Forest Hill Cottage facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Forest Hill Cottage
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 Location in Massachusetts
Location in the United States
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| Location | 22 Windsor St., Worcester, Massachusetts |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1860 |
| Architectural style | Carpenter Gothic |
| MPS | Worcester MRA |
| NRHP reference No. | 80000529 |
| Added to NRHP | March 05, 1980 |
The Forest Hill Cottage is a special old house located at 22 Windsor Street in Worcester, Massachusetts. This charming cottage was built way back in 1860. It's a great example of a building style called Carpenter Gothic. Because it's so unique, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. This means it's an important historical building!
What is Carpenter Gothic?
Carpenter Gothic is a fun style of architecture. It was popular in the United States during the mid-1800s. Think of it as a simpler, wooden version of the grand Gothic cathedrals. Builders used wood to create fancy details. These details often looked like lace or carvings. They were usually found on porches, windows, and roof edges. This style made houses look very decorative and unique.
A Look at the Cottage's Design
The Forest Hill Cottage sits on a hill in eastern Worcester. It's a wooden house with 1 and a half stories. The house faces south, towards the street. It has a unique shape, not perfectly even on both sides.
You'll notice its steeply sloped roofs. These are called gables. The windows are also interesting. Some are tall and narrow with rounded tops. Others have pointed tops, adding to the Gothic look. The outside walls are made of board-and-batten siding. This means long, flat boards are placed side-by-side. Then, thin strips of wood (battens) cover the gaps between them.
The front of the house has a special window area. It sticks out from the wall and has three windows. There's also a porch on the front. This porch has eight sides, making it a semi-octagonal shape. It was added to the house later in the 1800s. The roof edges used to have fancy wooden decorations. These were called bargeboards, but they are not there anymore.
Who Lived Here?
The Forest Hill Cottage was built in 1860. It might have looked like another house nearby, the Soho Cottage, which is just across the street. The first person to own this cottage was Luther Ross. He worked as a patternmaker at a place called the Court Mill. Luther Ross is the one who probably named it "Forest Hill Cottage." He lived there until 1886. After him, the Gough family owned the house for many years, well into the 1900s.
