FORM C − OBJECT
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
MASSACHUSETTS ARCHIVES BUILDING
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
Assessor’s Number
USGS Quad
Area(s)
Form Number
Shrewsbury
NBO.916
Town
Place (neighborhood or village)
Photograph
Address or Location 143 East Main Street
Name 1767 ( Boston Post Road) Milestone
Insert here or on a Continuation Sheet a digital
photograph (either color or black and white).
Ownership
__X_ Public
____ Private
Type of Object (check one)
A paper photographic print (3½x5¼" or 4x6" must
also be attached to the form in this space or to a
Continuation Sheet. Prints, from a photo-quality
inkjet printer, must use brand name paper and inks
approved by MHC. Attached photographs should
be clearly identified with town name and property
address. See MHC's Guidelines for Inventory Form
Photographs.
___ statue
___ bust
___ group composition
___ religious shrine
___other (specify)
___ monument
___ milestone
X marker
___ boundary marker
Date of Construction 1767
Source NR form
Designer/Sculptor Unknown
Materials Stone
Topographic or Assessor's Map
Alterations (with dates)
Condition Fair
Moved
_X_ no ___ yes
Date
Acreage less than 1 acre
Setting An open residential neighborhood, directly in front
of 143 East Main Street.
Recorded by Pauline Chase-Harrell
Organization: Boston Affiliates, Inc.
Date (month / year) October 2007
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
OBJECT FORM
DESIGN ASSESSMENT ___ see continuation sheet
Describe the design features of the object and evaluate in terms of other similar types of objects within the community.
The Boston Post Road milestone is at 143 East Main Street, originally part of Main Street, which the Boston Post Road followed
through Northborough. The stone marker has “33 miles to Boston” carved on it. There is a large lawn behind it with a tree to the
right of it. The stone is tall and narrow in shape and has obviously been worn by weather.
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE
X see continuation sheet
Explain the history of the object and how it relates to the development of the community.
From the beginning of settlement in the area, the Connecticut Path running east to west following preexisting native trails along
what is today Route 20, East to West Main Street in Northborough, was the most important transportation route. In the late 17th
century, the Connecticut Path became the Post Road from Boston to Worcester, and was incorporated into the Boston Post
Road, one of the most important lines of communication in the British colonies.
The Boston Post Road was a system of roads from New York City to Boston, Massachusetts, containing some of the first major
highways in the United States. It began as a path to deliver the post using post riders, and developed into a wagon, or stage
road in later colonial times. The first ride to lay out the Upper Post Road started January 22, 1673. Mileposts were measured
from the intersection of Broadway and Wall Street in New York and from the old Boston border on Washington Street near
today’s Massachusetts Turnpike. The Post Road is famous for its milestones from the 18th century, some installed as late as the
time of Benjamin Franklin, and many, of which this is one, remains to this day.
ENTIRE INSCRIPTION (if applicable):
33 Miles to Boston
BIBLIOGRAPHY and/or REFERENCES
___ see continuation sheet
Hopkins, G. M., Map of the Town of Northboro, Worcester County, Mass, 1855.
Kent, Josiah Coleman. Northborough History. Newton, Mass.: Garden City Press, 1921.
Map Plate 5, Part of the Town of Northborough, Part of the Town of Shrewsbury, 1898.
Massachusetts Historical Commission. Reconnaissance Survey Report: Northborough, 1983.
Mulligan, William H., Jr. Northborough During the American Revolution. Northborough: Northborough American Revolution
Bicentennial Commission, 1975.
Valentine, Gill, Map of Northborough, Worcester County, Mass, 1830.
Worcester County Atlas, page 68: Northborough; page 70, Northboro Centre, 1870.
___ Recommended for listing in the National Register of Historic Places. If checked, you must attach a completed National
Register Criteria Statement form.
Follow Massachusetts Historical Commission Survey Manual instructions for completing this form.
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
NORTHBOROUGH
143 East Main Street
Area(s)
Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
NBO.916
HISTORICAL NARRATIVE continued
The three major alignments were the Lower Post Road (now U.S. Route 1 along the shore and through Providence, Rhode
Island), the Upper Post Road (now US 5 and US 20 from New Haven, Connecticut via Springfield, Massachusetts), and the
Middle Post Road (which split from the Upper Road in Hartford, Connecticut, and ran diagonally to Boston via Pomfret,
Connecticut).
The Upper Post Road was the most traveled of the three routes, being the furthest from the shore and thus having the fewest
and shortest river crossings. It was also considered to have the best taverns, which helped it remain the most popular. The
Upper Post Road roughly corresponds to the alignment of U.S. Route 5 from New Haven to Hartford, CT, CT Route 159 from
Hartford to Springfield MA, U.S. Route 20 from Springfield to Warren, MA Route 9 from Warren through Worcester to
Shrewsbury, and U.S. Route 20 from Shrewsbury to Boston.
Continuation sheet 1
INVENTORY FORM CONTINUATION SHEET
MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL COMMISSION
NORTHBOROUGH
143 East Main Street
Area(s)
Form No.
220 MORRISSEY BOULEVARD, BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS 02125
NBO.916
PHOTOGRAPHS
Continuation sheet 2