Post Roads and Milestones - "53 Miles From Boston"
A goal of this blog is to find, see and share some of what the Convention Army saw on their 1777 march from Saratoga to Cambridge. Milestones, markers set at one mile intervals along part of their route, are one such example, and a clue to which roads they took - especially where original sections of those roads have been replaced. They also revealed to me that for years I had overlooked links to the past just miles from my home.
The problem with this legend is that in what I've read to date, no primary source is cited to link Franklin or the 1767 date to the milestones. That led me to wonder, if there was no documentation for Franklin placing the stones along the road in 1767, when were they put in place, and were they in place when the Convention Army passed through?
Fortunately, several sources I've referenced mention seeing milestones. One German officer writing of the march noted: "November 1st, we went twelve miles to Palmer, a wretched village. ... From here to Boston stands a stone milepost every mile..." [1] Another noted on the same day: "We discovered beautiful roads and, every mile, a stone indicator marking the number of miles to Boston." [2] Eight months later the Reverend Ezra Stiles, in route to his new position as the President of Yale College, noted in his diary: "[June] 17 [1778] Lodg'd Bliss's [Tavern]. Palmer, from B.[oston] 78 [miles] from Springfield 18 1/2 M. ... Wilbraham ... Turn'd at 87 M.Stone." [3] Three period sources was sufficient for me to conclude that milestones were an object that German troops would have seen from Springfield on, and British troops, from Brookfield on at least.
Milestones were hardly unique to Massachusetts. Existing examples remain on the post road to Albany, New York, and in England, where the London Milestones are said to date from at least the mid-1700's. The continued existence of the Post Road milestones is useful when tracing the route followed by the Convention Army, at least those which remain in their original location. Several markers along the way were moved to more trafficked locations when roadways were relocated or population centers changed, such as Milestone 72 now in the center of Warren Massachusetts; Milestone 48, said to be in storage at the Worcester Historical Society; and Milestone 43, moved to the Shrewsbury Town Common from the entrance ramp for I-290.
These days the main road from the Brookfields to Worcester is Route 9, a road that looks like it has been there for centuries. More than a dozen Post Road milestones remain along that stretch, some easier to find than others.
Some harder to find milestones remain in their original location on what I'd consider "back roads". The first I encountered were Milestones 74 and 70, located in Warren (then called "Western", and not to be confused with the town of "Weston", on the route between Sudbury and Waltham). Several more come heading east on Route 9. A left turn onto Foster Hill Road in West Brookfield will take you past Milestone 67, before it becomes West Brookfield Road in Brookfield, and rejoins Route 9.
Four more follow. Milestones 66, 65 (pictured above), and 64 come after a left turn off Route 9 onto Route 148, then a right at the fork in the road onto East Main Street in Brookfield, which becomes Slab City Road in North Brookfield. Continue on and take a right in East Brookfield onto North Brookfield Road. Milestone 63 is on the left shortly after a bowling alley. All this assumes you are heading west to east as the Convention Army did.
Confusing as this may sound, today's four Brookfields were one big town in 1777. There is a lot more to see and do in the Brookfields, certainly enough for another post or two. Worth noting here though, is that if you make your trip through this section in the summer, check out Howard's Drive-In at 121 East Main Street in West Brookfield. It's on Route 9, the left of the fork at Foster Hill Road, but off the original route of the Post Road. It's also a trip back in time to the 1950's, when fried food and ice cream were considered a treat rather than a threat...
Two easier to find examples of milestones at or near their original location, but off the current main road, are just west of Worcester. Milestone 57 is outside the front door of the Spencer Country Inn (a nice place for dinner, though I can't find a working link to their website). Milestone 54 is on the "Old Main Street" side of the Leicester Town Common.
If you happen to measure the distance from Milestone 57 via Route 9 to Milestone 56, opposite but just before the Leicester Drive-In, you'll come up just over a tenth of a mile short. Was whoever laid out the markers off? Your clue to the answer comes as you come as you exit the driveway from the Spencer Country Inn. Directly ahead of you is a curve known locally as "Breezy Bend". That was the original road before Route 9 was straightened. Measure the distance that way, and the road does indeed run for a mile between these two markers.
I mentioned that I'd overlooked one milestone in my town despite passing it by on a pretty-much daily basis for decades, Milestone 53 at the intersection of Collier Ave. and Route 9 in Leicester. It's still there, but set into a retaining wall along the side of the highway. Just took a bit of looking to find, and the help of Wikipedia's 1767 Milestones entry.
As for Franklin, despite his many and varied other accomplishments, a post on the website of the New England Historical Society seems to convincingly challenge his role in the placement of milestones.
For more on the Convention Army's 1777 march from Saratoga to Boston, see:
1777 March Blog Home Overnight Stopping Points Towns and Villages Along the Way
I am having fun learning local history an finding the Milestones.
ReplyDelete