Boston Rambles

Boston Rambles

A Rambler Walks and Talks About the Hub of the Universe

Archive for May 2022

Westwood, Massachusetts. Mile 14: Shunpiking Ye Waye Through Ye Swamp (WTPR #15)

“Great commotion about the course of the turnpike thro’ Dedham. Many dread it as bad as a standing army, to spunge them of money.” Fisher Ames Diary, May 19, 1802. “plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose” Jean-Baptiste Alphonse Karr, January 1849 issue of his journal Les Guêpes (“The Wasps”) ***** This is entry… (read more)

Waltham, Massachusetts: Across The Plains

Upper Boston Post Road Entry #3 (UBPR#3) “Sudbury Road, now Main Street, early laid out as a principal thoroughfare to the western settlements, extended through the comparatively uninhabited plain, important only as a means of communication to distant regions. The fact that the territory was unsettled doubtless accounts for its generous width and straight direction…”… (read more)