National Register of Historic Places

Wellesley Farms Railroad Station

Wellesley, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
Listed
February 14, 1986
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
86000259

About this property

Wellesley Farms station is an MBTA Commuter Rail station in Wellesley, Massachusetts. It serves the Framingham/Worcester Line. It is located in the Wellesley Farms area. The station building, designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1886 and constructed in 1890, was listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places as Wellesley Farms Railroad Station in 1986. The Boston & Worcester Railroad (B&W), extending outwards from Boston, reached through the West Parish of Needham in mid-1834. Rice's Crossing station opened as a flag stop north of Glen Road soon afterward. In 1839, the line was double tracked through the area. Wellesley Farms station, which was designed by Henry Hobson Richardson prior to his death in 1886, opened south of Glen Road to replace Rice's Crossing in 1890. Like many B&A stations, it had attractive landscaping; Charles Mulford Robinson called it "unique, and to be remembered" in 1904. The station was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. In July 2004, the MBTA closed a paved crossing between the crossings in response to concerns about safety. Similar crossings exist at some other MBTA stations, but the agency's policy is to eliminate grade crossings whenever possible when building or renovating stations. In June 2021, the MBTA issued a $28 million design contract for a project to add a third track from Weston to Framingham, including reconstruction of the three Wellesley stations and West Natick station. The project was expected to cost around $400 million, of which rebuilding Wellesley Farms station would be $34 million, with completion in 2030. In May 2024, the MBTA listed Wellesley Farms as one of seven stations that would require "complex solutions" to be made accessible. Media related to Wellesley Farms station at Wikimedia Commons Google Maps Street View: Croton Street entrance, Glen Road entrance, Hundreds Road entrance

Location

Wellesley, Norfolk County, Massachusetts
42.32322, -71.27191

Categories

COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENTLANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURETRANSPORTATIONARCHITECTURE
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Wellesley Hills Branch Library
Industrial
0.6 mi
Elm Park and Isaac Sprague Memorial Tower
Civil War
0.7 mi
St. Mary's Church and Cemetery
Industrial
0.8 mi
Glen Road Historic District
Modern
0.8 mi
Curtis, William, House
Industrial
0.8 mi

Questions about this property

When was Wellesley Farms Railroad Station listed on the National Register?

Wellesley Farms Railroad Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on February 14, 1986.

What type of historic resource is Wellesley Farms Railroad Station?

Wellesley Farms Railroad Station is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Wellesley Farms Railroad Station?

The period of significance for Wellesley Farms Railroad Station is recorded as the industrial era.

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