Richardson House is a Main Street stalwart
By Diane C. Beaudoin Champion Correspondent
The house on 606 Main St. is small and unassuming.

The 606 Main Street house in Leominster was home to the first minister and was built in 1745.

But the Richardson House, as it is known, holds a piece of Leominster's history that dates back to 1716.

Documentation at the Leominster Historical Society shows the house was constructed in four parts, with one of the residents who built the second, or north portion holding the honor of being the first minister in town.

The Reverend Mr. John Rogers was the first minister at the Unitarian Universalist Church located downtown. His portion of the home was added circa 1745.

Rev. Rogers was the second owner of the structure, purchasing it from Dr. Jonathan Hayward. Hayward built the south portion in 1734, which is believed to be the first of the sections, in a style common among the wealthy of that time period.

Records show Dr. Hayward graduated from Harvard College in 1726, and married Ruth Barbeen in 1735. Barbeen appears to have come from a wealthy family of high social standing.

The original portion contained a front room and chamber with a hallway, bedroom and kitchen.

The next addition included the chimney and a few more rooms.

The front stairs rise in three sections with two landings. From the second landing there are a few steps to a back chamber. The original brick oven has been removed from the kitchen, but there is an oven in the cellar that is large enough for a man to stand up in, according to documentation.

Under the chimney are some large arches, which could have been used to store provisions.

The house got its name when an addition was added on the south side some time after 1815 by Silas Richardson. Richardson's son, Moses D. Richardson, added again to the north side of the building. Records show Silas Richardson is the great-grandfather of another Silas Richardson, whom many Leominster residents know as a funeral director.

Tradition says the house was a garrison for troops in 1777 and that space for gun-holes were left in between the boards of

the house.

Evi - dence of that stockade are found in posts set around the premises.

Papers preserved at the Leominster Historical Society include a reading by Emma C. Moore at a meeting of the Historical Society in June 1922, in which she discussed some of the history of the Richardson house.

The Richardson house has been remodeled many times including the most recent change into a two-family home. Champion photos/Cheryl Cuddahy

Moore read, "a private way was laid out from the Lunenburg line to Dr. Hayward's house, which sits on the intersection of Pierce and Main Street."

Moore's speech is among the few existing documents related to the house.

The original deed shows that it included 47 acres of land where the house was built.

Today the house has been divided up into a two-family home, with 602 Main St. on one side and 606 on the other.