The Vinton-Boardman Farmhouse is a historic farm at 93 Torrey Road in

Southbridge, Massachusetts Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 17,740 at the 2020 census. Although Southbridge has a city form of government, it is legally known as the Town of Southbridge. History The area was in ...

. The Vinton-Boardman Farmhouse was built in 1760 and 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 1989. It was built on land that belonged to the Vinton family since 1738. In 1825 (beams originating from c. 1800), the formal 2 over 2 front was added. The home was sold by the Vintons to the Boardman family in 1894. Ms. Harriet Boardman ran a

dairy A dairy is a business enterprise established for the harvesting or processing (or both) of animal milk – mostly from cows or buffaloes, but also from goats, sheep, horses, or camels – for human consumption. A dairy is typically located on ...

farm on the property, while her single sister taught school in Southbridge. Upon her death in 1930, Ms. Boardman bequeathed the farm to the MSPCA. It changed hands in 1961 and again in 1965. In 1969 Carl Schubert, a local artist and teacher bought the home and devoted the next 12 years to restoring it. In 1981, David and Kathy Hardwick bought the home and spent 25 years continuing his work, tastefully restoring and renovating it, and landscaping the grounds with lush plantings. At that time, the back wing was still recognizable as the

creamery A creamery is a place where milk and cream are processed and where butter and cheese is produced. Cream is separated from whole milk; pasteurization is done to the skimmed milk and cream separately. Whole milk for sale has had some cream re ...

it had been during the home's farm days. In 1995 this wing was renovated, but is still known as The Creamery in honor of its past usage. Beneath The Creamery, accessible by a cleverly concealed trap-door, is a root cellar and Indian cellar, where early settlers could hide and defend themselves from Indian attackers. The home changed hands again twice more, and is now occupied by the Alesci family who are committed to preserving its historic significance for farming and architecture. The entrance hall staircase walls, and the walls flanking the middle upstairs window are gracefully curved, and thought to be one of the earliest examples of this type of architecture.

References

Federal architecture in Massachusetts Houses completed in 1760 Houses in Southbridge, Massachusetts National Register of Historic Places in Southbridge, Massachusetts Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts {{WorcesterCountyMA-NRHP-stub

See also

References