Contributing Writer
WORCESTER – Shortly after returning from the California Gold Rush, where he had gone to hopefully become a rich gold miner, J. J. Coburn decided to start a new business venture. It was something unlike anything the city of Worcester had ever seen before. He decided to develop the area near the shores of Lake Quinsigamond, close by what was then a dirt causeway that crossed the Lake – now the site of the Burns Bridge (Route 9).
Began as a hotel…