveling north. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 64 Warren St, Westborough MA 01581, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Quiet Corner

and in Greater Worcester.

It is also in the American Northeast

and in New England.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies.

Other nearby markers. At least

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8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Westborough's Response to the Alarm of April 19, 1775 (approx. half a mile away); The Old Connecticut Path (approx. 0.8 miles away); Westborough, MA 9/11 Memorial (approx. 1.6 miles away); Historic Powder Hill (approx. 3.1 miles away); A Brief History of the Brigham Street Old Burial Ground (approx. 4.3 miles away); First Burying Place in Northborough (approx. 4.3 miles away); "Flame of the Marathon Run" (approx. 4.3 miles away); First Meetinghouse in Hopkinton (approx. 4½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Westborough.

Another marker is no longer nearby. The Bay Path (was approx. 4½ miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Regarding The Jonah Warren House. Excerpts from the National Register nomination:

The Jonah Warren House is one of the finest and best-preserved examples of 18th-century domestic architecture in Westborough. It and its occupants have also been associated with events of importance to local history, including the early settlement and governance of the town, the religious and political controversies of
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 30, 2024

2. The Jonah Warren House Marker
Featured marker is on the corner of the house. The Old Connecticut Path plaque is on the right stone gatepost on the driveway.
the Great Awakening and the American Revolution, and the town's eventual transformation into a center for dairy production and the manufacture of shoes, boots, and straw hats.…

The house's long association with the Warrens and Fays means that it has been connected with a number of prominent citizens in Westborough's history, but three of these merit special mention: Jonah Warren, Aaron Warren, and Hercules Warren Fay. Jonah played an important role in the town's early settlement. His son Aaron (a cordwainer who shipped his wares to the South and the Caribbean) helped pave the way for what would become Westborough's major industry besides straw hat manufacturing. And Aaron's great grandson, Hercules Warren Fay, became Westborough's most distinguished man of letters (after Parkman himself) and part of the literary circle of Henry James and William Dean Howells. …

The Jonah Warren House was built on the Old Connecticut Path. Originally a Native American trail, this was the path followed to Connecticut by the scout John Oldham (1630) and later by the Reverend Thomas Hooker (1636) and his congregation from Newtown (now Cambridge, Massachusetts).
Photographed by Duane and Tracy Marsteller, September 30, 2024

3. Old Connecticut Path Plaque
The property includes a 270-foot section of the east-west Native American trail that connected the Massachusetts Bay and the Connecticut River valley.
Westborough's location at the intersection of important Native American trails made it an attractive site for settlement. Early surveyors laid out grants, farms, and house lots to either side of the path.…

Jonah Warren (1700-1780) and his wife Elizabeth Seavems (1700-1775) moved from Watertown to Westborough in 1719. On November 20, 1720, Jonah bought a 35 acre parcel of land for 33 pounds from Thomas Rice, Sr, recorded as the present town's first colonial inhabitant. Presumably, Jonah built his house shortly after purchasing the land. A dwelling was certainly built by 1727, when it was mentioned in the Records of the Marlborough Proprietors.

Also see . . . Jonah Warren House (PDF). National Register nomination for the property, which was listed in 1998. (Prepared by Blair and Caroline Hoxby, and Betsy Friedberg; via National Archives) (Submitted on November 6, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 8, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 6, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. This page has been viewed 508 times since then and 55 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 6, 2024, by Duane and Tracy Marsteller of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.