Sleigh-Maker's Home Welcomes Guests

The Westborough Historical Society's open house Sunday was the first of two programs there on consecutive days.

A sleigh-maker's home welcomed guests Sunday as Westborough residents began feeling the holiday spirit. The Westborough Historical Society held an open house at its home, the William Sibley House on Parkman Street. Sleigh-maker William H. Sibley built the home in 1844 "for his bride, Jane Caroline Gibson," according to a historical society pamphlet. Today, the home will host Marlborough resident John Gately discussing “Collecting Works of Historical Americana, Including Books and Ephemera," at 7 p.m. Admission is free to this historical society program.

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Program Offers Visual History of Lyman School for Boys

Popular town historian Glenn Parker will speak at the Westborough Public Library.

  Popular Westborough historian, one-time Westborough Police Chief and Westborough Patch blogger Glenn Parker will present a A Visual History of the Lyman School for Boys on at the Westborough Public Library on Monday, May 21 at 7 p.m. This public program will expand upon Parker’s popular blog A Look at Lyman School for Boys from the Turnpike 1885-1972. Presented by the Westborough Historical Society, Parker’s presentation will include vintage photographs of the school’s extensive buildings and grounds on Powder Hill and how various buildings have been used over a 90-year history. The program will take place in the library meeting room. It is free and open to the public.   Information courtesy of the Westborough Historical Society. Follow …

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Then and Now

A Look at High Street, Then and Now

If you have an interesting photo of Westborough to share, email maryjo.kurtz@patch.com.

Congratulations to Phil and Paula for correctly identifying the location of last week's Where Is That? photo (and to Bob for making the first guess on one of the hardest photos we've had to date)!  Both Phil and Paula have provided some great information in their responses, so I'll let their comments explain where the photo was taken: Phil says: "Milk Street - Left to Right, Downtown to the left, Phillips Street up and down. Some of the companies, Joes Jenny, Joes package store, (was car wash) Village Lumber, Courtneys Diner, Chase Paper, Lazotte Mfg. Co, Kenworthy Brothers (large mill) Village Flowers - for a start!!!." Paula adds: "VeeArc too, now the empty lot next to the fire station. I believe this was taken by Rocco Paolini back in …

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Historical Family Photo Unveiled to Patch Reader

Blogger Glenn Parker shows the power of Patch.

Behind the scenes at Westborough Patch, I spend a lot of time shuffling information, answering emails and writing stories. My purpose is always to make sure that our community has a resource where we can help each other, a platform to share questions and ideas, and an accurate and fast way to get information. Today, I found myself in the middle of neighbors helping each other, and it was touching to see the purpose of Patch in action. This month, historian and blogger Glenn Parker shared his research on the Forbush Tavern, a family farm from the 1700s that later became a popular meeting spot in Westborough. The tavern was located at the corner of Lyman and Oak streets and sat along what we now refer to as Route 9. Parker’s research is a …

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Then and Now

Celebrity Home Stands on Church Street

Author's childhood home is attraction on historic tour.

One of my favorite memories from elementary school was taking a bus tour of Westborough to explore our town's history.  We learned about the legend of Lake Hocomonco, the history of the Paul Revere bell in the former Baptist Church, and the birthplaces of our town's founders. Along the way, we even learned about some of our town's local celebrities including Esther Forbes, author of classics such as O Genteel Lady and Johnny Tremain (required reading while I was in school). Pictured above is Esther Forbes' childhood home, which still sits on Church Street. The website, goodreads.com, provides a brief biography of Mrs. Forbes and highlights some of her most notable achievements including her Pulitzer Prize and Newberry Award. One of her …

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Best of the Blogs

Historic Home Has Tales to Tell

Westborough historian Glenn Parker shares the story of the Forbush Tavern.

Have you read our Local Voices columns? Westborough Patch has many talented bloggers who share thoughts, hobbies and conversation. Each week, in our Best of the Blogs column, we feature one the Local Voices blogs that you may have missed. This week, Glenn Parker shares his research on the Forbush Tavern, once a Westborough hotspot. Oh, if these walls could talk...   Without exception, the Forbush Farm (and later the tavern) was by virtue of its location, the young settlement’s first “meeting house” and the most important landmark of the early development of Westborough, the 100th Town. The farm became the focal point of all matters that confronted the new town. The most important decisions regarding religious concerns and political …

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Then and Now

Building Once Housed Bowling Alley

Each week, Sam Kurtz takes a look at Westborough "Then and Now."

Congratulations to Alexis! Last week, Alexis correctly guessed the location of the "Where is That?" photo. For those of you who took a look, the photo is an aerial view of Route 9 and Lyman Street before the Julio's Plaza had been built. Some clues to help you identify the picture include Harry's Restaurantin the upper right hand corner of the picture and the two gas stations on the eastbound side of Route 9.  This week's photo is of the Keating Building on East Main Street across from the Westborough House of Pizza. According to Kris Allen's book, On The Beaten Path, the Keating Building, which was built in 1915, originally housed the town post office and district court.   Shortly after the post office was moved to the rotary, Bay State …

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