Historic Homes

Marlborough's Historic Homes

Marlborough's historic properties, including hundreds of homes, were documented in historic property surveys conducted in 1994 and 1995. 


These and other resources for those who own an historic home in Marlborough or who are looking to buy one are listed below.

An extensive list of resources for renovating an old home can be viewed near the bottom of this page.


Research


  • The narrative from the Marlborough Survey of Historic, Architectural, and Cultural Resources describes the history of Marlborough and the evolution of the architecture of the city. It includes brief mentions of several houses.
  • Information on nearly 1,000 individual historic properties in Marlborough was compiled in the Marlborough Survey of Historic, Architectural, and Cultural Resources, which was conducted in 1994 and 1995. Houses make up the vast majority of the properties that are covered.
  • The Society's archives contain maps, family histories, and photographs, and are available for research by appointment. 
  • In addition, there are several historic maps of Marlborough available online in high-resolution scans.
  • Research conducted and presented in 2014 and 2015 on many old homesteads in Marlborough is on our Old Homesteads page.


Local organizations


  • The Marlborough Historical Society has photos of houses and buildings, maps, archives of certain families, and other information.
  • The Old House Association is inactive;  previously made up of owners of old homes in Marlborough and surrounding communities. Members shared experiences and recommendations on renovation and preservation projects. 
  • For those living in the French Hill area of Marlborough, the French Hill Neighborhood Association was re-started in June 2008. For more information, send e-mail to the association or call 617-908-7666.


Architectural styles

Andover has helpful descriptions, illustrated with pictures using houses in their community, here. 

Living in an historic property

In addition to houses, three historic buildings are being developed as condominiums and apartments:

  • The Marlborough Wire Goods Factory at 406 Lincoln Street later became Space Age Electronics, and in 2008 underwent substantial renovation to become Renaissance Lofts condominiums.
  • The Paper Box Factory, a daylight factory at 175 Maple Street, was owned by Dennison Manufacturing and later became DesignPak. It opened as apartments in 2008.
  • St. Mary's, at 26 Broad Street in the French Hill neighborhood of Marlborough, has been turned into St. Mary's Condominiums. 

  Let us know if there are others we should list here.

Touring Marlborough's historic homes

The Peter Rice Homestead (1688) is open by appointment for tours and research. In addition, many programs and meetings are held at the homestead.

Several tours of historic homes throughout Marlborough have been held over the years:

  • 1960 - June 16, 1960--Sponsored by the Marlborough Tercentenary Committee. Ten homes were featured. Download the handout with descriptions. [PDF]
  • 1990 - June 16, 1990--The Marlborough Centennial House Tour was organized by the Centennial House Tour Committee, which included members of the Marlborough Historical Society, the Colonial Garden Club, the Junior Womens' Club, and the Womens' Club.
  • 1993 - June 12, 1993--This year's tour covered ten buildings, including the First Baptist Church (c. 18887). Download the flyer and the handout with descriptions or read the newspaper article about the tour. [PDF]
  • 2003 - December 6, 2003--A Holiday House Tour presented by the Marlborough Historical Society with the Old House Association. Six houses, including the Peter Rice Homestead, and Marlborough's city hall. Download the handout with descriptions. [PDF]
  • 2008 - May 4, 2008--Presented by the Marlborough Historical Society. Six houses, including the Peter Rice Homestead and a Victorian house converted into offices.


Resources for Restoring Historic Homes


Whether your home is historic, or simply old, these resources will help you save money and maintain the distinctive architectural style of the house you love.


Note that while some members of the Society have experience with some of these, this list doesn't represent an endorsement. 


Resources from Historic New England


Covering a wide variety of restoration projects


Architectural salvage




Tips from homeowners

The information below has been shared generously by fellow homeowners in Marlborough.  Follow them at your own risk.


Floors

How to fix up a wood floor without sanding out hundreds of years of “character"
-- Michael and Faith, owners of a c1860 Mansard roofed house in Marlborough

  • Wash them thoroughly with a strong mixture of Lysol, or similar cleaner. 
  • Dry them thoroughly with towels.
  • Use a razor or scraper to scrape off paint splatters or other marks that didn't come off with the washing.
  • Re-set any popped nails.
  • Fill only the large holes or splits that really bother you and not the spaces between boards. (Note: If you fill the holes with a stainable filler and then stain the wood filler once it's dried so that it blends with the rest of the floor, any holes filled will be less noticeable when your project is completely.
  • After the filler dries, sand the floors lightly, by hand, using medium grit sandpaper attached to a paint pole with a sanding attachment. Sand it enough to dull the existing finish.
  • Clean the floors with a shop vacuum and then a tack cloth (a sticky cloth to pick up dust, available a paint stores and home centers).
  • Apply several coats of a polyurethane. We used three coats of a water-based polyurethane. After the last coat of poly we noticed the wood filler patches kind of stuck out. So we bought a set of “Furniture Markers” that are made to hide scratches on furniture like tables and etc. Using these made the fills much better. Almost invisible. We were amazed at the result using these steps. It really brought out the character, patina and color of the old floor. 


Roofs

Cedar Shake and Shingle Bureau has resources online that were used by Michael and Faith when they took on the job of installing cedar shingles on their Mansard roof themselves. 

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