The Nathaniel Thayer Estate is a historic house in
Lancaster, Massachusetts
Lancaster is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, in the United States. Incorporated in 1653, Lancaster is the oldest town in Worcester County. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 8,441.
History
In 1643 Lancaster was first ...
. Built in 1846 and extensively restyled in 1902, it is a particularly fine example of Georgian Revival architecture, and was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1976. Since 1946, the estate has been owned by the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
, which operated
Atlantic Union College
Atlantic Union College (AUC) was a private Seventh-day Adventist college in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1882. The college closed in 2018 due to accreditation and financial problems.
From 1933 to 2018, AUC was a four-year l ...
there until its 2018 closure. The main house is presently home t
Thayer Conservatory bringing community together through music and the arts.
Description and history
The Thayer Estate is located at the northern end of the former Atlantic Union College campus, roughly midway between the villages of South Lancaster and Lancaster on the west side of
Massachusetts Route 70
Route 70 is a north–south state highway in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Its southern terminus is at Route 9 in Worcester and its northern terminus is at Route 2 in Lancaster. Along the way it intersects Interstate 290 (I-290) in Wor ...
. It is a large wood-frame structure, with a central three-story block flanked by two-story wings that project forward of the main block's facade. The central block is five bays wide, and is covered by a truncated hip roof with modillioned cornice. The central three blocks project slightly, and are topped by a pedimented gable. The main entrance is at the center, sheltered by a flat-roof portico with paired Doric columns. The interior is richly decorated with marble and wood, and features a large drawing room (now a performance space) in one of the wings.
A house was built on the site in 1798 when Reverend
Nathaniel Thayer
Rev. Nathaniel Thayer I (July 11, 1769 – June 23, 1840) was a congregational Unitarian minister.
Early life
Nathaniel Thayer was born in Hampton, New Hampshire to Ebenezer Thayer and Martha Olivia Cotton. His father was a pastor in Hampton ...
(1769-1840) constructed his parsonage in South Lancaster. Thayer was the town's Congregationalist minister for 47 years. His son Nathaniel, who had made a fortune in business, took down the original home and developed the estate in 1846, building the core of the present house. It was enlarged and remodeled in 1902 by the architect and interior designer
Ogden Codman Jr.
Ogden Codman Jr. (January 19, 1863 – January 8, 1951) was an American architect and interior decorator in the Beaux-Arts styles, and co-author with Edith Wharton of ''The Decoration of Houses'' (1897), which became a standard in American inte ...
to 42 rooms for Nathaniel Thayer III.
[ After being sold out of the Thayer family and having its furnishings sold at auction, the house was sold to ]Atlantic Union College
Atlantic Union College (AUC) was a private Seventh-day Adventist college in South Lancaster, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1882. The college closed in 2018 due to accreditation and financial problems.
From 1933 to 2018, AUC was a four-year l ...
in 1943 at a cost of $12,500. It was used as the school's administration building between 1945 and 1951, and then as a dormitory until about 1970. From 1973 to now the Nathaniel Thayer estate is now home t
Thayer Conservatory
Center for Music and the Arts. Thayer Conservatory is being run by the director Dr. Connie Rittenhouse Drexler.[
]
See also
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thayer, Nathaniel Estate
Houses completed in 1846
Houses completed in 1902
Buildings and structures in Lancaster, Massachusetts
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts