USA > Massachusetts > Massachusetts : a guide to its places and people > Part 70
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Near-by is the Summerton House (1712), an unpainted, shingled two-story gambrel- roofed structure, with massive chimney and irregularly placed windows in the end. Also on Main St. is the Precinct Cemetery containing headstones dating back to 1700. Opposite is Russell Memorial Library (R), a field-stone building. The junc- tion of Compton and Main Sts. is still known as 'Parting Ways.'
NEW BEDFORD, 39.6 m. (see NEW BEDFORD). Here is the junction with US 6 (see Tour 6).
TOUR 25: From BOSTON to RHODE ISLAND STATE LINE (Tiverton) 47.2 m., State 138.
Via Boston, Canton, Stoughton, Sharon, Easton, Raynham, Taunton, Berk- ley, Dighton, Somerset, and Fall River.
N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R. services this area.
Hard-surfaced road throughout.
STATE 138, south of Boston, passes through the beautiful Blue Hills, where woods cover the undulating acres. At its southern end it traverses a dairying and poultry-farming country.
State 138 branches south from US 1 at Jamaicaway Circle in Boston, passing the Arnold Arboretum (see BOSTON).
At 2.7 m. State 138 turns right on Blue Hill Ave. and at 4 m. State 28 (see Tour 19) bears left.
At 8 m. (L) rises Great Blue Hill (alt. 635) (foot and bridle trails) which commands a view 150 miles in radius. Blue Hill Observatory, on the sum- mit, is maintained by Harvard University.
At 8.3 m. a tablet marks the Site of Doty's Tavern, meeting-place for the preliminary drafting of the Suffolk Resolves.
At 10.2 m. is the junction with Randolph St.
I. Left on Randolph St. is the John Fenno House (open by permission), 0.8 m. (L) built in 1704, a two-and-a-half-story frame structure with a gable roof and central chimney. The clapboarded exterior is painted black.
2. Right on Randolph St. is CANTON, 2.8 m. (town, alt. 113, pop. 6505, sett. 1630, incorp. 1797), which received its present name by whim of a prominent citi- zen who estimated that the town was exactly antipodal to Canton, China. During the latter part of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th, the town was a busy manufacturing center, among other activities making muskets for the War of 1812. The Rising Sun Stove Polish Factory was opened here in 1858.
The Plymouth Rubber Mill (open), also on Revere St., is on the site of a foundry Paul Revere set up in 1808, the first copper-rolling mill in the country, which sup- plied the rolled copper for the State House dome and the copper boilers used in
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From Boston to Tiverton, R.I.
Fulton's first steamboat. This versatile hero also operated a powder mill here during the Revolution and the War of 1812.
At 13.7 m. is the junction with Central St.
Left on Central St. to Swan's Tavern, 1.4 m., corner of Central and Turnpike Sts., now called the Century Farm (private). In 1807, the date of its erection by the Boston and Taunton Turnpike Company as a stagecoach station, it was chris- tened the Washington Hotel.
STOUGHTON, 14.4 m. (town, alt. 239, pop. 8472, sett. about 1713, incorp. 1743), was named for William Stoughton, Lieutenant-Governor of Massachusetts (1694-1791), whose father, Colonel Israel Stoughton, commander of the Colonial forces during the Pequot War of 1636, was a large landholder in Dorchester, of which Stoughton was originally a part. During the American Revolution, Stoughton was the supply center for Colonial forces in the area, though there was little industrial develop- ment before 1800. By 1830, shoe manufacturing had begun; but the Civil War, depriving the town of its large Southern markets, threatened the prosperity of the factories for a time.
In 1921 the town adopted the city-manager form of government, the manager performing all executive functions and advising the board of selectmen, who have legislative powers.
The Town Hall, corner of Pearl and Porter Sts., contains the rooms of the Stoughton Musical Society, which in 1790 competed with singers of the First Parish of Dorchester, winning the contest by singing the 'Halle- lujah Chorus' without books.
On the outskirts of Stoughton is a large field adorned with a rustic band- stand, rustic arches, and skeletal booths. In July all these bloom forth in foliage and blossoms, for here is held the Portuguese Festival in honor of Mary Magdalen. From several hundred miles around come the dark- skinned Portuguese in gala attire and mood. The Taunton City Band plays from the bandstand, the young people dance the latest American step, and folk-dances in native costumes are given. Steak barbecues, Portuguese style, supplement purely American edibles. Besides tables laden with all sorts of articles for sale, there is a grand auction block from which is sold everything from livestock to Madeira embroidery.
Right from Stoughton on State 27 at 2.7 m. is the junction with Bay St. At 36 Bay St. (L) is Cobb's Tavern, a long two-story frame structure, over 200 years old, with a red-brick end-wall and ells in the rear.
SHARON, 4.8 m. (town, alt. 234, pop. 3683, sett. about 1650, incorp. 1775), lies in the territory once known as Massapoag ('Great Waters'). Unable to farm to any advantage or to compete with industrial centers, Sharon has become a delightful residential center and health resort.
I. Left from the village 1 m. on Billings St. to East St. which leads left to the pre- Revolutionary Gannet (Sampson) House, 1.1 m., the home of Benjamin Gannet, whose wife, born Deborah Sampson, served in the Colonial army disguised as a young man (see Tour 10).
2. Left from Sharon on Ames St. along the shore of Lake Massapoag to the junc- tion with Quincy St. 0.7 m .; left here to the Site of the Ames Knife Factory, 0.8 m., where in former days such interesting articles as banana and boot knives and machetes were produced.
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High Roads and Low Roads
At 18 m. is the junction with Elm St.
Right on Elm St. is NORTH EASTON, 0.5 m. (alt. 140). On the corner of Main St. is the Unity Church, in the transepts of which are stained-glass windows by John La Farge.
The North Easton Library, a memorial to Oakes Ames (1877), displays the vigorous individuality of H. H. Richardson - his fearless adaptation of plan to function, his vigorous use of simple mass, and for material rock-faced Milford granite, trimmed with Longmeadow granite. The long row of windows in the stack wing is considered the best feature of the building, and the most noticeable feature is the low Syrian arch. Norman, Southern French Romanesque, late Gothic, and other influences are mingled here, but are dominated by the architect's own creative genius.
At 18.3 m. is the former Lothrop Ames estate, now occupied by the Cath- olic Seminary of Our Lady of the Holy Cross.
At 20.4 m. is the junction with State 123.
Right on State 123 is EASTON CENTER, 1.1 m. (town, alt. 124, pop. 5294, sett. 1694, incorp. 1725), one of the seven villages whose population is largely of Swedish, Irish, and Portuguese birth. Many are employed in the factories of Eas- ton, Brockton, and Taunton. Even in the early days there was a trend here to- ward industrialism, swamp land allowing the creation of artificial ponds supplying water-power. Peat and bog iron were extracted, the latter leading to the building of forges and foundries. The manufacture of iron products is still carried on, but the local bog is not utilized today.
Opposite the Town Hall is the Rankin Farm on which reached by a beaten path from the house is a Rock with Hoofprints. Theories differ as to whether the impressions were carved by the Indians or by the elements.
At 2.7 m. where State 123 merges with State 106 is Furnace Village (Town of Eas- ton). On Highland St. is the Leonard Home (open), containing numerous Indian relics, unearthed along Mulberry Brook, among them a trowel painstakingly fashioned along modern lines, the sides of it as finely polished as a machine-made implement, and banner-stones made in the shape of hearts, each with a hole bored lengthwise for the insertion of a stick. These stones were used for marking boun- daries and traps. The Indians also used the sides of the stones as score boards in keeping track of their catches. A small nick denoted an ordinary catch and a deep nick denoted an extraordinary one.
The Josiah Keith House (1717) (private), on Bay Rd. is a red-shingled dwelling with white window casements and two interior chimneys. The lower floor has been cut away and the second story rests upon the original foundation.
At 27.9 m. is PRATTVILLE (alt. 99, Town of Raynham), the center of a poultry-raising and farming community.
Left from Prattville on King Philip St. at 1 m. is Fowling Pond, now a swamp, but formerly the site of King Philip's hunting lodge. Philip left Raynham unharmed because the local forge provided him with tools and repaired his weapons.
At 30.4 m. the road enters a heavily congested area.
TAUNTON, 30.6 m. (see TAUNTON). Here is the junction with State 140 (see Tour 23B) and US 44 (see Tour 10).
Left from Taunton on Weir St. through the stove manufacturing area to a junction with Plain St., 1.2 m .; left on Plain St. to Berkley St .; right on Berkley St. to BERKLEY, 4.5 m. (town, alt. 616, pop. 1156, sett. 1638, incorp. 1755), a rural town where shipbuilding flourished for about a century.
Berkley Common is described by Nathalia Crane, 'the child poet,' in 'The Janitor's Boy.'
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From Boston to Tiverton, R.I.
The Congregational Church is a two-story building with a high peaked roof and windows with diamond-shaped panes of stained glass. The little church has two entrances, one beneath a tiny turret standing up about 6 feet and the other be- neath the tower.
Left from Berkley on Bay View Rd. (the third road left, is Assonet Neck, from the tip of which is visible Conspiracy Island, where King Philip formed his confederacy and planned the war against the white interlopers.
DIGHTON, 37 m. (town, alt. 29, pop. 3116, sett. 1678, incorp. 1712), is a market-gardening community, inhabited by Yankees and Portuguese. Shipbuilding along the Taunton River and the netting of herring were profitable occupations. Some mulberry trees, planted in an abortive attempt at silkworm culture, still stand.
At the junction of State 138 and Elm St. stands the Council Oak, with wide-spreading branches. Here King Philip often met with the Pocas- sets, who had their settlement in the present Dighton.
Left on Hart St. to Pleasant St., 0.2 m., and the Segreganset River, which boasts a legend. Many years ago a mill stood here. The miller put over a sharp deal one day on an old woman who, unfortunately for him, turned out to be a witch. The hag cursed the mill and from that hour never a peaceful moment did the miller know. Shafts and chains kept breaking; flour mildewed in the bins. Finally the curse reached its climax in a fire of supernatural origin which burned the mill to the ground; and the discouraged miller, a ruined man, did not attempt to rebuild.
At 0.5 m. is the Perry Tavern (private). Built by David Perry (1750), it was used but a short time as a tavern. On the slope of a knoll, it appears from the road to be a two-and-a-half-story structure. The first floor is in reality a basement and the main entrance to the house is from the porch. An open porch on the second floor is reached on both sides by outdoor stairs. The house has two interior chimneys, and three dormer windows.
Almost directly opposite, on the shores of Berkley, may be seen the Dighton Rock, a granite boulder II feet long, the face of which is pockmarked with pecked in- cisions, many of them apparently alphabetic or pictorial. Some of the alphabetic writings are apparently meaningless scribbles done by the Indians in imitation of the white man's writings. Some were made by the Taunton Haymakers of 1640, who cut hay for their stock at various points along the Taunton River and trans- ported it on rafts. The remainder are believed to be a record of the story of Miguel Cortereal, a Portuguese explorer wrecked off Newfoundland in 1502. He survived the catastrophe, made his way here to Assonet Neck, became a sachem of the local tribe of Indians, and left a record of his adventures with his name and the date carved on the rock. An Indian legend relates how a 'wooden house,' from which is- sued 'thunder and lightning,' came up the river and how the strange men which it carried fought with them and slew their sachem. This is thought to be an account of the arrival of Cortereal.
SOMERSET, 38 m. (town, alt. 17, pop. 5656, sett. 1677, incorp. 1790), is known for Rhode Island johnnycake, a delectable white corn-meal fritter of soft batter, served with either butter or syrup.
Jemima Wilkinson came to Somerset from New York in 1779, claiming she had died three years before and that her body had been reanimated by the soul of Christ. Garbed in a picturesque costume she held outdoor meetings in a walnut grove and chose twelve disciples from her followers. Sitting on a white horse, she is said to have asked her followers if they believed she could walk on the waters of the Taunton River. They said
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High Roads and Low Roads
they did; she replied, 'Such faith cannot be strengthened by a miracle,' and rode off complacently.
At 38.7 m. is the junction with South St.
Left on South St. is the Jarathmeal Bowers House, 0.6 m., built in 1770, a spacious structure with a hip roof and central chimney.
Henry Bowers, son of the founder of Somerset, purchased and brought home as a slave the son of an African chief. All efforts to tame his free wild spirit failed and he was shipped to sea. He made his escape at the island of Haiti and participated in the slave uprising then in progress there. The revolt was successful and he be- came emperor under the name of Toussaint L'Ouverture. In 1802, Napoleon's army overthrew his empire and he died in 1803 after a term of imprisonment in an Alpine dungeon.
At 41.3 m. is the junction with US 6 (see Tour 6).
At 43 m. is FALL RIVER (see FALL RIVER).
State 138 crosses the Rhode Island State Line at 47.2 m., about 7 m. north of Tiverton, R.I.
TOUR 27: From BOSTON to BOURNE 51.8 m., State 3.
Via Quincy, Weymouth, Norwell, Hanover, Pembroke, Kingston, and Plym- outh.
N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R. services this area.
Heavy traffic in summer on this hard-surfaced road, one of the main arteries to Cape Cod.
IN BOSTON State 3 branches southeast from US 1 (Jamaicaway), just south of Jamaica Pond. At 5.4 m. it crosses the Neponset River and traverses a thickly populated area.
At 7.4 m. State 3 enters the Southern Artery which by-passes the city of Quincy.
Right (straight ahead) at the junction to QUINCY, 0.8 m. (see QUINCY).
At 9.4 m. is the junction with State 3A (see Tour 27A).
At 11.5 m. the highway crosses the Weymouth Fore River, the lower end of which is one of the most traveled water areas of its size.
WEYMOUTH, 11.7 m. (see WEYMOUTH).
At 12.7 m. is the junction with State 18 (see Tour 27B).
State 3 skirts a heavily wooded section; at ASSINIPPI CORNER, 19.2 m., is the junction with State 123.
Left on State 123 is NORWELL, 3.1 m. (town, alt. 137, pop. 1666, sett. 1634, in- corp. 1888). For a number of years the Indians of this vicinity were friendly, but
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From Boston to Bourne
on May 20, 1676, following an attack on Hingham, they descended upon the ham- let, killing several persons and burning a number of buildings, including a mill.
In its early days shipbuilding yards occupied the banks of the North River; in the 19th century the manufacture of trunks and boxes was important and shoes and tacks were produced on a small scale; today the chief means of livelihood is truck gardening.
The First Parish Church (Unitarian), built in 1742, and reached by a broad flight of steps with iron railings, has three green doors with Colonial locks and hinges. Over the entrance rises a hexagonal steeple in the base of which is a four-faced clock.
Kent Memorial Building (open), River St., built before 1680, contains a museum of historical relics.
South of the Kent Memorial is Thomas Garfield Park, a wooded recreation center for children, presented to the town in 1895.
Right from the village on River St. to the junction with Cornet Stetson Rd., 5.4 m .; left on this road is the Sargent S. Stetson House (private), 6.2 m. a one-and-a- half-story frame dwelling with an addition of a single story. Although many al- terations have been made, at one end of the house the original roof slopes to within seven feet of the ground. The inside timbers of the central part of the roof resemble the 'knees' of a ship, having been bent to the angle of the roof. The frame of the structure is held together by treenails. Across the road near an old barn is a lat- tice-enclosed well with an ancient iron wheel and ballast.
At 22.7 m. is the junction with Rockland Rd.
Right on this hard-surfaced, tree-lined road is HANOVER CENTER, 1.3 m. (town, alt. 54, pop. 2709, sett. 1649, incorp. 1727), named by the early settlers in honor of King George I, the former Elector of Hanover. Predominant among the early industries was the manufacture of anchors and fittings for ships, cannon balls, hollow ware, and other articles from bog-iron ore.
On the Green adjacent to a granite shaft memorial are Two Ship's Howitzers made about 10 years before the Civil War. East of the Town Hall on Hanover St. is (R) the Samuel Stetson House (open; adm. 15g), built in 1694, a yellow, shingled, two-and-a-half-story frame dwelling, owned by the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. The house has its original wide plank floors and contains an exceptional collection of old pictures and Colonial and Indian relics. Among these is a stone water bottle about the size and shape of, a full-grown summer squash, with a brown stain on one side where it rubbed the horse's side as it hung from the saddle.
At 22.9 m. is the junction with Broadway.
I. Right on this hard-surfaced street to Elm St., 0.3 m .; left on Elm St. to the Site of Luddam's Ford and the Old Forge, 0.9 m., where the anchor of the U.S. Frigate 'Constitution' was forged. In 1632, Governor Winslow and a guide crossed the stream here. Luddam, the guide, carried the Governor across on his back and Winslow named the ford for him.
2. Left on Broadway is a junction with Old Country Rd. formerly State 3, at 0.2 m .; right on Old Country Rd. is the Old Bridge spanning the North River at 0.7 m. On one side a bronze tablet tells of the many shipyards that once made this spot a center of activity.
At 23.2 m. State 3 crosses the North River, and passes through low level country.
At 23.6 m., corner of Schoosett St., is the Friends Meeting House (1706) (not open), a one-and-a-half-story wooden building. Plain benches are lined up on a bare wooden floor. A heavy rope serves as a hand-rail on the steps leading to the balcony, which can be shut off by a movable wooden
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High Roads and Low Roads
partition. The walls lack adornment of any kind. Only occasional meet- ings are held here. Adjacent to the meeting house is the Friends Bury- ing Ground with headstones all about the same size and shape in keep- ing with Quaker traditions.
Left on Schoosett St. at 0.3 m. is a crossroad that leads (L) to the Old Briggs House, 0.7 m., the home of a shipbuilder on the bank of the North River. In the yard ad- joining, a bronze plaque on a granite post marks the Site of Brick Kiln Shipyard (1730-1848). More than 121 vessels, weighing from 15 to 375 tons, were built here. The 'Beaver,' one of the ships whose cargo inspired the Boston Tea Party in 1773, and the 'Bedford,' the first ship to display the United States flag in British waters, were among these.
At 24.1 m. is the Birthplace and Home of Ichabod Thomas (open as a tea- room) (1761-1859), the eminent shipbuilder. The structure has wings and ells, and recently added porches; the interior has many secret passages.
NORTH PEMBROKE, 24.8 m. (alt. 20, Town of Pembroke), is at the junction with State 14.
Right from North Pembroke on State 14, 0.3 m., is the Squire Keen House (private), built in 1745, a two-and-a-half-story structure with a clapboarded front, shingled ends, and kitchen and open woodshed at right angles to an ell. Twin pines of noble proportions shade the lawn.
PEMBROKE, 1.6 m. (town, alt. 160, pop. 1621, sett. 1650, incorp. 1712), founded as an Indian outpost, honors, as its first settlers, Dolor Davis and Robert Barker. Barker acquired a liberal area from the Indians in Herring Brook district in ex- change for a quart of sack. Until the early 19th century, shipbuilding on the North River was the major industry. This is the setting for 'Leave the Salt Earth,' by Richard Warren Hatch, and Whittier's 'Songs of Three Centuries.'
It is said that there was once a stump surrounded by water-lilies in near-by Hobo- moc Pond that rose three feet above the surface regardless of the rise and fall of the water. To the Indians the stump was Hobomoc, an evil spirit, and the lilies were his pale-faced children, brought over the Great Water in a canoe; when the Indians assaulted the stump, it groaned, the waters were agitated, and the flowers danced. Unable to destroy the spirit, they offered him tribute, throwing choice morsels of food into the pond. The gifts, however, did little good - sicknesses came and eventually the Pale-Faced triumphed. 'Queen Patience,' the Indians' seeress, advised them to leave the region, though she had decided to remain by the grave of her father. When this Indian woman died in 1785, her burial was directed by the first minister of the First Parish of Pembroke.
On the front lawn of the Town Hall is the Town Pound, a stone-walled area 20 feet square, with a small wooden gate. On State 14 at 3 m. is Furnace Pond (picnic grounds), on the edge of which is the Site of an Iron Mill (1702). This mill was de- pendent upon bog iron obtained in the vicinity.
At 31.3 m. is the junction with State 3A (see Tour 27A).
KINGSTON, 32 m. (town, alt. 35, pop. 2743, sett. 1620, incorp. 1726). Passengers of the 'Mayflower,' the 'Fortune,' and the 'Ann' selected this spot on the navigable Jones River for settlement; it was in Plymouth Town until 1726. Shipbuilding, once a thriving industry, ceased in 1887, but a few wharves are a reminder of former commercial activity.
The First Congregational Parish Church (Unitarian), Main St., was erected in 1717. This gray frame building with wooden quoins, has an open belfry with a balustrade at its base, and round-headed windows and blinds. Its
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From Quincy to Kingston
architecture is early Georgian Colonial. A Granite Shaft about four feet high served as the 'town post,' or bulletin board, until 1911.
The Squire William Sever House (seen by appointment), Linden St., is a frame structure, built in 1760. It is painted yellow, with white trim and dark green blinds. Three large chimneys, with caps painted black, top a roof surrounded by a white railing. The clapboards on the ell are grad- uated and the windows have multiple panes. Two aged linden trees flank the red-brick walk leading to the house.
Left from the Center on Bay Rd. at about 0.6 m. is Bradford House (open, adm. 25g), of frame construction, with weather-beaten unstained shingles. Built in 1674, it retains its original appearance and contains some of the early furnishings. Windows with diamond-shaped panes, a fireplace of huge dimensions with a Dutch oven, looms, an old rack for hooking rugs, and an old well with wooden lever and fulcrum are well preserved.
State 3 here traverses a rolling country of low hills and shallow valleys. At 34.3 m. is the William Crowe House, the oldest house in Plymouth (see PLYMOUTH).
At 36.3 m. is PLYMOUTH (see PLYMOUTH).
Southeast of Plymouth, State 3 traverses flat, sandy country, sparsely covered with dwarf pine; at intervals are acres of cranberry bog.
The Sagamore Canal Bridge, 51.8 m. is at the junction with US 6 (see Tour 6).
TOUR 27A: From QUINCY to KINGSTON, 28.2 m., State 3A.
Via Weymouth, Hingham, Hull, Scituate, Cohasset, Marshfield, and Duxbury. N.Y., N.H. & H. R.R. services this area.
Hard-surfaced road, mostly macadam.
STATE 3A closely parallels the South Shore of Massachusetts Bay and gives access to several old seaports now famous as summer resorts.
State 3A branches east from its junction with State 3 (see Tour 27) 0.8 m. north of QUINCY (see QUINCY), and crosses the Fore River, 0.6 m., over the Fore River Bridge, an impressive structure.
NORTH WEYMOUTH, 1.5 m., alt. II (see WEYMOUTH).
At 2.6 m. is the first Drive-in Theater (cinema) in New England, with ter- raced levels to allow an uninterrupted view of the screen without passen- gers' leaving their cars.
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High Roads and Low Roads
At 5.4 m. is the junction with North St.
Right on North St. 0.3 m. is HINGHAM (town, alt. 21, pop. 7330, sett. about 1633, incorp. 1635), named for the former English home of most of its settlers. Originally inhabited by Algonquin Indians, the territory was conveyed to the English by three Algonquin representatives in 1665.
In the early 19th century fishing and related occupations developed; by 1831, over 55,000 barrels of mackerel were landed on Hingham wharves. In the post- Civil War period both industry and agriculture declined, and are almost non- existent today.
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