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1761 Milestone
Mile marker in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
Mile marker in Woonsocket, Rhode Island
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| name | 1761 Milestone |
| image | WoonsocketRI 1761Milestone.jpg |
| location | 640 South Main Street, Woonsocket, Rhode Island |
| coordinates | |
| locmapin | Rhode Island#USA |
| map_label | 1761 Milestone |
| built | |
| added | November 24, 1982 |
| mpsub | Woonsocket MRA |
| refnum | 82000131 |
The 1761 Milestone is a mile marker located at 640 South Main Street in Woonsocket, Rhode Island. The stone originally marked the junction of a Colonial highway from Great Road and an east–west route from Boston, Massachusetts to Connecticut. It was rediscovered during the installation of an electrical road (likely a tram). In 1898, it was restored to its original location by the local chapter of the Daughters of the American Revolution. The stone is embedded in a low retaining wall at the corner of South Main Street and Smithfield Road. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 24, 1982, and is historically significant as a Colonial-era highway marker.
History
The 1761 Milestone is a historic marker that marked the junction of a Colonial highway. In 1761, it was located at the intersection of Great Road from Providence, Rhode Island to Mendon, Massachusetts, and an east–west route from Boston, Massachusetts into Connecticut. Currently, it rests near the intersection of South Main Street and Smithfield Road (previously Great Road) and occupies the land designated by the Woonsocket Assessor as plat 4-C, lot 69.{{cite book |title=The Encyclopedia of Rhode Island |first1=Nancy |last1=Capace |location=St. Clair Shores, Michigan |page=368 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qHPYeCvnASoC&pg=PA368 |isbn=9780403096107
The 2 ft by 3 ft marker is described by the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) nomination form as an "odd-shaped piece of grey slate, somewhat broken and effaced".
The stone was unearthed during the installation of an "electrical road", according to a report to the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), which probably refers to a tramway; the Woonsocket chapter of the DAR restored it to its original location. Sometime later, the DAR placed a bronze plaque on the stone, but it was absent at the time of its nomination in 1982. The marker is currently mortared into a retaining wall at the edge of the sidewalk on 640 South Main Street at the intersection.
Importance
The National Register of Historic Places nomination states that the marker is at its original site and is historically important because it is "the only extant Woonsocket property which well recalls this era in the early history of American overland transportation," and that there are "but a handful" of stones in Rhode Island which marked colonial highways. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 24, 1982.
References
References
- {{NRISref. 2007a
- Cappelli. (1937). "Rhode Island: A Guide to the Smallest State". [[Riverside Insights.
- (1898). "The American Monthly Magazine". R.R. Bowker Company.
- "National Register MRA for Woonsocket, Rhode Island". State of Rhode Island.
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