1767 Milestones facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
1767 Milestones
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
The "Parting Ways" stone in Roxbury
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Location	Massachusetts between Springfield and Boston
Area	less than one acre
Built	various dates; many pursuant to a policy dating to 1767
NRHP reference No.	71000084
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. Massachusetts has a total of 129 surviving milestones including those along the upper Post Road. The stones are so named, despite having been placed in many different years, because of a 1767 directive of the Province of Massachusetts Bay that such stones be placed along major roadways. The state highway department was directed in 1960 to undertake their preservation. Many of them underwent a major restoration in 2018.

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. 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, and 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".
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	Engraved "Boston 4 Miles 1729 PD".
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	Engraved "Boston 5 Miles 1729 PD".
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	Engraved "Boston 6 Miles 1729 PD".
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	Engraved "Boston 7 Miles 1729 PD".
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	Engraved "Boston 8 Miles 1734 AI" on the front, and "Cambridge New Bridge 2 ¼ Miles 1794" on the back.
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	Engraved "33 Miles to Boston".
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	Engraved "Boston 35 Springfield 65 Albany 165".
43	c.1760		714458West Main St. Near town common 42°17′35″N 71°44′58″W / 42.29306°N 71.74944°W / 42.29306; -71.74944 (Milestone 43)	Shrewsbury	Engraved "43 Mile to Boston".
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. Now on the Leicester town common. 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	1763		723446State St. at Federal St. (Springfield Armory) 42°6′25″N 72°34′46″W / 42.10694°N 72.57944°W / 42.10694; -72.57944 (Wait Guide Milestone)	Springfield	Known as the "Wait Guide Stone". Inscribed- Pulsantis Perietum Virtus est sua Merces This Stone is Erected by Joseph Wait, Esq. of Brookfield For the Benefit of Trav[el] Here. AD 1763 Replica placed in 2010. Original in storage at the Armory Museum.
999999Source unless otherwise cited: NRHP nomination papers