No. 16315 Wright House post card postmarked 1912; this is said to be the Worthington House, later the former rectory for St. William’s Roman Catholic Church.
William Worthington House, later the rectory for St. William’s Church, now demolished
constructed c. 1860
style: Second Empire
use: rectory, single family
features: slate roof, clapboard siding
William Worthington was a merchant in Boston, formerly connected with Thomas Vose, later in company with his sons. He was largely engaged in the Malaga trade and was one of the largest real-estate owners in Dorchester, owning more than one hundred acres of land, all of which was very valuable, and much of it eligible for house-lots.
In 1851 his net worth was estimated as $200,000.
Source:
Dorchester section of
The Rich Men of Massachusetts: Containing a Statement of the Reputed Wealth of about Fifteen Hundred Persons, with Brief Sketches of More than One Thousand Characters. By A. Forbes and J.W. Greene. Boston: Published by W.V. Spencer, 1851. St. William Parish was set off from St. Peter in 1909, consisting of territory south of St. Margaret nearly to Glovers Corner, and including the Savin Hill district. The Reverend James J. Baxter was the first pastor and was succeeded by James McCarthy. Baxter bought the Worthington estate at the corner of Dorchester Avenue and Belfort Street. The old mansion was adapted as a rectory. The Spanish Mission style church at 1048 Dorchester Avenue, which replaced the house, was consecrated in 1910, designed by Edward Sheehan, a Dorchester resident. The church building was destroyed by fire on September 24, 198