Borden-Pond House

Borden-Pond House
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
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Location	40 Laurel St., Worcester, Massachusetts
Coordinates	42°16′8″N 71°47′34″W / 42.26889°N 71.79278°W / 42.26889; -71.79278Coordinates: 42°16′8″N 71°47′34″W / 42.26889°N 71.79278°W / 42.26889; -71.79278
Area	less than one acre
Built	1856 (1856)
Architectural style	Second Empire
MPS	Worcester MRA
NRHP reference No.	80000590[1]
Added to NRHP	March 05, 1980

The Borden-Pond House is a historic house at 40 Laurel Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. Built about 1856 but probably not completed until 1861, it is a prominent early example of Second Empire architecture, and one of a small number of stone villas to survive (out of a larger number built) in the neighborhood. Lucius Pond, its second owner, was an important local machinist. The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980.^[1]

Description and history[]

Borden-Pond house in Worcester, MA

The Borden-Pond House stands in a residential area overlooking Interstate 290 on Worcester's east side, at the northwest corner of Laurel and Edward Streets. It is a three-story stone structure, set on a stone foundation partially exposed by the steeply sloping lot. The lower two stories of the main block are stone, with a cornice and roof skirt separating them from the third floor, which is framed in wood and finished in clapboards. The house originally had a mansard roof. A two-story ell extends to the rear; it is stone on the first floor and wood-frame on the second, with a gabled roof. The house is a rare survivor from a period when a number of stone villas were built in this area; most of them have been demolished.^[2]

Construction on the house began c.1856–59, probably by John Borden, a mason and its first resident. According to local lore, Borden could not afford to finisht the building, and sold it to Lucius Pond in 1861. Pond was a leading local industrialist, who helped invent the Ellsworth repeating rifle. Pond was director of a local bank when rumors of its insolvency led to his flight in 1875. He was arrested in San Francisco, California, attempting to gain passage on a ship to Australia. Pond was convicted of forging bank notes, and spent seven years in prison.^[2]

See also[]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in eastern Worcester, Massachusetts

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References[]