Rocks & Ruins: Stories in Stone
Check out this excellent article on New England stone walls (thanks to Abby Fiske). Be sure to hit the few links along the way - anyone up for checking out LiDAR maps of the town?! They provide lots of clues, see the new images below, sites 1b, 9, 10, & 11.
What's more fun on a crisp New England day than a romp in the woods, walking along the ancient stonewalls, and discovering the lichen-encrusted granite remnants of Yankee farmers' toil? This page is devoted to such treks. Get out there, document your journey and send your finds our way.
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Make it a family outing, it's a great way to turn kids onto history!
The plan is to map as many of the town's old ruins and other interesting stone-based artifacts as possible, and then use the site's map collection to pose evidence-based theories on their origins and purposes. See the map immediately below, the numbers correspond to the photos and explanations that follow below.
Sites #1 and #1b
Updated comments: With the discovery that LiDAR exists for eastern Massachusetts, we can see much more of the town's Rocks & Ruins than ever! LiDAR is "Light Detection and Ranging", special images that geologists and other professionals use in their areas of expertise. It's also opened up new opportunities for archaeologists and historians, providing dramatic landscape clues for exploration. A perfect example is the original English residence on the current Pleasant View Farm property, the Abner Morse homestead along Dirty Meadow Brook, which dates back to the 1670s or 1680s. In addition to the very small cellar hole still visible in the woods (described below), we've discovered a much larger one just 150 feet away. See the LiDAR map in the above gallery, and then the short video when we located the site. This really elevates the geek levels in this history nerd!
Older comments: Here are a few shots of an old cellar hole, not far from Dirty Meadow Brook (behind Pleasant View Farm). Always thought it might be a yesteryear spring house given that it's basically on the flood plain. It's about 10'x10' and 5' deep, at the junction of a few stone walls that are interestingly laid out in zigzags.
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From town historian Betsy Johnson: "I think it is a cellar hole because of Abner Morse, who wrote ( in his Genealogical Register) about Joseph Morse [Jr] (p. 182, under 2.7) that he "settled about 60 rods E. of Albert Ware's, at W. Sherborn..." I believe Albert Ware lived at the site of 246 Western Ave. 60 rods would be about 995 feet- I think about the right estimate of distance to that cellar hole.
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He also stated in his earlier book, Memorial of the Morses (in Appendix Page 40, XXX) "Joseph Morse [Jr] s.[settled] on Dirty Meadow Hill in S. [Sherborn], 100 rods N.E. of the late Deacon Micah Leland's...." Micah Leland lived at 255 Western Ave. Again, it seems about right for that hole.
It would be fun to do a deed search on the plot. Before his death Capt. Joseph had already given his sons lands in the area (James got the area including 266 Western Ave. -- probably including where I live -- and Joseph Jr. got his in the general area of the cellar hole (and more via his father's will).
Site #2
Comment: Just before Woodland Street merges with Washington Street (Rte 16), about 25 feet off the road to the right you'll see the remnants of a 19th century dwelling, including a cellar hole, a well, and a few other vestiges of long past families' presences. The well is open, so be careful if you saunter over!
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The site appears to be one of the town's many Leland homes, at least as suggested on the 1873 map, which indicates "L.D. Leland" resided there at the time (see cropped map pic below). More inquiry needed!
Site #3
Comment: Here are two pics from the ruins of late 18th century farm at #114 Woodland St, now the site of a large mid-century modern house built in 1972. The first is the house foundation, the second is likely the remnants of a cistern. (pics by Betsy Johnson, 1993)
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From Anne Shaughnessy's 1974 Guide to Sherborn: "This home of delightful modern architecture is not one of our old houses but it is on this hill that the twin Aaron [of Moses Leland's twin, 102 Woodland St], who inherited the western half of the Hopestill Leland's holdings, built his home. It burned in the late 1800's..." (pp.50-51)
Site #4
Comment: Leland saw mill. Heading west on Mill St and just across the street from the hayfields at the road's lowest point, you'll see an ancient mill pond and the remnants of the old Leland saw mill. Sitting on the last vestiges of the dam, we used to catch catfish there in the 1970s and romp around the grounds that once supplied much of the lumber for local builds.
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From Anne Shaughnessy's 1974 Guide to Sherborn: "James Leland built a dam across [Dirty] Meadow Brook to form Mill Pond and produce water power to run a mill with he set a-straddle the brook as it crossed Mill Street (thereafter so called), and three generations of James Lelands operated it, until it burned in 1920. The resourceful James built a new mill closer to the course of supply,and electrically powered." (p. 145)
Site #5
Comment: Pleasant View Farm, 2024: On the elbow of the country lane called Pleasant Street is the 1840's farm built by William "Bill Gun" Leland. The farm passed down through his female descendants, including his daughter, Amy Leland Fleming, and granddaughter, Mercie Fleming Hildreth. Around 1900, Mercie married a fellow named Irving Hildreth of Holliston, and their oldest son, Harold, ran the farm until his death in the early 1980s. With a transition led by the Rural Land Foundation, Bob and Bert Delaney bought the farm in 1986, and set out to restore the property and buildings over the next several years.
Here's some of the beautiful stonework as seen in 2024, much of which was fashioned by hand, town historical Betsy Johnson reports, at a small, informal quarry just off the intersection of Whitney Street and Western Avenue.
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Site #6
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Comment: The Mystery Rocks. As you're on Western Avenue driving towards Framingham, just prior to Dopping Brook Road on the right is a strange rock configuration that some human(s) constructed many, many years back. And no one seems to know what it is. Very cool.
In my eagerness, I had always hoped it was a Native American monument for a Manitou, imperfectly defined as "a supernatural being that controls nature; a spirit, deity, or object that possesses supernatural power". Definitely a history mystery; time to get a Native peoples expert opinion on this.
Here's what the equally befuddled town historian Betsy Johnson says:
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That circle of stones is a real puzzle! I have heard several theories about it but the short answer is that nobody now knows who built it or why. One theory is that it was a memorial to the owner's pet horse (sometime in the late 19th or early 20th century). I find that very hard to believe. Someone spent a LOT of time finding the right sized stones and selecting those matching shapes; he must have had a lot of time on his hands. (What farmer did?). Did he REALLY care that much for the horse?
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Back in the 1980s (?) I asked Harold Hildreth about it. He said he didn't know, either, but that it had been there as long as he could remember. I like to think that it was by the Indigenous People - perhaps having some religious significance. I don't suppose we will ever know for sure.
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Site #7
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Comment: West School well head. Some may just yawn at these last simple remnants resting on the ground, but the granite slabs tell tales to the attuned. With some historically-informed imagination, we can almost hear the voices of the children at play, a teacher's arithmetic lessons, and even her willow switch on the hide of a wayward lad! (located directly across Western Av at the end of Pleasant St)
Site #8
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Comment: Sawin Mills. If you have yet to enjoy the natural beauty and super interesting mill remnants at the Natick Audubon, what are you waiting for? Before you go, read The Mills at Broadmoor (below), written in 1959 by Marion Pfeiffer, who grew up nearby in the early 20th century. It's a lovely story that sheds light on rural Sherborn & Natick in a more slowly-paced, but highly demanding time.
Sites #9, 10, 11, and 12: The LiDAR map in the gallery just below vividly shows several abandoned sites in the Woodland St/Ash Lane area. It's clear from the 1873 map and Town Historian Betsy Johnson that site #9 is the old Boyle homestead (evidently before later moving up the road towards Washington St, site #2), which has ruins close to the road and another set back about 75 feet, likely an out building of some sort.
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Site #10, which is in the middle of the Ash Lane triangle right on Dirty Meadow Brook and mired in prickers, downed trees, and ticks, is almost impossible to see. On LiDAR, however, it appears to be some sort of ancient stone damn. Turns out, says Betsy J, it's "actually the remains of the causeway of the old County Road as it crosses Dirty Meadow Brook. (I believe it continued toward Hollis St. along the top of the esker there, although there doesn't seem to be any sign left now.)"
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Meanwhile, up on Greenwood Street, site #12, walkers can see the stone remnants of what may have been where "Mrs. Newell" resided. As kids, we used to dig in that area for old bottles, as it later served as a dumping site. It could also have been her barn or carriage house, as it's right on Greenwood.
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Not too far away on Washington St. LiDAR shows a very square shadow of an old building, but upon trekking there (just across from Old Orchard), it looks more like a kettle pond than a foundation. Come dry weather, we'll check it again, as it clearly shows evidence of being a man-made feature.
