Coronet John Farnum Jr. House

	Cornet John Farnum Jr. House
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	Location in Massachusetts Coronet John Farnum Jr. House (the United States)
Location	Mendon St., Uxbridge, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°04′39″N 71°37′38″W / 42.07737°N 71.62725°W
Area	Less than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1710
NRHP reference No.	80001682
Added to NRHP	May 7, 1980

The Cornet John Farnum Jr. House, built circa 1710, is one of the oldest homes in the historic Blackstone Valley town of Uxbridge, Massachusetts. On May 7, 1980, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

The house and its historic significance

Uxbridge is in the heart of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor, which is the oldest industrialized region in the United States. The Cornet John Farnum Jr. House was the site of the first Uxbridge Town Meeting in 1727. The house today is a museum and headquarters of the Uxbridge Historical Society. It is an excellent example of early New England colonial architecture.

Builder and original owner

John and Mary (Tyler) Farnum may have moved to the Chockalog section of Uxbridge, then Mendon because of the "witchcraft controversies" that involved Mary's family in Andover.^[2] John Farnum Jr. was a "cornet", a now obsolete military position similar to an ensign. He was elected a constable in Mendon in 1703.^[2] He had his house built about 1710 in a part of Mendon that is now Uxbridge. Son Moses Farnum's house still stands on Massachusetts Route 146A.

Separation of Uxbridge

On June 27, 1727, a petition was granted to form the town of Uxbridge. The first town meeting was held in the Cornet John Farnum House. One of the first official acts of the town on July 8, 1728, was to appropriate funds for "ÿe good rum for ye raising of ye meeting house.".^[3]

Significance in early American history

The significance of the house, the town, and Cornet John Farnum Jr. are now linked to American history as part of the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor.

Notes

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
^ ^a ^b "John Farnum Jr". Doug Sinclair. Retrieved 2007-10-04.
^ Marvin, AP (1879). History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Embracing a Comprehensive History of the County from its earliest beginnings to the present time; Vol. lI. Boston, MA: CF Jewitt and Company. p. 146.

External links

Photo: Cornet John Farnum Jr. House (1710), site of the first Uxbridge town meeting, Blackstone Daily.com^[usurped]

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.

[farnum-2] "John Farnum Jr". Doug Sinclair. Retrieved 2007-10-04.

[hist-3] Marvin, AP (1879). History of Worcester County, Massachusetts, Embracing a Comprehensive History of the County from its earliest beginnings to the present time; Vol. lI. Boston, MA: CF Jewitt and Company. p. 146.

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