page_title: Daniel B. Wesson
section_title: Northborough, Massachusetts
hierarchical_section_title: Daniel B. Wesson / Residences / Northborough, Massachusetts
caption_attribution_description: White Cliffs mansion in Northborough, Massachusetts, completed in 1886 as the summer home of Daniel B. Wesson (1825–1906), co-founder of Smith &amp; Wesson firearms.
context_page_description: Daniel Baird Wesson was an American inventor and firearms designer. He helped develop several influential firearm designs over the course of his life; he and Horace Smith were the co-founders of two companies named "Smith & Wesson", the first of which was eventually reorganized into the Winchester Repeating Arms Company and the latter of which became the modern Smith & Wesson.
context_section_description: Wesson had apprenticed in Northborough, Massachusetts, at his brother Edwin's gunsmith shop, and met his future wife there. The business moved to Hartford, Connecticut, in 1848. Later, Wesson built a summer home in Northborough on land partially belonging to his wife's family, which was completed in 1886 a cost of approximately $300,000. It is an example of shingle style architecture. The house had 17 fireplaces and 32 rooms, along with elaborate carvings, stained glass windows, and gas-lit chandeliers.  Water for the house and grounds was sourced from a nearby pond, with a pumping station and cistern, fed by approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) of pipe.
  After Wesson's death in 1906, the house stayed in the family for a few years then was sold in 1910, and subsequently went through multiple owners. It was used as a restaurant as far back as 1946, as a restaurant and function hall until 1985, and later just as a function hall. It was again put up for sale in January 2014, and closed to the public in December 2014.
  Due to lack of a buyer, it was scheduled to be demolished in 2016. However, the town of Northborough voted in April 2016 to purchase it. The town approved funds to purchase the property at 167 Main Street for $1.75 million, plus additional funding for future development, with a total allocation of $2.4 million.
  The house is known locally, and was operated as a restaurant and function hall, under the name "White Cliffs". The origin of the name has been attributed to the White Cliffs of Dover area in England. Either due to Wesson having a painting of those chalk cliffs that he placed over the mantle that faced the house's main entrance, or due to an Irish waitress who worked at the restaurant in its early years singing "The White Cliffs of Dover" while doing her prep work.
caption: White Cliffs in Northborough, Massachusetts, in September 2019