1767 Milestones

1767 Milestones

The "Parting Ways" stone in Roxbury
Location Massachusetts
Built no later than 1767
Architect Unknown (some erected by Paul Dudley)
NRHP Reference # 71000084, 85003300[1][2]
Added to NRHP April 7, 1971

The 1767 Milestones are historic milestones located along the route of the Upper Boston Post Road between the cities of Boston and Springfield in Massachusetts. The 40 surviving milestones were added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.[1] Massachusetts has a total of 129 surviving milestones including those along the upper Post Road.[3]

The first stone was erected by Paul Dudley, one of the prominent citizens of early 18th century Massachusetts, in Roxbury, which was at the time a separate community. Roxbury was located at the end of the Boston Neck, a narrow isthmus separating the mainland from the Shawmut Peninsula, where Boston was located. Travelers going by land from Boston to other areas had to travel over the neck and through Roxbury to reach their destinations. The Roxbury junction where Dudley placed the first stone was where several routes branched, heading south and west across New England.

Dudley erected several stones along the road from Boston to Cambridge which wound its way from Beacon Hill along what is now Washington Street through the Dudley Square area to what is now Huntington Avenue, then along Harvard Street through Brookline Village, Coolidge Corner, and Allston crossing into Cambridge at the Great Bridge, where modern JFK Street in Cambridge becomes North Harvard Street in Allston. The stones that Dudley erected have the initial PD on them, usually at the bottom of the stone.[4] The most chatty of these milestones (not part of this collection), is inscribed P Dudley rather than PD, and is located on the corner of Centre and South Streets in Jamaica Plain.

The stones listed for miles 23 through 29 in Wayland and Sudbury are actually guideposts rather than milestones. They do not list any mileage. They were erected at road intersections rather than at the mile marks. The stones are quarried granite posts with plug & feather tool marks and post-date 1800.

Miles
to Boston		 Year
Placed		 Image Location Town Notes
01 1741 710529Centre and Roxbury Streets
42°19′48″N 71°5′29″W / 42.33000°N 71.09139°W / 42.33000; -71.09139 (Parting Ways Milestone)		 Boston, Roxbury This stone is called the "Parting Ways" Stone.
03 1729 710642Centre Street, Fort Hill, Roxbury
42°19′46″N 71°5′36″W / 42.32944°N 71.09333°W / 42.32944; -71.09333 (Milestone 3)		 Boston, Roxbury, Fort Hill This stone is set in relief along a large stone retaining wall along Centre Street, most likely relocated to this location.
04 1729 710642841 Huntington Avenue
42°19′57″N 71°6′42″W / 42.33250°N 71.11167°W / 42.33250; -71.11167 (Milestone 4)		 Boston, Mission Hill
05 1729 710717210 Harvard St.
42°20′24″N 71°7′17″W / 42.34000°N 71.12139°W / 42.34000; -71.12139 (Milestone 5)		 Brookline
06 1729 710756142 Harvard Ave.
42°21′07″N 71°07′54″W / 42.351947°N 71.131586°W / 42.351947; -71.131586 (Milestone 6)		 Boston, Brighton
07 1729 710742240 N. Harvard St.
42°21′42″N 71°07′48″W / 42.361556°N 71.129998°W / 42.361556; -71.129998 (Milestone 7)		 Boston, Brighton
08 1734 710710Old Burial Ground
(Mass. Ave. and Garden St.)
42°22′29″N 71°7′10″W / 42.37472°N 71.11944°W / 42.37472; -71.11944 (Milestone 8)		 Cambridge
23 712312River Road and Water Row
42°22′14″N 71°23′12″W / 42.37056°N 71.38667°W / 42.37056; -71.38667 (Milestone 23)		 Wayland
24 712408Route 20 and Landham Road
42°21′39″N 71°24′8″W / 42.36083°N 71.40222°W / 42.36083; -71.40222 (Milestone 24)		 Sudbury
25 712459Route 20 and Concord Road
42°21′44″N 71°24′59″W / 42.36222°N 71.41639°W / 42.36222; -71.41639 (Milestone 25)		 Sudbury
26 712530Route 20 and Nobscot Road
42°21′36″N 71°25′30″W / 42.36000°N 71.42500°W / 42.36000; -71.42500 (Milestone 26)		 Sudbury
27 712614listed at Boston Post Road and Dudley Road
42°21′36″N 71°26′13″W / 42.360003°N 71.436821°W / 42.360003; -71.436821 (Milestone 27)		 Sudbury Listed as missing in 2009 state survey.
28 712732Route 20 and Peakham Road
42°21′35″N 71°27′32″W / 42.35972°N 71.45889°W / 42.35972; -71.45889 (Milestone 28)		 Sudbury
29 712819Wayside Inn Road and Dutton Road
42°21′28″N 71°28′19″W / 42.35778°N 71.47194°W / 42.35778; -71.47194 (Milestone 29)		 Sudbury
33 713725143 E. Main St.
42°19′44″N 71°37′25″W / 42.32889°N 71.62361°W / 42.32889; -71.62361 (Milestone 33)		 Northborough
35 714143Boston Post Road and Dean Park
42°17′45″N 71°41′43″W / 42.29583°N 71.69528°W / 42.29583; -71.69528 (Milestone 35)		 Shrewsbury
43 714458West Main St. near I-290
42°17′35″N 71°44′58″W / 42.29306°N 71.74944°W / 42.29306; -71.74944 (Milestone 43)		 Shrewsbury
47 714728Lincoln St.
42°16′41″N 71°47′40″W / 42.278071°N 71.794392°W / 42.278071; -71.794392 (Milestone 47)		 Worcester
48 714759Originally at 139 Salisbury St.
42°15′54″N 71°48′16″W / 42.265051°N 71.804379°W / 42.265051; -71.804379 (Milestone 48)		 Worcester Moved to 30 Elm Street (Worcester Historical Museum) c. 2007
It was reported to be in storage there in January 2014.
53 715310Route 9 at Collier's Corner
42°14′24″N 71°53′10″W / 42.24000°N 71.88611°W / 42.24000; -71.88611 (Milestone 53)		 Leicester
54 715430Originally at Main St. east of Paxton St.
42°14′43″N 71°54′30″W / 42.24528°N 71.90833°W / 42.24528; -71.90833 (Milestone 54)		 Leicester Stolen and recovered in the 1990s; relocated to museum space in local library in 1996. An unmarked replica is embedded in a stone wall just west of Paxton on the south side of Main Street.
56 715640Between 1676 and 1710 Main St. (Route 9)
42°15′2″N 71°56′40″W / 42.25056°N 71.94444°W / 42.25056; -71.94444 (Milestone 56)		 Leicester Opposite Leicester Drive-In.
57 715721500 Main St. (Route 9)
42°15′21″N 71°57′21″W / 42.25583°N 71.95583°W / 42.25583; -71.95583 (Milestone 57)		 Leicester In front of the Spencer Country Inn.
58 715834 325 Main St. (Route 9)
42°15′6″N 71°58′34″W / 42.25167°N 71.97611°W / 42.25167; -71.97611 (Milestone 58)		 Spencer
59 715920Route 9, Spencer Shopper's Village
42°14′46″N 71°59′20″W / 42.24611°N 71.98889°W / 42.24611; -71.98889 (Milestone 59)		 Spencer
60 720028Route 9 at Dewey St.
42°14′12″N 72°0′28″W / 42.23667°N 72.00778°W / 42.23667; -72.00778 (Milestone 60)		 Spencer
61 720140133 West Main St. (Route 9)
42°13′52″N 72°1′40″W / 42.23111°N 72.02778°W / 42.23111; -72.02778 (Milestone 61)		 Spencer
62 720240west of 324 East Main St. (Route 9)
42°13′38″N 72°2′40″W / 42.22722°N 72.04444°W / 42.22722; -72.04444 (Milestone 62)		 East Brookfield Stone has been reengraved with loss of integrity.
63 720401184 North Brookfield Rd.
42°13′42″N 72°4′1″W / 42.22833°N 72.06694°W / 42.22833; -72.06694 (Milestone 63)		 East Brookfield
64 720445Elm Hill Rd., near North Brookfield line
42°13′49″N 72°4′45″W / 42.23028°N 72.07917°W / 42.23028; -72.07917 (Milestone 64)		 Brookfield
65 720540Elm Hill Rd., east of North Brookfield Rd.
42°13′18″N 72°5′40″W / 42.22167°N 72.09444°W / 42.22167; -72.09444 (Milestone 65)		 Brookfield
66 720629East of 31 West Main St. (Route 9)
42°12′57″N 72°6′29″W / 42.21583°N 72.10806°W / 42.21583; -72.10806 (Milestone 66)		 Brookfield
67 720714102 Foster Hill Rd.
42°13′33″N 72°7′14″W / 42.22583°N 72.12056°W / 42.22583; -72.12056 (Milestone 67)		 West Brookfield
68 720815East end of town common
42°14′10″N 72°8′15″W / 42.23611°N 72.13750°W / 42.23611; -72.13750 (Milestone 68)		 West Brookfield
69 720922147 West Main St. (Route 9)
42°14′1″N 72°9′22″W / 42.23361°N 72.15611°W / 42.23361; -72.15611 (Milestone 69)		 West Brookfield
70 721022Route 67 near Old Patrick Rd.
42°13′19″N 72°10′22″W / 42.22194°N 72.17278°W / 42.22194; -72.17278 (Milestone 70)		 Warren
71 721059Burbank and Washington Sts.
(behind/north side of 129 Washington St.)
42°12′46″N 72°10′59″W / 42.21278°N 72.18306°W / 42.21278; -72.18306 (Milestone 71)		 Warren
72 721122Bemis and Washington Rds.
42°12′7″N 72°11′22″W / 42.20194°N 72.18944°W / 42.20194; -72.18944 (Milestone 72)		 Warren Now in front of Warren Congregational Church; relocated after 1970.
73 721220North side of Baypath Rd.
42°11′53″N 72°12′20″W / 42.19806°N 72.20556°W / 42.19806; -72.20556 (Milestone 73)		 Warren
74 721318970 Read St., east of West Warren Rd.
42°11′9″N 72°13′18″W / 42.18583°N 72.22167°W / 42.18583; -72.22167 (Milestone 74)		 Warren
99 723446State Rd. (Route 20) at Springfield Armory
42°6′25″N 72°34′46″W / 42.10694°N 72.57944°W / 42.10694; -72.57944 (Milestone 99)		 Springfield Now in storage at the Armory Museum.
999999Source unless otherwise cited: NRHP nomination papers[5]

References

  1. 1 2 National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  2. ↑ first refnum is for all milestones; second is for Brookline, Harvard Avenue stone
  3. ↑ Gage, Mary E.; Gage, James E. (2014). Milestones & Guideposts of Massachusetts and Southeastern New Hampshire. Amesbury, MA: Powwow River Books. pp. 155–160. ISBN 978-0-9816141-7-5.
  4. ↑ http://www.jphs.org/colonial/colonial-stones-mark-miles-from-old-roxbury-to-old-state-house.html
  5. ↑ "NRHP Nomination for 1767 Milestones". Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Retrieved 2011-08-29.

See also

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