Asa Waters Mansion – Millbury, Massachusetts

Asa Waters Mansion – Millbury, Massachusetts

The Asa Waters Mansion is one of the finest examples of Georgian Colonial style homes in the country.  As part of the "Underground Railroad" during the Civil War it provided shelter to those desperately in need of escape from slavery.  Asa Waters III was a known abolitionist who gave speeches against slavery throughout Worcester County. 

The residence was the dream of Asa Waters to be the stateliest residence in the country dedicated to his wife, Susan Holman Waters.  The process was begun in 1824 and completed in 1829. The Mansion took years to complete since it required two years to get the necessary materials.  All materials had to be carted from the port of Boston by horse and wagon to Millbury, a distance of 44.5 miles (by today’s roadways).  Such items included hard pine from the south, marble from Italy, mahogany from Central America, bricks from Baltimore and "pumpkin pine" from Maine.

The mansion has been the host to such people as Daniel Webster, Henry Clay, President William Howard Taft, Alexander Graham Bell and many others over the years.

The Great Room (18 x 45 feet) is large enough for dances, feasts or socializing.  The East Parolor & Rose Room decorations are of the period with elegant chandeliers and fireplaces, rich mahogany doors and beautiful oriental carpeting. The mansion also has a lovely three level, free-standing spiral staircase.  Imagine getting your family pictures taken in such a setting and you can realize the charm this staircase affords the mansion.   In the 19th century the mansion was known for the lush landscape and greenhouse.

Asa Waters II was born in 1769 and became a gunsmith under his fathers tutoring.  With lucrative government contracts, the armory, founded by him and his brother, prospered. Asa Waters II and his brother, Elijah, were renowned as the "First Family of Arms Manufacturers." The family revolutionized gun-making by changing it from an artisan’s craft to a manufacturing process. The family invented a lathe machine tool for holding and turning metal, wood, plastic, or other material against a cutting tool to form a cylindrical product or part. It also drills, bores, polishes, grinds, makes threads, and performs other operations.  to turn the gun barrels to uniform thickness. Their armory, built on the north side of the Blackstone River Blackstone River, central Massachusetts and Rhode Island, U.S. It flows about 50 mi (80 km) past Worcester and across northeastern Rhode Island to Pawtucket, where it becomes the Seekonk River. It furnishes power to a highly industrialized area. , operated until 1845.  He was also the founder of the Millbury Bank and became a State Representative in 1823.  He also had a flannel mill, a blind shop, and several other mills in the area.

The Mansion was entered into the National Historic Register in 1978.

The mansion is now a venue for historical re-enactments from the Revolutionary War period through the late 19th century.

Location: The Asa Waters Mansion
123 Elm Street
Millbury, MA 01527

Phone: (508) 865-0855

Directions from Mass Turnpike
Exit 10A –follow signs to Route 146 South. Follow Route 146 South approximately 3 miles. Exit at West Main Street-Millbury exit. Turn left at the bottom of the ramp. Go under Route 146 overpass and go straight over the bridge. The Mansion will be on the right approximately ¼ mile up the road.

No related posts.